After hours thumbing through (the late lamented) Personal Computer World magazine, research proved that the clear choice, at under half the price, was the Ohio Scientific Superboard 2.
The Superboard was the PET's country cousin. It didn't have a futuristic monitor. It didn't even have a case. The name said it all. All you got was a printed circuit board. This was technology in the raw!
What it did
have was a proper QWERTY keyboard, a built in Basic interpreter, and 4K of memory. In case you are wondering, you'd be pushed these days to find a toothbrush with a memory smaller than 4K. But this was 1982, and 4K was not something to scoff at.
Soon, my Superboard was plugged in and linked up to my black and white television and the little blinking underscore was inviting me to type.
I didn't know how to program, but my hobbyist magazine came to the rescue. As well as covering hardware, PCW featured complete example programs. I suspect my first program was something along the lines of:
10 PRINT "Hello, World!"
20 END
RUN
My TV screen blazed with the words "Hello, World!"
I had taken the first step on the road to programming.
This approach was somewhat limited: if I wanted to do my own thing, I would have to learn how to program.
I went to the library and chose the thinnest book I could find on the subject. It was called "Basic Basic", and that little book changed my life. I was absolutely hooked. Now my ambitions were limited only by my own imagination and the Superboard's 4K of memory.
Within a few weeks I had created my own space invaders game.
Oh, if you think that this is something out of the ordinary, you'd be wrong. In the 80's, programming was taught in thousands of schools. And what was the computer of choice? The Commodore PET, of course!
So what's all this got to do with defying the coding skills shortage?
The point I'm making is that learning programming is achievable by everyone.
What baffles me, especially now that computer literacy is considered to be of utmost importance, is why the decline in teaching programming?
If you are competing for places at university, chances are you will be able to use essential applications like word processors and spreadsheets to a high level of competency. It's also likely that you'll be a dab hand at web design or blogging. I suspect, though, unless you are fortunate, you won't have had the opportunity to learn how to program. And that's a real shame; because the significant problem we face when we are unable to code is that we end up slaves to the application interface and are constricted by the imagination of the application designer.
My experience tells me that most activities that require the use of a computer benefit from the ability to understand the principles of coding; such as customising office applications, web design, or even modifying computer games.
The frightening consequences of outsourcing IT expertise are constantly hitting the headlines, at some point the shortage in programming skills will have
to be filled.
The good news is that the principles of good programming only have to be learned once. Once learned, you'll be able to apply this disciplined approach to any other language you turn your hand to.
The other good news is that the internet abounds with free compilers and tutorials, so there's nothing to stop you.
As to what language should you choose to start your adventure into coding, I'd probably go for Basic or FORTRAN but what resources you have to hand will probably be the deciding factor.
So if you want to get an edge on the competition and be first in line to fill that coding gap in the skills market, open up your favourite web browser, download a compiler, and start programming!
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