programming - early starters

Something that has always annoyed me is how some people believe they're the best programmers in the world and everyone else sucks since they have been programming in C since they were 9 or some other shit like that. Some of us are not as fortunate to have the resources and people around us to set us up with stuff like that to learn from such a young age.

I've been programming since I was about 15, starting out in Java because that's what my school offered. And even that is better than a lot of other people get, since I had both an Honors and AP Comp Sci, and the teacher was great with a good curriculum so our whole class ended up getting 5's (i think there was just one 4). The class was in Java, sure, but it was a good introduction to programming, and because of it I'm getting a lot more out of my C courses now in College.

Even still, I've met some people who have been programming since they were 9 or 13 or whatever, in C. It's like "I wrote the ANSI C compiler when I was 9 in ANSI C". It pisses me off to no end. I can still write good code in the languages I know, I should still be smart enough to be able to learn programming and be a good programmer in my life. Just because I haven't been programming since I was 2 doesn't mean I'm screwed.

The problem is, I still tend to measure myself against these people and I feel like I'm playing catch-up all the time, and it makes me worry/stressed. Any thoughts on how to deal with this kind of crap?

>>45
You're doing it completely wrong. That's your problem. The last thing a programmer should do is take his language seriously (and you sound like you're doing that), because whatever language you're using, it's stupid. Some are less stupid than others, but the minute you assume that some feature of your language is more than an essentially arbitrary design decision, you're entering a world of hurt. This is especially true for e.g. Sepples, but even in well-designed languages WTFs abound.

You can laugh about it, or you can cry about it. It's up to you (you could also choose to develop an irrational emotional attachment to some language and pretend it's good. I advise against this). I'm going to laugh. You need to separate programming, which you presumably enjoy, from programming languages, which are fit only to be laughed at.

Programming languages (and hardware) are toys for you to play with, and nothing more. Programming today is like trying to build a car with Tinker Toys. Completely dismal if you think you're doing it in the best way and somehow you're just too dumb to make it easy. But a lot of fun if you realize you're taking totally inadequate materials and playing a hilarious game of "How good can I make these sticks look?" "What's the craziest thing I can do with totally inadequate materials?" Google for "rat bike". That's what you're doing.

Once you realize this you've got a leg up on all the SERIOUS BUSINESS faggots and on those who don't really enjoy programming. They may like it, and they may do it in their spare time. But unless they cackle with glee when they see something really neat, they don't enjoy programming. They just enjoy writing code, which is entirely different. Writing code is making something that works. It's about action. Programming is making it like it should be, staring in wonder at what thou hast wrought, then giggling at all the stupid things you did. Maybe you fix them, or maybe you let them be because it works and you've got another project to get to, but you know it's all a big joke. You code because you like to see code, and think you've got a neat idea. You see a program in your head, and you want it to BE.

Once you get in the right head space, nothing is worthless. Do I complain that I'm stuck writing Sepples in a stupid programming 2 class years below my level (lol switching majors)? No! I enjoy the chance to play with a strange (oh, so strange) new toy.

ITT: Satori. Listen the FUCK up, and you can be enlightened too. Also learn as much computing history as you can, read a bunch of EWDs, learn every language you hear about, and so on. Only by studying CS philosophy can you free yourself from the minutiae of computers and (our worst enemy) programming languages.