age of Python programmers

[Oliver Fromme]

Peter Hansen <peter at engcorp.com> wrote:
 > Bryan wrote:
 > > i'm 37... started programing on a TRS-80 Model I and III.  i also did a 
 > > bit a programming on a VIC-20... brownie points for anyone who can 
 > > remember how many text characters there was in one row... 
 > 
 > 23!  ... freakin' weird little machine that was... :-)

It was 22 characters per row, and 23 rows on the screen.
The little thing didn't even have a graphics mode, though
you could fake it by modifying the pixel definition of the
character set.

I used to have a VIC-20 with a 40 Kbyte (not Mbyte) memory
extension.  Those 40 Kbyte costed 200 DEM at that time;
roughly 100 $US.  I don't dare to calculate the price
factor relative to today's RAM modules ...

Of course, I used the built-in BASIC, and very soon also
used 6502 machine code.  Yes, machine code, no assembly
language, not even a hex monitor.  I wrote the instructions
on paper, then looked up the opcodes in a 6502 CPU table,
then converted the hex/binary numbers back to decimal and
entered them into BASIC "data" statements.  If the CPU
hung when running it, reboot (which took only 2 seconds)
and re-check the paper work ...  Oh joy.

I could go on writing memories for hours, but I'll stop
here because it's completely off-topic already.  :-)

Now, 20 years later, Python is my language of choice.
If it just supported strong typing, it would be perfect.

Best regards
   Oliver

-- 
Oliver Fromme, Konrad-Celtis-Str. 72, 81369 Munich, Germany

``All that we see or seem is just a dream within a dream.''
(E. A. Poe)