Michael TharringtonIn this weekly roundup, we highlight what we believe to be the most thoughtful, helpful, and/or interesting discussion over the past week! Though we are strong believers in healthy and respectful debate, we typically try to choose discussions that are positive and avoid those that are overly contentious.
Any folks whose articles we feature here will be rewarded with our Discussion of the Week badge. ✨
Now that y'all understand the flow, let's go! 🏃💨
The Discussion of the Week
We got another one for y'all! This one comes courtesy of new member and first-time poster @priyabapodra who shared the fun icebreaker "Which is your first programming language?"
A classic discussion that's open to everybody! It's not every week that the post with the highest comment count takes the cake, but sure enough, Priya's post racked up more responses than any other in the past 7 days. That's a pretty impressive feat for someone who just joined our community. Goes to show you that despite not having a large following, you can still break through and reach folks here! 🙌
As with most discussions highlighted here, the real fun is in the comments. It's fun to hear how different folks got started, with people cutting their teeth on a wide variety of languages.
Voted right to the top of the list sits @jonrandy with Sinclair BASIC on the ZX Spectrum circa '83.
Classic!
Our very own @ben, got started with Java:
Java!
Ruby must've come into the picture later.
Albeit obscure, @jmfayard touts Ada as their first language:
Ada is the first language I learnt in my engineering school.
Ada is an obscure but good language.
Ada is also an obscure, alas, but incredible woman.
Ada Lovelace is a programmer from the XIX° century
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer, chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine. She was the first to recognise that the machine had applications beyond pure calculation.
And gives due props to Ada Lovelace.
CSS, BASIC, JS, C, and so on... the list winds on for a good long while with folks reminiscing about those languages they first reached for in their early days.
Do you remember what language you started with? Tell us about it in the comments of Priya's post here.
What are your picks?
The DEV Community is particularly special because of the kind, thoughtful, helpful, and entertaining discussions happening between community members. As such, we want to encourage folks to participate in discussions and reward those who are initiating or taking part in conversations across the community. After all, a community is made possible by the people interacting inside it.
There are loads of great discussions floating about in this community. This is just the one we chose to highlight. 🙂
I urge you all to share your favorite discussion of the past week below in the comments. And if you're up for it, give the author an @mention — it'll probably make 'em feel good. 💚
Sinclair BASIC on the ZX Spectrum... 1983