After reading Stephen’s post Why I love programming!, I got inspired to write down my own reasons for loving programming.
Firstly, I will quote Stephen here, because he said it very well: “[...] a desire to create! To keep learning! It’s fun, To make the world a better place!”
My mother got a computer when I was 8, and it was an Amstrad CPC 6128. Yes, this dates me a bit (if you google that type of computer, you will find out the computer was bought in the mid 1980s). While you could buy some pieces of software for it, the reason for buying a computer at the time was primarily to program. BASIC was the language and both my mother and myself got into programming.
Being a physics lecturer at University, my mother wrote programs that calculated stuff she actually needed, stuff to do with her research and so on. Being a kid, I was more interested in games.
I still remember my first “hello world!” program, this was the most exciting thing ever! I’ve never been very good with manual things so my attempts at various craft projects at school were never very rewarding, but with programming, I could create something and make it look like it was supposed to!
As a teenager, we upgraded the computer to a PC, a 486 DX if I remember correctly. By then, software was readily available and the computer had turned into a tool to do stuff like typing letters and recording music. I didn’t do much programming then, something I regret now but at the time, it seemed like the focus in the media was on using software rather than programming.
Then I went to Uni and surfed the internet for the first time. A few friends and myself decided to make a website for the music fanzine we were publishing – they gave up quickly but I saw it through, plodding my way through HTML. While HTML can hardly be considered a programming language, coding in raw HTML brought back all the excitement of my childhood and I decided to do more. As the web evolved, I learnt php and dabbled with perl. I then took on CSS and JavaScript.
After years of working as a highways engineer (my degree is civil engineering and I worked as a highways engineer for various local authorities for a few years), I decided I should be doing what I love doing.
I started teaching myself Java and came across Google Android. It seemed like a good way for me to develop as a programmer.
This was a year ago. I kept my day job as a highways engineer until last month, when a relocation to Bournemouth meant that I had to leave my job. I am now working as a self-employed programmer, though I plan to look for a day job as a programmer but at the moment, working for myself fits in with my other commitments (we have just moved into a new home that needs some work done so not having a 9 to 5 is quite useful).
So, why do I love programming?
- I love problem solving, both the process and the rush of adrenalin when the problem has actually been solved.
- I believe programming can help make the world a better place, bringing tools that will help us in many fields, such as medecine, scientific research and so on.
- I love technical challenges.
- I love testing my own logical abilities.
- I love using an app I have made myself.
It’s challenging, fun and useful 
And you, why do you love programming?