David J. Garcia

<nerdiness>Before I was twelve (maybe quite a bit younger), I was writing software in QBASIC on a x486 PC running MS-DOS and Windows 3.1.1.

I wish I could show you some of the cool programs I wrote. I had a wide variety of screen-savers. I created a Paint-style program with various brushes and its own (horribly inefficient) color image filetype. I even wrote an “artificial intelligence” program that could have quasi-convincing text conversations (on limited topics).

Now, I’m pretty sure I never really planned to become a programmer when I grew up. In fact, I went in what some might call an opposite direction: I became a PR guy. And my creations are nothing compared to what my younger siblings have done in Visual Basic.

My programming experience did teach me some ways to think that are valuable even now. And I’m more comfortable with technology in general because I understand on a slightly deep level what’s going on. The concepts it taught were far more important than the actual nuances of the language. I think today’s schoolchildren should learn basic programming, in order to appreciate those same concepts.

Which is why I’m excited by a new Microsoft development project: Small Basic:

Small Basic is a project that’s aimed at bringing “fun” back to programming. By providing a small and easy to learn programming language in a friendly and inviting development environment, Small Basic makes programming a breeze. Ideal for kids and adults alike, Small Basic helps beginners take the first step into the wonderful world of programming.

This is not a pretend/tell-a-story-with-building-blocks version of “programming”–it’s actual code that anyone can write. Once you know the principles, it’s amazingly easy to type a program that will do some pretty powerful things.

It’s still in development, and I haven’t had time to play with it yet, but you can download Small Basic here and learn how to use it here (PDF).

Oh, and congratulations! - You now know more about that part of my life than many of my closest friends (at least the ones who don’t read my blog). And yes, I’m nerdy enough that I’d be happy to talk more about this with anyone else who’s also nerdy enough. </nerdiness>