How old were you when you first started using computers?
I remember taking things apart so I could figure out how they worked early on, but my first actual computer usage had to be during a GW Basic summer course when I was 11. My mother thought I would enjoy it (she was right) and I did get some interesting stares from the 20 and 30 something's in the class who were there for business training.
What was your first machine?
The programming class I took just happened to be held on a TI-99 4A so I begged my parents for one and so it became my first machine. I thought I was so cool saving programs to audio cassette and making it talk using the speech synthesizer!
What was the first real script you wrote?
My first Basic program was an AD&D character generator on the TI-99 4A (go figure) but without a printer it wasn't of much use other than generating random numbers.
My first real script of any substance in a scripting language would have been in Perl for Win32 back during the Y2k scare. I built a series of compiled Perl scripts that scavenged Win9x and WinNT systems for non-compliant software versions that eventually grew into a software delivery and auditing platform called MARV (Millenniax Application Remediation & Verification). It was overly complex, really cool on a geek level the way it self-updated, and not something you'd ever sell to anyone. :)
What scripting languages have you used?
Tinkered with VBScript and Batch of course but my real scripting love was Perl for Win32. You can find all of my old Perl SysAdmin scripts (quickfind - Brad Turner) on Clarence Washington's Win32 Scripting site. Clarence and I used to work together back in the old Paranet days.
My programming background started with GW Basic (TI & PC Jr), Pascal/Turbo Pascal, VB6, VB.NET, and now C# (thanks Jerry). The more I program, the more I realize I am not a real developer - I will always have a scripter mentality for solving basic problems and automating complex tasks; that is why I love ILM so much!
What was your first professional sysadmin gig?
I did a year of PC delivery, assembly, and tech support before my first SA gig back in 1993 working for a small roofing company in Peoria, AZ. After that, another year in tech support and then my first real consulting gig doing desktop migrations from WFW to Win95; I didn't even know what a "helpdesk" was back then until I started there.
If you knew then what you know now, would you have started in IT?
Certainly, I might have even avoided those costly student loans!
If there is one thing you learned along the way that you would tell new sysadmins, what would it be?
Ok, several really:
Growth and hunger are important - especially when you are just starting out, learn everything and touch as much as you can to expose yourself to as much as possible and never stop learning or raising the bar higher; in IT, resting leads to stagnancy and soon obsolescence.
Find a company that you can make work for you - I have a reverse mentality about my employers, they work for me and facilitate my success. If you find yourself waiting for direction then you'll never be happy with what you are given, take control of your destiny and tell others where it is you need to be and if they can't help or aren't willing to adjust then find a new place to work. Good companies value dedicated and motivated employees and motivated employees equate to happy customers and therefore happy company.
"No problems, only solutions" - Flynn, from Tron
What's the most fun you've ever had scripting?
Probably learning Perl (Perl for Dummies and Learning Perl aka the Llama book) to solve a real world problem. I can't learn any new language unless I have a real world problem to solve yet; which is why I haven't picked up PowerShell yet. I recall many 18 hour days of work, and then staying late (when no one else was around) to experiment with new functions to see what sort of data I could uncover on remote systems.
Who am I calling out?
Shut Up, Laura - Laura's Rants and Raves - Scripting / SysAdmin meme
Posts
2 comments:
Glad to keep being reminded my Learning Perl has made as much impact as it has.
Thanks indeed Randal - your style of writing in Learning Perl and the O'Reilly style in general influenced my writing and learning heavily.
Hopefully my ILM chapter in the 3rd Edition AD Cookbook will read as easily as yours did!
Thanks for your dedication to the community.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment