Commodore 64

My software engineering journey began with a Commodore 64. It was given to my family by someone my mother worked with. I remember going to computer trade shows and Commodore meetup groups with my father. He’d help me load software off of tape, and I’d sit at a small table in the corner of the living room for hours. Every keystroke was a step toward a hopeful output on the screen, creating something that wasn’t there before.

Small Steps My first programs were copied from magazines and books, but I quickly progressed to creating simple text-based games.

Olympic Rings

10 REM OLYMPIC RINGS
20 POKE 53280,1: POKE 53281,1
30 PRINT CHR$(147)

100 CX = 160: CY = 100
120 R = 32
130 S = 70
140 V = 20

200 REM DRAW RINGS
210 X = CX-S: Y = CY-V: C = 6: GOSUB 1000 REM BLUE
220 X = CX: Y = CY-V: C = 0: GOSUB 1000 REM BLACK
230 X = CX+S: Y = CY-V: C = 2: GOSUB 1000 REM RED
240 X = CX-S/2: Y = CY+V: C = 7: GOSUB 1000 REM YELLOW
250 X = CX+S/2: Y = CY+V: C = 5: GOSUB 1000 REM GREEN

900 GOTO 900

1000 REM RING
1020 FOR T = 0 TO 350 STEP 3
1030 XX = X + R*COS(T/57.3)
1040 YY = Y + R*SIN(T/57.3)
1050 POKE 1024+INT(XX/8)+INT(YY/8)*40, 81
1060 POKE 55296+INT(XX/8)+INT(YY/8)*40, C
1070 NEXT T
1080 RETURN

Beyond the C64

The Commodore 64 was a starting point. The Commodore 128 (often used in C64 mode), and then the Amiga (500, 1200, 3000, and 4000) followed. The Amiga 1200 was my primary machine until 2000. Its graphics, multitasking, and multimedia capabilities were a revelation. The Amiga provided a deeper understanding of computer systems.

Hardware

Upgrading these machines with accelerators and RAM provided invaluable hands-on hardware experience.

Software Engineering

Those early Commodore days instilled a love for problem-solving, a curiosity about how systems work, and a desire to build. The C64 and Amiga weren’t just computers; they were the foundation for my career in software engineering.

Today, I use a MacBook Pro with Visual Studio Code. Developing software now feels like what I dreamed about back then.