Programming

I began computer programming as a hobby in about 1988. I had a BBC Micro Model B (with 32 kilobytes of RAM) with a cassette recorder to store files, a black and white television (with a tuning dial) as a visual display, and a 9 pin dot matrix printer. In about 1990, I moved to a BBC Master 128 with an 80 track double sided 5.25 inch floppy disc drive and a colour monitor (with a button to toggle the green monochrome display mode). Eventually I upgraded to a 24 pin dot matrix printer. At this time I programmed mainly in BBC BASIC, but I also began to program in C, using Beebug C.

In 1994, I had my first IBM-compatible computer. I used Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows 95, and Microsoft Windows XP before moving to GNU/Linux. For many years, the only programming I did was writing macros for Corel WordPerfect and Microsoft Office Excel, but I prefer to program in C. I enjoy programming, but my programming skills are quite basic.