How Anders Hejlsberg learned to code in the 70s

By GitHub

Categories: Product, Tools

Summary

Anders Hejlsberg, the creator of C#, learned to code on an 8-bit micro with just 64KB of memory in the 1970s. His early experience with structured programming and assembly language provided a strong foundation for his future career as a pioneering software engineer.

Key Takeaways

1. Building your own kit computer in the 1970s was a powerful way to learn programming and develop technical skills.
2. Mastering structured programming and assembly language on limited hardware (64KB) teaches valuable coding discipline and problem-solving.
3. Keeping an entire program in your head is a skill that becomes increasingly rare as software complexity grows, but it can provide unique insights.
4. Early access to computers and programming was a significant advantage, even in the 1970s, highlighting the importance of STEM education.
5. Turning a hobby into a career, as Hejlsberg did, demonstrates the value of pursuing your passion and developing deep technical expertise.
6. Hejlsberg's early experience with limited resources shaped his approach to designing efficient and practical programming languages like C#.

Topics

• Hobby-to-Career Transition
• Structured Programming
• Assembly Language
• STEM Education
• Programming Language Design

Transcript Excerpt

My first exposure to computing was probably in high school and I was fortunate enough to go to a high school that offered students access to a computer and this is like we're talking the late '7s here and this was not a common thing and I got very interested in the programming aspect and then I decided uh when you know these 8-bit micros were starting to come out that I wanted to build my own kit computer then I started writing a lot of software for that thing and I turned out to be pretty good ...