Self-Taught Programmers: Early Projects and Triumphs

For many self-taught programmers, their first project is often a milestone marking the beginning of their coding journey. This journey is filled with challenges, learning, and breakthrough moments. In this article, we explore three such stories of self-taught programmers who learned programming on their own and their earliest projects.

Breaking Through with a Simple Plot Tool

While working for a telecommunication company, a self-taught programmer noticed that analyzing call records could be done more efficiently. He developed a system that plotted the timestamps of the calls received against the time of day. This simple yet ingenious tool revealed patterns in call volumes that were previously unknown. The programmer noted, 'In the mornings, the call volumes peaked at around 500 calls a minute, dropping to nearly nothing during lunchtime. At one o'clock in the afternoon, calls started picking up again but decreased after 5 PM.' Despite this project not being an assigned task, it caught the company's attention. As a result, he was promoted to an associate programmer. He recalled, 'I think I wrote that in Pascal, but it may be C.'

Interrupting the Future of Polish Computing

Another significant project came from a self-taught programmer who developed a small installer in DOS, written in Turbo Pascal. This software added a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) driver for Polish keyboards and characters. It was designed to run automatically, eliminating the need for users to manually configure it themselves. Although this project benefited a small group of Polish migrants in the US, its impact was short-lived.

Programming from a Young Age: Learning Through Games

At a young age, a self-taught programmer began his journey with the book "101 Computer Games" by David Ahl. Over the summer of 1982, he meticulously entered every program from the book, diving deep into the intricacies of computer memory, data storage, and debugging. The first project he attempted was Star Trek, but it was a failure. He then focused on a simpler game, Tic Tac Toe. After overcoming a couple of challenges, he managed to get it working.

A Prank and a Professional Distribution

From a practical joke angle, a self-taught programmer created programs that played pranks on his friends and colleagues. In 1988, he developed a program that made his friend's Sparc Station burst into laughter uncontrollably and another that manipulated the system to make it appear as if a hard drive reformat was happening. His first more substantial project, intended for professional distribution, was a shareware screensaver called 'Graffiti.' It replayed the user's painting exactly as it was done. Although the project had not yet been fully completed, the programmer never took the money he received, which was from an overseas bank that would not cash the check. He said, 'Had that check been cashable, I’d definitely have finished the project that night.'

These stories highlight the passion, ingenuity, and early achievements of self-taught programmers. Their journeys serve as inspiration for aspiring coders everywhere.