I started programming when I was 12 on a DEC PDP-11. Even though I programmed and did other work with computers all the way through college and won science fair awards for programming projects (including one using natural language parsing to solve a class of logic problem), I never consider it as more than a hobby. I graduated in Linguistics, then took my first computer classes and realized it could be a career.
Early in my career as a developer, I worked in 3D simulation of manufacturing robots. The product implemented real and generic robotic programming languages in its environment. With my Linguistics background and seeming to fix bugs in the language interpreters well, I quickly became the “compiler guy” despite never having taken a compiler course. I made up for that with some intensive self-study and have gravitated toward DSL solutions ever since. Most recently, I created the DSL for recording and executing tests for a “codeless” web application testing platform.
I’m now a software consultant at Test Double. I’m glad to be part of this community.