I'm just starting my journey into programming and I'm curious about how to learn it as if it were the 90s. What programming languages or tools should I explore?
5 Answers
Maybe check out some old manuals—learning without the internet was a challenge back then, but it could be a fun experience!
If you want to learn programming like we did in the 90s, I recommend getting DOSBox set up on your computer. Then grab Turbo Pascal, Turbo C, and Turbo Assembler to start coding. You could write games using those tools; writing to memory directly is super rewarding, and it gives you a sense of independence in what you create! Good luck trying to get that first pixel on the screen!
I totally agree! I wrote a sprite editor and a game using assembly just for fun, and it was incredibly satisfying—1 byte for 1 pixel is where the magic happens!
Yeah, but don't forget that by the late 90s, GUIs were becoming popular. You could also check out Borland's OWL or Microsoft MFC for Windows development.
You should definitely get a terminal-based text editor and some classic programming books to start. What do you mean by 'like the 90s,' though? Are you looking for coding resources or historical context?
I'm just looking for sources that explain programming back then. There’s a lot I want to learn about that era!
I think reading 'The C Programming Language' by Kernighan and Ritchie is a must. It's a great foundational book for learning C and understanding programming logic!
Don't forget about Delphi; it was super popular back in the day! If you're interested, you can find some resources online to download it.
Where can I find a good download for Delphi?
Any recommendations on which manuals are good for learning C or programming logic?