The Old Old Days -- ca. 1968

As the olds do, I reminisce sometimes. Not often. Let me rewind the memory tapes a back to 1967 or '68.

(What a dumb metaphor for folks who have never used serial storage.)

This isn't -- directly -- about Python. But it may help folks who live at the edge of programming …

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Refusing to Code. Or. How to help the incurious?

The emphasis on code is important. Code defines the behavior of systems -- for the most part Once upon a time, we used clever mechanical designs, or discrete electronic components. The InternetofThings idea exists because high-powered general-purposes CPU's are ubiquitous.

A DevOps mantra is "infrastructure as code". The entire deployment is …

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The Royal Road

Warning: Long Boring Anecdote: Conclusions will be drawn from a single example.

First, this quote:

"All your suggestions were great if I had wanted to do a systematic study and truly understand. The goal is to understand and learn as little as possible to be able to undertake the code …
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The Getting Started Problem

How does one get started developing software? What's the first step?

When you come to this craft -- or sullen art -- without a background except as a user, how do you get started writing code?

It's not easy. Indeed, developing software may be one the hardest things there is. Really, really …

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