While preparing some personal background for a potential client, I was reviewing all the programming languages ​​I’ve had experience with. I list the languages ​​I have the most experience with on my resume. However, it occurred to me that if I had to list all the languages ​​I’ve worked with, then the client would be overwhelmed with the resume and just write me off as a knucklehead or crackpot. But as I reflected on all these different environments, I realized how much fun I’ve had being involved in the software development industry, and that a lot of that fun has to do with the learning process. I think this is what makes a good programmer. Not just the ability to write code or build a very creative app, but the ability to learn. Let’s admit it! If a programmer does not have good learning skills then the programmer will have a very short career.

As an exercise, I’m going to list my programming language migration path. I’d also be interested to hear from other programmers what their PLMP is. Here it goes:

*Commodore Vic-20 Basic

* Commodore Vic-20 6502 mount

* Commodore 64 6510 Assembler (lots of late nights with this one!)

*IBM BASIC

* IBM Assembler (My hate relationship with segment addressing).

* dBASE II (Wow! Structured programming.)

* GWBasic

* Turbo Pascal (Thanks Mr. Kahn! Best $49 I’ve ever spent!)

*TurboC

* dBASE III+ (Fantastic, my dBASE II report generator now only takes 2 hours to run instead of 7).

* Clipper/Foxbase

* dBASE IV

* dBASESQL

* Microsoft C (First under DOS, then under Windows 3.1)

* SuperBase (First under Amiga DOS, then for MS Windows)

* SQL Windows (What happened to this? Gupta?)

*Visual Basic 2.0

* Delphi

*VisualBasic 3.0

* Basic Access / Word Basic (Microsoft)

* Newton Script (My first “fancy” language)

*Visual Basic 4.0 and 5.0

*HTML

* FormLogic (for Apple Newton)

* Codewarrior C for Palm OS

*Visual Basic 6.0

* NS BASIC for Palm OS and Windows CE

*File Maker 5

* Satellite Forms

*Visual C++

* REAL Basic for Mac 9.x and OSX

*Java

* Codewarrior C++ for Palm OS

* Appforge for Palm OS and Pocket PC

* vs. #

* FileMaker Pro 7.0

Phew! Not only is it a good exercise to reflect on all the languages ​​I’ve worked with, but it’s a good example of how languages ​​and technology have progressed over the last 25 years. I’m sure I’ll be adding a lot more to this PLMP in the near future as well. And like most programmers I know, there’s a lot more I’d like to learn but don’t have the time.

Another good exercise is to bring this up as a topic of discussion with a group of programmers after a long and enjoyable day at any tech fair. For example, quite some time ago, after a long day at the OS/2 Developers Conference in Seattle (yes, I hung out here with me), I brought up the subject of 6502 assembly language programming. This was over dinner around 7 p.m. The resulting conversation migrated to the hotel lobby where it continued until around 2 am. (Ah, the good old days.) 😉

(If you’re a developer, I’d be interested in seeing your own personal programming language migration path. Email me at timdottrimbleatgmaildotcom.)

Timothy Trimble, The ART of Software Development