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How did you get into coding?

Ginger by design.
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RELAXED THREAD YO.

Anyway:


At 8 years old I started writing BASIC programs on DOS because I wanted to make a clone of Pokemon Red/Blue for gameboy in DOS ( ), gotta love those motivators. I sucked butt at it but my father was a CS major in college so he gave me a book and taught me how to do stuff so it was cool. Then after a year or so, I had a basic sprite-driven scroller like pokemon/zelda and a battle system and it was all nifty. I got bored of it though. So we got a new PC, with windows 95, and so DOS was meh (even though you could still boot into it). So I picked up a copy of VB 3.0, which was an extension of BASIC, it was cool making windows and guis and writing code so I cloned a lot of software, Notepad, AIM, MSN Messenger, calc, and even wrote an alarm program that read times from a text file and would popup an alert and optionally make a sound when the time was up, then got into writing so called "proggies" for AIM at the time which was the thing to do.

That got boring, and about this time (10-10 1/2 in age) I was talking to my uncle at a family event and he was telling me about his job at a software company, and about C++ which is what they used. He got me a copy of Visual Studio 6 Professional and so I started playing with that, VB6 and VC++, and I found my dad's old C book, which I read and was able to follow using VS. Then I bought two books, one "learning C++" primer book and Bjarne's book as I knew he was the creator of the language. I read the easy one and used Bjarne's as a reference (though I did skim the STL stuff).

At the time, a friend of my brother's gave him a copy of Half-Life as it was a new game and quite epic. We both played it through, had a lot of fun with it, then we heard about this mod for it called Counter-Strike. We installed it, started playing, and it was quite awesome at the time it was still beta before Valve purchased it. I started reading some online forums about it and notice a handful of people would somehow be AMAZINGLY GOOD at the game and get nothing but headshots and shoot people through walls etc. I quickly came to understand this was from the first cheat, mainly a modification of the client.dll in the mod (back before there was any security and this was easy), by a guy in a group called clientbot, his handle was Chazz and the cheat was called ViperG (the source you can still find lying around in some places, but that's a really legacy cheat, but still one of the best ever made). It was the first client-hook.

I was fascinated by it, but no source was released at the time. Recently from that there was some guy who released XQZ cheat (where the "XQZ wallhack" came from), a purely OpenGL cheat. At that time I was a member of MPC and Abso and I from there worked together to try to produce new functionality and reproduce the functionality in XQZ. It was my first real C/C++ project and it was quite advanced, so I wasn't able to produce anything of quality for a while. That goes off into a much bigger story so I'll just leave it there.

Then in HS, we had comp-sci "advanced" courses so I took those, and it was taught in Java. That's where I learned Java (in ~2004), the book was rather introductory and all of it but the Java syntax and classes I already knew (data structures, algorithms, etc). So I was bored with it, but I learned it and have used it quite a lot when the time calls for it. In college for CS, I learned Lua for extending a project I was working on, Javascript (I knew it from web development, but I mean really learning JS and writing code in it, this was when big JS frameworks for web development started becoming popular), Python because it's useful, C# because a friend of mine was heavy into it and it was useful for writing easy GUI applications, PHP because I needed to make dynamic websites and applications, LISP because it was recommended to me. And more and more. I never stopped learning languages, and I use the one for a task which is most appropriate.

The people I was going to school with who appeared the least capable in CS and who I'd consider "noobs" never did. They just sat there with VB.NET or Java and that's all they ever used. Then in junior/senior level courses when we had co-op group projects and poop, they always wanted to use VB.NET (for making a website or something for example) or Java for anything else. I couldn't handle that because it was a terrible decision and clearly suggesting PHP for a website or jQuery + CSS + PHP for a nice AJAX dynamic page, or suggesting C++ or Python for an application where they were far more appropriate than Java wouldn't fly because NONE of them knew any of those well. So I would do the entire project myself in 1 day, and say "there, if you knew what the duck you were doing, you'd be done already." I quit the CS program because the people here suck, the professors here suck (I know more than most of them.. wtf?), and the school won't accept suggestions for curriculum. I just finished a math degree because, oddly enough, it's preferred to a CS degree anyway, and math is one of the only other subjects I like. This is also a lot of where my massive cynicism about programming, language choice comes from as well as my stance on stupidity, poor education, and how little CS degrees mean these days.

So basically, from playing Pokemon on a gameboy I was interested in making games like that which lead through 14 years of learning and awesomeness which is how I ended up where I am today :eek:
 
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When I was 3-years old I first started using a computer. Basically just bashing on the keyboard. I taught myself how to read, write, and type all because of my dad's computer. Ever since I was 12 I was interested in coding. So I started leeching and looking at code, confused as duck I decided to learn C#.

Here I am today.
 
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Lol you type much older than you are (if that makes sense x_x )

Anyway I started coding to help out with emulators for a game I like. Never thought I would get into it as much as I am into it right now, and this is what I honestly see myself doing the rest of my life. Funny huh ?
 
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Nice ;D i started coding using notepad to create HTML website, when i saw my father doing that. I think i was 6, maybe 7 years old that time ;D
 
WowIwasSuperCringeB4
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When I was 7, I found out about private servers, such as habbo etc. I taught my self HTML and PHP. I then was interested in Flash games, so I taught my self animation and actionscript, which lead me to runescape so I learned Java, etc. I then was interested in how programs worked and how I could make my own things just for fun, so I learned VB6, that lead to me trying out VB2008 when it came out. I then downloaded Delphi and C# and C++ and Assembly, and I started learning them a bit, I don't know much C++ because I've been trying to learn C# throughly, since it is a lot like delphi. Now I'm 16 and I'm still learning much more, and it's leading into my programming career.
 
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When I was 10 or 11 I stumbled across a site called BYOND. There I learned how to code in this primitive language called DM, and then I started learning C# after a year or so of DM. I've tried learning ASM on a number of occasions (ranging from 13-17), but I just can't do it.

C# is about the only worth-while thing I know.
 
Initiate Mage
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I remember when i was 14 my bro went to a programming course and he showed me C++. Later on i found VB.Net and got sucked into this world.
 
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My story isn't too amazing, but I credit it fully to the Pascal coding Dutchman behind Cheat Engine.

I was very interested in Cheat Engine and programming, but I had no clue how to "create" a program. I figured there was a program creating program that did everything for you. My understanding was.. very lacking.

I downloaded (then Borland) Delphi 7 and began doing random programs. My interest in Pascal came from Cheat Engine, of course. A few of my programs became popular on my blog, especially the Halo 3 character creator, though I can't bare to look at my monstrosity of a blog now (I don't appreciate my own work.)

Later on I got interested in web development. I started with HTML, but easily got bored, I still haven't bothered to learn any proper HTML techniques or web design. I do, however, curse every last website in the world that should ever rely majorly on flash for its functions... I then began to learn PHP, I'd program the most useless and random yet quite interesting scripts with no particular function. Even things probably better done in a 'higher-up' language.

More recently I've started to learn Perl and C#. I've only done a few non-major things in those languages. Most have come from here: (Thanks to that nice Swede Safko for introducing me~)
 
Zzzz...
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I was raised by computers pretty much. Other kids had football and sports, I had rollercoaster tycoon and simulation games xD(I can hardly remember anything about my old house when I was 4-7 but I can still remember rollercoasters I built on rollercoaster tycoon 1, layouts, loops, colors, everything. Remember park layouts etc but I can't ever rember eating dinner or anything) I always thought coding was like only for the worlds most nerdy people, then I decided to make a auto-clicker so I downloaded visual basic when I was like 10. I got bored of VB, and a few years later I was trying to add something to my servers CMS and i'm like "This PHP stuff isn't half bad!" Since then I learned php/css/html/VB/c++ and a bit of java, not pro in any of them really besides PHP. But yeah xD

Funny how people say illegal activities ruin lives yet almost everyone on ragezone making "illegal" private servers have started a career
 
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Legendary Battlemage
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I came across fantastic looking websites (I mean, drop dead beautiful) back in 2000~2001.

I wanted to make one just like it (It was like art to me).
I didn't read no eBooks and all that junk, I learned everything their was to know about PHP & HTML, myself (As in, Googleing poop). (It doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment, but it was pretty confusing back then).

Then I found a mentor who taught me some cool poop (Shortening lines of code by like half..)
 
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played maplestory since beta, found private servers one day. decided to make one, now its been 2 years and i still suck at codeing
 
bleh....
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its 1 word.. dam

True, but it's *coding*. Anyways... don't worry about grammar Hitlers'.

OT: I actually became interested completely when I joined Ragezone. I've always been interested in games, but never the "behind the scenes" part of it.
 
