Reliving the joys of learning to program

A while back I started reading the book “Seven languages in seven weeks: a pragmatic guide to learning programming languages” by Bruce Tate. Coming from a software engineering background I figured this book wouldn’t have much to offer me besides a fun challenge. I was wrong. Through Tate’s work, I learned to fall in love with programming again.

Starting with a section on the Ruby language. I was quickly enthralled and captured by the beauty of the language. It’s so simple, human readable, and most of all: it is just plain good fun to write.

I haven’t felt joys much the same since I first picked up C# and Java in university. That feeling of power, like unlocking a new skill in a video game. The whole world feeling like it was now malleable to my will. Besides falling in love with another person, I have not felt feelings so strong towards something before.

That’s what programming does to you. It enables you to see a whole new world of possibilities. It unlocks that part inside you that makes you really believe you can change the world.

The only limit is time.

I say this because skill level doesn’t matter. That first time I printed “Hello, World!” to the screen was enough to fuel my interests for the next six years.

That’s where I am today. Over six years later my passion for programming has been diminishing, but still strong. Picking up that tome and rediscovering, realising, and remembering what it was that lead me to this successful career has filled me with so much joy.

Reading the aforementioned book was exactly what I needed to fuel my next six years of passion for programming. I think I just had to be in the right frame of mind for it to do so.

So, if you feel yourself falling out of love with programming, learn a new language, or seven, and see where that takes you!

Jack Finlay - Software Engineer in Melbourne, Australia. Exploring the writing process and developing my skills through the occasional article on life as a programmer. Follow me on Twitter for updates.