Not just another pretty face ...

Hmm ... it is strange. It feels like it was only yesterday that I really started out with computers, but a lot has happened since I got my first computer - a Commodore VIC20. A fun little computer - with 20KB memory ... or rather: 16KB, I believe 4KB was allocated for the OS, but you could overwrite the OS if you wanted. Both before and after I got the VIC20 I had been checking out a lot of the other microcomputers at the time - and I can just mention brands like Spectravideo, ZX Spectrum, BBC, Newbrain, and of course the good old C64 to make old affectionaries eyes start to water.

And of course - the C64 was the next computer I got. Boosting more than 3 times the memory the VIC20 had, and with support for sprites, 16 colours (I do still believe I could use a specific POKE command to call up a 17th colour - which is impossible, since the C64 did not support any more than 16 colours ... but this is a story for another time) - and most amazingly: support for 3 channels polyphonic sound. I have just one chip name for you guys: SID! And if someone immidiatly starts shouting out names like Galway, Hubbard, The Mighty Bogg and Huelsbeck - then you guys know what I am talking about. I could tell many, many stories from those days. And I probably should write a book or make a bunch of blogposts about what happened back in those days ... but then again - who bothers living in the past anyway.

The years passed by - and then I finally got one of the most amazing microcomputers at its time. Yep - we're not talking about any lame Macs here. Nope - we are of course talking about the Amiga 500. While I got started on doing graphics and music on the C64, it was really with the Amiga I started on the path that later would decide a lot of my carriere choices. From then on I started purchasing computers once every year or so.

The next computer I got was a PC, a 386/33, then I got the Amiga 4000/40, then I moved on to one of the first Powermacs - a Powermac 3500 (I'm not sure about this number ... its very embarassing), before moving on to a bigger model - the Powermac 850. Then I got 2 new PC's. First a pentium, then a 486, then my first laptop - a Toshiba, then a hightower PC - another pentium, then my second laptop - a DELL (I could say a lot of nasty things about DELL and their total and complete lack of logistics - but this is another tale for another day), then I got a ShuttlePC, then another hightower PC, and then my third laptop - which is actually the Acer Aspire 5920G I am typing at right now. I have probably forgotten a couple of computers along the way. I do for instance have another Amiga 500 - expanded with 4 MB memory on a shelf, but this was not really anything I ever aquired - I was asked to take care of it, and it has just remained here. Just as the case is with an old Compaq ... and hmm - oh yes, another PC I once purchased. Of course - I havent even brought up the topic of all the printers, harddisks (IDE, SCSI and other kinds) I still have stored along with huge amounts of diskettes and CDs. But it should at least give you an idea of just how hopeless a case I really am.

Anyway - along the way I started picking up skills within both graphical design, music and programming. I did actually work with cell based animation a couple of years, primeraly used for presentations that ran off the presentation program Scala, but later ventured into the field of multimedia. Little did I know that the webproject I received back in 1994 just would be the first of many similar projects I would get involved in later on.

After becoming a systemarchitect, I ended up working with more and more webprojects. It was a strange thing really. Up till then I imagined that my work would primeraly be within the field of interactive terminals and CD-roms with mediarich environments. And then I ended up working with webtechnologies that in reality represented a huge step backwards when it came to support for media. The limitations were daunting back then - with more or less nonexistant standards, hopeless implementations of javascript, slow netconnections, and nothing that were close to Flash as we know it today. But things improved steadily - and webtechnologies gives us today access to environments that more than fulfill the expectations I had for what we could expect from multimedia solutions a few years ago.

Which brings us up on the topic of programming. I have been through my share of different environments, programming paradigms and development methodics. Going from Basic to assembler to Turbo Pascal to Delphi to Java to ASP to PHP and with a number of different 3rd generation languages like Openscript, Lingo, Actionscript, and Javascript along the way, I think I have a pretty good grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the different tools that are out there today. I've been through the first strict object oriented languages (someone still remembers SmallTalk?) up to expert systems based on fuzzy logic and I believe I am somewhat able to identify what works for me in my projects.

