There's a new meme going around the blogs and I've been called out by Shawn Wildermuth to participate - it's the "my programming career" questionnaire. My history is not quite as illustrious as Shawn's when it comes to programming, but I do have a few very unique skeletons in my closet!

How old were you when you first started programming?
Does the Texas Instruments calculators that we used sr. year in high school count? That's definitely an exhibit of pure geekness. I was 16 at the time.

How did you get started in programming?
I took a Basic course in college in 1981 though I didn't do much more for about 4 more years.

What was your first language?
Well, excluding that Basic class, it was dBaseIII. I still have the book that was lying around at one of my first jobs that I picked up and started looking at ... and then off I went!

What was the first real program you wrote?
Define "real". I'm sure I wrote a whole bunch of dBaseIII utilities at that first job but it was so long ago I can't remember. I think the first thing that truly sticks in my mind is something I did freelance for Oppenheimer Capital a billion years ago. It's really all a big muddle in my brain at this point.

What languages have you used since you started programming?Ahh that's easier... dBaseIII, Clipper, dBaseIV, FoxPro 2.0, 2.5 (windows/dos and MAC!) & 2.6, VB 4, 5, 6, VB.NET & C#.

What was your first professional programming gig?
It was a freelance job for my boss's wife's new company. I did it in dBase. That was something like 22 years ago and she and I are friends to this day and I still help her out with some programming here and there.

If you knew then what you know now, would you have started programming?
I wish I could say "absolutely" but I'm not sure. I really like working on my own and it's really challenging in this day and age with software being as big as it is. It certainly does enable me to make a living from my inate curiousity and tenacity.

If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new developers, what would it be?
There are many ways to solve a problem and you should really weigh the pros and cons of each before choosing. Those pros and cons may result in different choices for different scenarios.

What's the most fun you've ever had ... programming?
Oh, that would be any time I figure out how to do something that "couldn't be done".

So Who's Next?
My blog partner and DevSource editor, Jeff Cogswell.
Camey Combs
Charles Petzold
Jim Wooley
Danny Simmons

Hmm, I guess the questions didn't allow me to expose those skeletons. They aren't secrets though, so perhaps you can discover them on your own!