riyanluqmanAug 11, 2024
nixCraft 🐧
“Most programmers do programming not because they expect to get paid or get adulation by the public, but because it is fun to program.” — Linus Torvalds
Aug 11, 2024 at 3:35pmWeb
Show threadCassandrichAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft 🤮

Most programmers who are doing it without getting paid are doing it because "if not us, then who". Because the alternative is having the processes that govern our lives dictated by people hostile to our interests. Not became it's "fun".

Sometimes it's fun too, but often not.

The most fun part is the liberatory result, getting the computer to do what you wanted, not what some asshole wanted.

Show threadFreevoltAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft idk. It's like saying people do construction work because hammering is fun; sure, it's fun. Does that mean people do it because of it?

Maybe it was said like 30 years ago. Idk.

Show threadRichard BairwellAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft For me, it's more like revenge "You made me suffer with your programs, let's see what you make of this!"
Show threadMikael Lundin 🍀🥦♻️Aug 11, 2024
@nixCraft I might have agreed with this 20 years ago but ”work” managed to suck all fun out of this hobby.
Show threadWilhelmAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft it's fun until everyone with an agile/scrum/whatever certification comes in to tell you to do things that are either useless or technically unfeasible. And it has to be bug free and ready to release tomorrow
Show threadmikeTesteLinuxAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft He can say that, he's rich and famous because of his programming skill. Majority of people are doit it to bring food on the table and pay the rent rent.

Such an asshole that guy.

Show threadLinky~Aug 11, 2024
@nixCraft I made a program to solve my own problem :)
Show threadErnest LeonardAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft you know that you are on to something there,it's the little frontend challenges that keep me coming back.thankyou .
Show threadJonathan M.Aug 11, 2024
@nixCraft that describes engineers, not programmers.
Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@hstone32 @nixCraft I program because it’s fun and I know many others who program because it’s fun.

It’s not black and white.

Show threadAlgoCompSynth by znmeb 🇺🇦Aug 11, 2024

@nixCraft I don't know what fraction of programmers do it because it is fun, but it certainly has been true for me since day one. And I suspect it's true for the really good ones.

I'm retired and I still do some programming every day.

Show threadPaul.Aug 11, 2024
@AlgoCompSynth I can only agree. Nothing is as fun and gratifying as programming, making something out of nothing and making it work.

@nixCraft
Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@paul @AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft me too.

There have been times where it was not fun but that was not because programming is not fun but rather because I was in a bad way at the time.

But I have always returned to it. I don’t see that changing.

I am sure some people do it for other reasons but I think they are missing the point made here. But who knows. Maybe they tried it and didn’t like it. It’s not for everyone.

Show threadAlgoCompSynth by znmeb 🇺🇦Aug 11, 2024

@xexyl @paul @nixCraft I was 19, a senior in college and not quite sure what I wanted to do. My degree was in math but I didn't want to go on to grad school and I didn't want to teach.

I took an assembly language programming course and by the first project I knew that was what I wanted to do! It just came naturally to me and I was good at it - better than anything else I ever tried.

Show threadAlgoCompSynth by znmeb 🇺🇦Aug 11, 2024
@xexyl @paul @nixCraft I ended up doing about half assembly and half Fortran until my last day job, where it was Awk, Perl and R. For hobby projects I learned Lisp, Forth and Ruby, but macro-assembly is still what I love the best.
Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@AlgoCompSynth @paul @nixCraft I loved asm. In school I was taking a C++ course but on my free time I was doing low level asm (like direct I/O). The course was boring me to tears. I have always loved C though but I am self taught. If you have what it takes you don’t need to be taught it.

But for me it is a hobby. I suspect it would be different for me if it was a job. Fortunately I have the choice.

Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@AlgoCompSynth @paul @nixCraft I taught myself asm too. Never had to use FORTRAN and I am thankful for that.

I am perhaps younger than you but not sure. I am 42. Well I must go. Good day! Thanks for the dialogue!

