Learning BASIC Like It's 1983
I cannot agree more. I started when a computer did not have an OS, let alone 1.000 applications.<p>You got dropped right into the interpreter. There was not already a GB of OS loaded that you had a hard time to learn. All the code that was there was what you wrote (copied) yourself.<p>The processor &amp; interpreter was about as fast as you could think, so it was easy to follow and step though (mentally). Reversing to assembly was the logical next step and since the programs where small, it was easy to learn &amp; memorize.<p>After years of coding yourself, you&#x27;d stumble on the first OS, which consisted of the most rudimentary libraries that one could basically read &amp; remember.<p>Years later still, the first rudimentary networking picked up. Slow and not business critical so again easy to experiment with. By the time I connected the first commercial network to &quot;the internet&quot; downtime of email for less than 24 hours was not even noticed.<p>I do not envy the kids who nowadays stand 0 change to ever learn the complete stack of code running on any modern device. From what I see, they all are &quot;stuck&quot; on top of a GUI with only the slightest idea of what happens between their mouse and the actual hardware (and even that is often not hardware anymore).