Time to get with the program…but which one?

I’m about to embark on a new chapter in my life and do something I should have done a long time ago… that’s right I’m going to attempt to learn to program… I mean REAL programming.  But before I do I thought I’d share with you some of programming experiences to date.

I’ve been ‘in’ IT for a number of years now after being introduced to ‘real’ computers way back in 1989 with a DTP course using a network of Mac Plus’s.  I say ‘real’ computers because everything up until then required that I connected my ‘computer’ to a TV and load up a cassette and wait an age for it to load…Yes I was an Atari 8-bit 800xl user and I loved it.  I would sit for hours typing in basic code from magazines just to get a scrolling ticker tape demo (Come on I’m sure we’ve all done it!).

With the Mac Plus it all changed (albeit in B&W) I was introduced to my first ‘visual’ programming language HyperCard. I won’t go into great detail but HyperCard for me was revolutionary,  It worked using a ‘stack’ based metaphor using ‘cards’ within the ‘stack’ that you could navigate by going forwards and backwards showing each card in turn.  Each card could contain graphics (1 bit), fields,  buttons which allowed you to ‘script’ actions using a language called ‘HyperTalk’. Baring in mind the obvious limitations of the tools on offer you could create quite sophisticated ’stacks’ from games through to basic databases.  I myself created a whole GUI for a youth centre so that users could login and access applications and documents without giving them full control over the computer, and in turn the power to DELETE stuff!

Unfortunately HyperCard as a tool was killed off by Apple in 2004 having not been updated for some time although SuperCard , a direct rival to HyperCard, still exists to the day but again has not been updated for a number of years.  Since then I have tried RealBasic and Revolution but always felt that I was ‘playing’ at programming (sorry to all those RealBasic and Revolution users out there) and longed to get under the bonnet and produce some proper code but as with most things in life commitments and events mean you can’t always do what you want to do.  Now after hearing a talk by Peter Cooper at the recent Think Visibility conference, I have been inspired to do something about it.

So what may you ask am I planning to do… Well in a nut shell I’m going to jump in at the deep end and develop for the iPhone (Hey if a 9 year old can do it so can I!).  Based on the fact that I have no knowledge of C++, Objective C or the iPhone SDK I know I’m setting myself quite a large task,  but with passion, ‘Learn C on the Mac by Dave Mark‘ (the first of many books) and a lot of help from the iPhone community I’m sure I’ll get there… eventually.