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I learned to program in C in the late 80s, before the web, and then went on to do a CS degree at university. Learning to code was very difficult in those days.
by sambeau 13y ago
I learned to program in C in the late 80s, before the web, and then went on to do a CS degree at university.
Learning to code was very difficult in those days.
1. There were no free compilers outside of academia.
2. Compilers cost hundreds of dollars
3. Programming books cost $50 each
I used to buy $5 shareware disks that claimed to have compilers and tutorials on them and they never had exactly what was advertised.
In the end I managed to buy a second-hand slightly out-of-date compiler (Turbo-C?). I still seemed to spend any spare cash I had on books.
- ikura 13y agoI challenge you on #1/#2 since there was Personal C (PCC) around the mid/late 80s. The version I had didn't have a graphics library though, so I learnt 8086 assembler and CGA/EGA calls (memory is hazy here, but probably CGA) and made my own :) I was lucky enough to be leant a good C book by a family friend (whoops... Still have it almost 30 years later!!). But I agree with your overall point that it was much harder to self teach back then. On the flip side however is that now there is so much choice that getting started can be a challenge as there are so many routes to choose!
- sambeau 13y agoI was on the Amiga at that point and even if there was a free compiler it was never on the shareware disk it was supposed to be on and there was usually a bit missing. I got a copy of Turbo-C (with a book, maybe?) and programmed (on a PC) at work after hours. I, too, learnt assembly mostly because there were a few good free assemblers available.
- ikura 13y agoYeah those shareware disks were such a scam... So much promised and so little worked... And so many copies of PKUNZIP!