Okay - ladies and gentlemen: get prepared for the shocking truth: I consider the combination of PHP, Javascript, XHTML and Flash for being a very good solution for most projects - even on projects with great serverload, need for security (protection against SQL-inserts, memory leaks etc.) and scalability. Of course - there will always be situations where for instance Java or ASP2.0 would be better - especially when we are on the topic of mobilephones, but let us take one thing at a time.

I am fully aware that there are a number of hardcore developers out there that are very strongly opposed to using the above mentioned tools for anything serious, but I beg to differ. The trouble with my preferred tools is that they are pretty easy for beginners to get started with. And beginners have very seldom the skills necessary for creating strong, well-formulated software solutions. The treshold for getting started with a language like Java is much higher, and you will therefore not find many newcomers using that language. Another thing is because Java is purely objectoriented, it may be a bit difficult for untrained users to understand the difference between the different layers in the object model - what role the controllers plays etc.

But this does not mean that for instance Java puts less strain on the server, or that Java is more stabile than - say - PHP. Nor that Java is more secure. Nor that it is more scalable or have any other virtues that makes it better - or worse - than other tools. It all boils down to two things: it is about choosing the right tool for the right job - and having good development habits. Structured code ensures scalability, and welldocumented code ensures it is maintainable for years to come.

So - back to my original topic - and which is my pet peevee: with the power of servers today, memory consumation and CPU strain hardly matters as much any more. It is more important to be able to prototype solutions and get them up and running so ROI gets as good as possible. A developer doesn't really have all that much time to tinker with code for weeks at a time any more. So you need to find something you know works for you and that is well supported on all levels. I prefer my tools to support strong typed variables and full support for different object models. And both PHP - and Javascript are good examples of tools that are tailormade for rapid prototyping and that have gone mainstream a long time ago.

Okay - I'll end up with just a few comments regarding Javascript. This is a surpringly powerful tool. We are talking about a virtual machine that supports very strong and powwerful commands. I believe Javascript probably must be one of the most misunderstood languages we have today - and I challenge all "true" developers that are dissing this 3rd generation realtime parsed langauge - to check out what Javascript *really* supports. I suspect you will be very surprised to learn that it is probably one of the strongest object oriented languages of its kind we have out there.

Speaking of object oriented languages. I must admit that I was once also bitten by the hype that says that all things object oriented are the only program paradigms that counts. Well, as I have gotten older I have started to disagree somewhat. For some kind of operations I believe that ordinary procedural languages are still good as gold. Speaking from experience I would claim that when you are using an object oriented approach, you end up creating a number of different libraries which are linked in when compiled and may create a rather bloated code. I am aware that what happens when the program is executed is that everything is read into memory, then paged - and only the parts of the program that is needed at every time is accessed either on the disk or in the memory. But it does not change the fact that I find object oriented code harder to read through since it may depend on code that is spread through a number of different libraries. And often with pretty poorly documented code. Of course - this is not a probably with the paradigm themself - it boils down to the developers themself. But I have my preferences here, and then others may go for what they find works for them.

Enough of that nerdy talk. Hmm - of other insignificant oddities I have, I should probably mention my fondness for japanese cartoons - better known as anime. Of course, I do not really have much time to spend watching these things - but I have been amazed by the depths and twists some of these stories are using and the strong emotions they may be able to convey. Of course - there are a bunch of genres within anime - and I am of course more interested in stories targeted at a more mature audience. But you will find something for everyone within the big bag better known as anime.

And of course - B-movies. Especially really bad sci-fi movies from the 50ies and 60ies. We are talking about MST3000 worthy material here. Nothing beats these old classics where the monsters have rubber suits, the girls wear spandex boots, and the flying saucers and hanging from clearly visible ropes. Well, or perhaps more recent movies like Repo man, Cherry 2000 and Tank Girl to mention some never cult classics. Fun stuff all around - but unfortunately pretty timeconsuming, so I just have these things as interest, but have little or no time to actually spend on persuing these interests. Oh well, life is at least never boring.

A lot more could of course be said about these topics, but I am going to keep it short here now. It would probably be of less interest to hear me ramble about the joys of going for long walks in the nature or doing longtime exposures or designing graphical userinterfaces or cooking - just to mention a few other things. These are probably considered being too normal - and being normal is baaaaaad. Or that is at least what I have been told.