Knopf
We can receive an affiliation commission for everything you buy from this article.
In the new autobiography of Bill Gates, “Source code: my beginnings” (Published on February 4 by KNOPF), the pioneer of the computer and the philanthropist writes from his years of training, and the experiences which led him to the world of computers then burgering.
Read an extract below on how, in the eighth year, he discovered Basic, who presented it to the elegance and demanding requirements of the IT code; And Do not miss the interview with Lee Cowan with Bill Gates “CBS Sunday morning” February 2!
“Source code: my beginnings” by Bill Gates
Do you prefer to listen? Audible has a free 30 -day trial available at the moment.
All these years later, he always surprises me to see how disparate things had to come together so that I could use a computer in 1968. Beyond the jump of faith made by teachers and parents who have us Obtained the terminal, and beyond the luck that people now share computers on telephone lines, finishing this miracle was the decision of two Dartmouth teachers to create the basic programming language. Four years at the time, the “versatile symbolic instruction code of beginners” was done to help students in the non -technical fields to start with computer programming. One of his attributes was that he used orders, such as Goto, if, then and execute, who made sense to humans. Basic is what hung me and made me want to come back.
On the wall next to the terminal, a teacher had stuck half a feature of paper with the most rudimentary directions to start, including how to connect and what keys to press when something went wrong. He also disturbed that the entry “prints” without a declaration number can lead to a loss of control. »»
The page included an example of a written program by base indicating to the computer how to add two numbers.
Ready . . .
10 Entrance x, y
20 or a = x + y
30 Print A
40 end
It was probably the first computer program that I never hit. The elegance of the four lines of code called in my sense of order. His instant response was like an electricity shock. From there, I wrote the first computer program to me-a tick-toe game game. To make it work forced me to think for the first time for the most basic elements of the rules of the game. Immediately, I learned that the computer was a stupid machine that I had to say at each stage it should take, in all the circumstances that could occur. When I wrote imprecise code, the computer could not deduce or guess what I meant. I made a lot of mistakes trying to understand this. When I finally understood correctly, the feeling of accomplishment exceeded the result. A tick-to-toe game is so simple, even children learn it quickly. But it was like a triumph for the machine to do it.
I loved the way the computer forced me to think. It was completely ruthless in the face of mental negligence. He demanded that I was logically consistent and paying attention to details. A bent or a lost semicolon and the thing would not work.
It reminded me of resolving mathematical evidence. Programming does not require mathematical skills (beyond the bases), but it requires the same type of rigorous and logical approach to problem solving, breaking up problems with smaller and more manageable parts. And as solving an algebra problem, there are different ways to write programs that work – some more elegant and effective than others – but infinite means of making a failed program. And mine has failed all the time. It is only after having persevered, forcing myself to think intelligently, I could coax a program to perform perfectly.
Another early program that I wrote was a Lunar Landder game. The problem: safely touching a lunar landing on the moon without crashing and before lacking fuel. From that, I had to break the problem into steps. I had to resolve the way the game player moved the landing on the left and right, from top to bottom, how much he had fuel, at what speed he burned. I also had to describe what it looked like and how to display the ship in dashes and asterisks on the screen.
Shortly after Lakeside installed the terminal, Mr. Stocklin wrote an infinite loop, which means that she worked continuously before someone stops it, but not before It does not burn more dollars from our precious sale budget for sale. I’m not sure he has yet shown his face in this room. It was a lesson for all of us.
To avoid accumulating costs, I will write as much of my program as possible with a pen and paper before bed in my place. With the offline machine to avoid time loads, I would type it and the program would print on a roll of ribbon of paper wide from the ladder. It was the first step. Then, I would compose the phone – the rotary dial on the side of the terminal – and I was waiting for the modem buzz to confirm that I had connected. I would then feed my band, and Chug-chug-chugThe program entered into ten characters praised per second. Finally, I would type “run”. As a general rule, there were a herd of other children waiting for the computer, so if my program did not work, I should disconnect and find a place to sort the place where I turned out, then wait for my Tour to come back to the teletype.
This feedback loop was addictive. The feeling of improving more and more was a rush. The writing programs have gone from a combination of skills that have been easy for me: logical thought and ability to concentrate intensely for long periods. The programming also fueled the persistent need I had to prove myself.
The atmosphere of this computer room was a healthy mixture of cooperation and competition. We were a pit of teenage boys who all tried to surpass themselves. A gap of only two or three years is not much in the big scheme of things, but it seems a lot when you are thirteen, small for your age, with a little indeterminate until your growth. Kent and I were among the youngest children in this group. The supposed superiority of some of the older children has disturbed us.
I was a student of eighth year confident in my brain power and I convinced that my intensity meant that I could do whatever the older guys could do, if not better, at least faster. I was determined not to let anyone pay me. Kent also hated being set up by someone else. Maybe even more than me.
A second year student by the name of Paul Allen immediately picked it up, and he exploited it beautifully. “Bill, you think you are so intelligent, you understand this thing.” These are some of the first words that were said to me by the person I would spend in Cofound Microsoft with years later.
Extract from “Source code: my beginnings” by Bill Gates. Copyright © 2025 by Bill Gates. Extract with permission from Alfred A. Knopf, a Penguin Random House LLC division. All rights reserved. No part of this extract can be reproduced or reprinted without written authorization from the publisher.
Get the book here:
“Source code: my beginnings” by Bill Gates
Buy locally Libshop.org
For more information: