I've been programming since before there was such a thing as Microsoft Windows. Since before there was even such a thing as MS-DOS, even. My first programming experience on a computer was programming Borland Turbo Pascal on an Apple IIG, running the CP/M operating system.
So am I showing my age yet?
No, my programming goes back even further than that... I started programming on my Dad's Hewlett-Packard programmable calculator, back when they still had those red LED displays. The programming language was not unlike programming in assembly language today. And don't even ask me what Reverse Polish Notation is all about.
So what was I programming back then? Automatic character generators for Dungeons and Dragons, of course. Yes, I can hear the nerd-alert alarm going off in your head right now.
So let's skip to the present... I've done my stint writing programs for Microsoft Windows, both desktop applications, and client/server database applications. For those, I'm still using Borland products... only now Pascal has evolved into Delphi... the language is still the same, but with all the Windows extensions.
For web work, I've had my hand at ColdFusion and Perl, had a look at Python, but finally settled on PHP, for multiple reasons that I might get into in a later blog post. Hint: It's not just about it being a popular language. For the back-end of things (data storage, not derrières) I prefer to work with MySQL. Again, not just because it is what's available on most web hosting providers.
I've also become familiar with a host of assorted open-source software packages based on the PHP/MySQL platform, mainly because most people don't have their lottery winnings available when they want to launch their websites. I work primarily with Drupal, but also Joomla, Mambo, WordPress, and various wiki engines but especially WikkaWiki.
Again, I'll delve into the reasons for all of these in another blog post. This is just supposed to be an introduction, remember?
So what about hardware?
Well, in terms of modern computing, my machines are dinosaurs. Pentium II and Pentium III machines. But hey, they may be dinosaurs but they're still breathing. They're not fossils. In the world of dinosaurs, I think I may just have a Tyranosaurus Rex sitting on my desk. In a world where everyone wants the lightest, most portable computer possible, my main computer weighs about as much as my refrigerator. No, seriously. How many people can say their computer has five hard drives and multiple processors? Yes, a real IBM rack-mounted mainframe within touching distance.
If you're surprised that I'm going on about this, then you really didn't pay attention to that nerd alarm you heard earlier, did you?
Let's just say that when designing web applications, I've got a bit of an advantage... because the web server where I do all my testing Apache, MySQL, PHP, etc... is sitting right here.
All for now,
Klaus