Watching from above
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I wish I had had access to resources when I was young. Like jMerlin, I started with BASIC, must have been about 8, too, because I remember I didn't really know any English yet. Nobody around me was interested in anything like that, though, and I couldn't even imagine a library might have books for such things... pity. Some 4 years later we got a better PC and with it came QBASIC. Still we didn't even have internet, so I was literally self-taught with it. Didn't do much with it, some simple games and an animation maker (my friend went nuts with it and actually made several animations pixel-by-pixel :D).

A couple of years later I stumbled upon jBuilder and soon after that C++ Builder 6, which were my first touch to playing around with GUI's. This wasn't of much importance, but it's when I first found out about C++, and finally took something more seriously. Got a book for C++ which mentioned Visual Studio (maybe it had a version on disc with it, not sure).

Since then I was more capable of doing stuff and over the years self-taught myself countless various things out of interest, sticking mostly to C++ but trying out most major languages anyway. Went to a university to study information technology (still do) and while most practical coding related stuff is nothing new, I now have a newfound love for computer science.

So, that's me in a nutshell.
 

Zen

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When i was around 12, I discovered VB6, I was absolutely amazed and intrigued that I could create some real software, went absolutely nuts with it, stayed up till 3am on weekends coding, and reading and reading and reading. It was all self taught with the internet.

I guess my real programming started when i was 14 and tried PHP, it really blew my mind, and is still my programming language of choice without question.

Just progressed from there I guess.. My current languages of infatuation: C# (ASP.NET and software), PHP, Django, Rails.
 
Master Summoner
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It's really interesting to read about peoples "path" that led them to where they are today.

Myself, I started around the age of 10, when I started in a social club and there a trend to have a profile on a teen social network, where you could write your own profile text implementing HTML and basic Javascript in it.
I was not really learning it, just leeched source code and pasted, learned some stuff to impress my class mates (Yes, I was and still am that ugly, weird guy who still believes that my slightly-above-average knowledge to programming can impress people). Not until 6 years later, in 2008, I start to take HTML seriously, starting to look into CSS and PHP.
Whilst getting more blood on my teeth, I got bored with creating websites, since I didn't really care much for design and I didn't really know any who would design my sites. Then I began looking into Java, abandoned it and struggled with it again, several times. In the meantime I've been around C, C++, C# and other various languages.

Recently I bought a book covering the basics of C++ and I'm starting to get really into it. Just to make it clear, I'm no IT graduate and I won't be for a few years, I'm a baker apprentice. My plans for the future is to finish my baker education, do my conscription and then look into the IT educations and see what fits me.
 
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At 12 or so started making websites. HTML with tables, hehe. Then got acquainted with JavaScript, CSS and then PHP. Did PHP for 2 years. At that point I wanted to make real programs like my father did in C. I bought a C book (Kernighan and Richie) and got into C. Great language, still love it for it's simplicity.

Then started with C++, first C with classes, but now, after 3 years, I feel like I'm getting to "master" C++. Having visited most paradigms / concepts, working on a 10k+ lines library helps a lot.

I do PHP for website designs. But honestly, PHP sucks a lot. I dislike the language, though not as strongly as VB crap. Had to use VB once, to control some external hardware (strong magnets), there was only a VB bind. I damned the language.

I've also done some ASM and D. ASM...what can I say. D is really a neat language, it should get more popular, it's worth it.
 
Legendary Battlemage
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I started learning coding when i was about 15 and i wanted to do something awesome. Started out with c++ and c, and now i have a pretty good hang of them. C and C++ got me into linux which eventually interested me in python and perl. Learned java because it was what people were teaching in computer science in high school.
 

LMC

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I was raised by computers pretty much. Other kids had football and sports, I had rollercoaster tycoon and simulation games xD(I can hardly remember anything about my old house when I was 4-7 but I can still remember rollercoasters I built on rollercoaster tycoon 1, layouts, loops, colors, everything. Remember park layouts etc but I can't ever rember eating dinner or anything) I always thought coding was like only for the worlds most nerdy people, then I decided to make a auto-clicker so I downloaded visual basic when I was like 10. I got bored of VB, and a few years later I was trying to add something to my servers CMS and i'm like "This PHP stuff isn't half bad!" Since then I learned php/css/html/VB/c++ and a bit of java, not pro in any of them really besides PHP. But yeah xD

Funny how people say illegal activities ruin lives yet almost everyone on ragezone making "illegal" private servers have started a career

About your last comment about how private servers actually inspirate people. Thats pritty true to be honest. I first started in runescape doing some java but then got bored. Came back a yr later and got in to habbos. Was in to habbos for aroun 1 year.. Started learning html then css and now PHP. Im not pro but i think if i never started that p server i wouldnt of been here i am today.
 
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