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My first language was C, back in the early 90s -- from nothing but the K&R book -- and I did learn pointers before I learned my next language (like truly grok t
by fapjacks 9y ago
My first language was C, back in the early 90s -- from nothing but the K&R book -- and I did learn pointers before I learned my next language (like truly grok them, have the ability to visualize the concept viscerally). When people in interviews ask me to tell them about the most technically challenging thing I've ever done, I tell them about learning pointers in C as a teenager. Taking everything in its context, nothing else in technology has gone that far in pushing my intellect.
- moron4hire 9y agoI agree, it's extremely difficult to go from zero to "understands pointers". I think it's a hurdle that a lot of people have failed to clear and have quit programming to go into other, less-lucrative fields. I don't think it has to be that way, and I don't think there is any virtue in it, either.
- nurettin 9y agoI was a C64 kid. Basic had peek/poke to read/write memory addresses directly. I still remember 53280 and 53281 as bytes to flip to change screen colors. So it came to me naturally when I saw assembler and Pascal pointers later on. It just depends on how you grew up.