Show threadPaul.Aug 11, 2024
@xexyl @AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft I started off with assembly too, and moved into COBOL. I don't know how many miles of COBOL I've written and still do. It's so powerful and reliable. Did RPG too, Fortran, APL, then C / C++ and Python. Never did much in Perl, but Forth is neat.
Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024
@paul @AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft when I see RPG I immediately think of role-playing games. If it’s a language I have heard of it is not coming to my mind.
Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@paul @AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft I have heavily modified a scripting language in the MUD I am part of. Most of it was heavily modified if not entirely rewritten.

We have things there that I found out years later that World of Warcraft has. That MUD gave me so much joy and friends and my experience there is how I first got really into C. That was over two decades ago now. Before that I liked it a lot but wasn’t using it as much.

Show threadCody Boone FergusonAug 11, 2024

@paul @AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft in those days I used SunOS/Solaris and FreeBSD but I changed the BSD box to Linux because its libc is so vastly superior. We had to put a lot of conditionals and hacks just to get it to work okay or even compile. One of the things I am most proud of there is the linked list and pointer validity tracking system. That solved a huge problem.

But nowadays most of my programming is related to the IOCCC. Have to go now!

Show threadPaul.Aug 12, 2024
@xexyl RPG is an IBM specific language. Report Program Generator. It ran/runs on IBM S/3 S/34 S/36 and AS/400.

@AlgoCompSynth @nixCraft
Show threadPaul.Aug 11, 2024
@xexyl Of course. When life gets in the way the wrong way, nothing is fun.

It's great meeting 'real programmers' here. People with code on the walls of their veins and arteries. I couldn't imagine life without coding, and as @AlgoCompSynth already said, I will code for fun when I'm retired.

@nixCraft
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPEAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft I'm not "most" then - I've actually had things like mortgages to pay and children to feed.

And yes, it was nice to see my products in the windows of high street shops (back in the day when that's how consumer software was sold).

Show threadSerge from BabkaAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft

This has some truth to it, but I've seen this extended to only hiring programmers who program for fun, and this is where that statement can be problematic in that it ignores issues of privilege. It's privilege that allows someone to have the access to knowledge, equipment and time to program for fun.

Show threadRalph058 (S/he/it) AF4EZAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft
He could be right for some people. That is one of the reasons I worked full time until I was 80. I enjoyed the hell out of programming and exploiting the full set of knowledge required for optical engineering.
It was the kind of stuff I do for fun...only I was getting paid for it and not paying for it.
Show threadJamie KnightAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft it used to be fun. Kinda sick of it these days, churning out the same micro service with a slightly different name, month after month.
Show threadAlex Celeste, Princess Consort of BurnoutAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft i do programming because i don't have a second commercially viable skill
Show threadJorkin MahJongusAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft hey, so this is actually crazy
Show threadBig Kumera EnergyAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft spoken like someone who has both ;)
Show threadIvanAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft many people in the comments are shitting on linus for this quote because they chose programming not thinking that they wouldn't be replaced for indians or AI, but he has a little reason with that...i don't work in programming, but i like it to program sometimes, it's fun
Show threadGrovewestAug 11, 2024
@nixCraft Been a programmer for 40 years. To do it professionally and get good results you have to defer gratification and do some tedious decidedly unpleasant tasks. Many programmers just do the fun stuff which is why so many projects end in disaster.
Show threadSpaceLifeFormAug 11, 2024

@nixCraft

Plus, there is an itch to scratch and they can code up the back scratcher.

Show threadJoyOfLivingAug 12, 2024
@nixCraft No, No. I expect to get paid too.
Show threaddeltaraysAug 12, 2024
@nixCraft I'd agree, but then again, I'm a uni student who wouldn't get paid for her code either way
Show threadChristian HenkelAug 13, 2024
@nixCraft he has a point. It is something very satisfying. Even though work can get in the way sometimes.