If by ‘computer’ you don’t mean programmable calculator, then that would have to be a CDC 6400. But my first exposure to programming was an Olivetti something-or-other in 7th grade. I had no idea what I was doing, but it sure beat taking tests.

The first thing I programmed sentiently was a friend’s dad’s HP-55 a couple of years later. That got me hooked on programming. I promptly joined the HP-65 Users Group without letting on about my age and without owning a HP-65 – I just ran the code in my head. After months of dropping hints, my father bought me my very own HP-25, and my hacking days began in earnest.

My first ‘high-level language’ (as opposed to machine language) would have to be Fortran, circa 1979. But I wrote countless thousands of lines of code for HP and Wang calculators before that.

Sheesh, I dunno; I’ve never taken inventory. But I guess now’s as good a time as any.

In order of increasing use, I’ve coded in SNOBOL4, Smalltalk, APL, Ada, LISP, Basic, Pascal, Java, Fortran, C, Modula-2 and C++. I’m probably leaving out some, and I’m definitely leaving out assembler and programmable calculator code. I’m fluent in all but the first five.

My last significant piece of code was part of a system for visualising the execution of Java programs (www.research.ibm.com/jinsight).

That was almost three years ago, I’m sorry to say. Since then I’ve built only toys and counter examples.

Probably Unidraw, a drawing editor framework I did as part of my Ph.D. I burned more midnight oil on that than anything else.

I hasten to add that very few projects have been fundamentally difficult, as in mind-bending algorithms or concepts. The difficulties have been more operational – configuration control, maintenance, bug fixing, backward/forward compatibility, people management. It’s the difference between accidental and essential complexity that Brooks talks about.

Made, mostly. Some people are better wired for software development, but I believe anyone can do it with enough training. Yet the people who do it best are those who fall in love with it, just like anything else: their love impels them long after most people sputter and poop out. That sets them apart largely independent of their intelligence.

Managerial ignorance and apathy. It’s hard to come by managers who have a passion for people and technology. Too many have lost touch with either or both. You can’t have great software without great management, even if it’s largely spiritual as with Torvalds and Jobs.

Keep everything in perspective. Don’t sacrifice your family on the altar of career. Work as much as possible, but not more so. (That is, 40 hours a week should be plenty if you don’t waste time.)

The Design Patterns book.

Talking my wife into marrying me, and the children we’ve since been blessed with: Matthew, Helen, Mark and the new arrival slated for September.

Probably designing antennas. My training is in electrical engineering. In fact, software was always something I did for fun. I didn’t switch to computer science until the Ph.D. level, and even there my degree is officially in EE. How many disciplines let you get away with that?

My high school English teacher would disapprove of that sentence, but I think the answer is ‘yes’. My graduate research was open source before open source was cool (the mid ’80s), and so of course I’m a big proponent. There’s a place for each of the others, too.

I don’t get involved.

The Bible, droll as that may seem to those who’ve never studied it.

It’s tough to pick a number-two – there are so many. I must have read Kidder’s The Soul of a New Machine a hundred times as I wrote my dissertation. It’s a story of a Herculean effort I could commiserate with, and still do now and then.

Another tough one. I’ve probably seen It’s a Wonderful Life more times than any other, yet I would hesitate to say it’s my favourite. But the title certainly fits my experience. For sheer coolness, 2001 is tough to beat.

I probably visit news.com more than any other. Amazon is a close second. And as a Chrysler fan from way back (it hasn’t always been easy), I follow http://www.carandtrucknews.com/ pretty closely.

A stubby antenna for my StarTAC. Hint: Don’t waste your money.

Both, although as I’ve confessed it’s been too long since I built a sizeable example of either.

Heck no. Like 99% of computer professionals, I have copies on my bookshelf but rarely look to them for technical insights. They’re too steeped in the ’70s to be useful to me on that level. But they have been a great source of writing inspiration. Their breadth and depth and soothing prose are just awe-inspiring. I want to be like Knuth when I grow up.

If you find Design Patterns daunting, check out Pattern Hatching and ignore what I say on page 1.