Microsoft KB Archive/11977

Programmers At Work PSS ID Number: Q11977 Article last modified on 10-16-1986 PSS database name: PRESS

PROGRAMMERS AT WORK Edited by Susan Lammers Softcover: $14.95 ISBN: 0-914845-70-5 Cloth: $19.95 ISBN: 1-55615-014-8 Pages: 392 Pub. Date: May 20, 1986

MICROSOFT PRESS PUBLISHES: PROGRAMMERS AT WORK Featuring Interviews With 19 of Today’s Most Successful Software Programmers

“The fact that people are getting exposed to computers at such young ages will change the thinking in the field…If you ever talk to a great programmer, you’ll find he knows his tools like an artist know his paintbrushes…If a kid is addicted to a personal computer, I think that’s far better than watching TV…” – Bill Gates, BASIC

“It’s fun sitting at a terminal and letting the code flow…The only time I don’t want to come back is when the code explodes…I also think programming is very much a religious experience for a lot of people.” – Gary Kildall, CP/M

“My job title was computer. Other people have programmed computers, but I have been one…If I had followed my heart instead of advice, dBase would be much closer to perfection today.” – C. Wayne Ratliff, dBase

“If you cannot explain a program to yourself, the chance of the computer getting it right is pretty small…Anybody who can master a telephone can certainly program.” – Bob Frankston, Visicalc

“The development of 1-2-3 was ten months of nothing but eating, sleeping, and working…The rate of innovation is rather slow. There are only a few really new ideas every decade…I don’t like using any tools or programs I didn’t write myself or that I don’t have some control over.” – Jonathan Sachs, Lotus 1-2-3

“I come to work because I enjoy playing with computers…Programming is the ultimate field for someone who likes to tinker.” – Ray Ozzie, Symphony

“The key to the craft of computer science, and I say craft because it certainly isn’t a science yet, is to find rules…From an artistic standpoint, the best software comes from the realm of intuition…Users should be able to forget that there is a program between them and their information.” – Robert Carr, Framework

I didn’t want a computer. I wanted something that worked like an appliance…Have you ever noticed that there are no Maytag user groups? Nobody needs a mutual support group to run a washing machine…Are you mad yet? Haven’t you been mad at computers for years?…&quot; – Jef Raskin, The Macintosh Project

“A computer gives an amazing feeling of control and power to a kid…I expected to go to Apple and learn profound secrets but I quickly found out I knew more about the Apple II than most people there…Then Apple went public toward the end of 1980. All of a sudden, people I was working with were millionaires…More than anything else, what motivates me is that I want as many people as possible to use my programs.” – Andy Hertzfeld, Mac Operating System

“I’m interested in creating images that communicate with people…The Japanese have a slang word, paku paku, they use to describe…the mouth opening and closing while one eats. The name PacMan came from that word.” – Toru Iwatani, Pac Man

PROGRAMMERS AT WORK is a fascinating look into the world of computer programming, featuring 19 in-depth interviews with the men behind some of today’s most successful microcomputer software. The programmers reveal their own unique approaches, philosophical insights, and offer their predictions on the role software will play in the future. In all, PROGRAMMERS AT WORK is both a provocative book, and an insiders’ history of the turbulent microcomputer industry. The approach of all the interviews is to probe the timeless matters of programming and software design. The book seeks to uncover the magic and mystery that goes into developing an operating system such as the Macintosh’s, an enormously popular application like Lotus 1-2-3, or a computer game such as Pac Man. Where did the idea come from? How difficult was it to bring to reality? What does it feel like to develop a major program? Is it an art or a science? A craft or a skill? Can you do it again? PROGRAMMERS AT WORK is the first in a series of Microsoft Press Interviews books. Microsoft Press will support this title with a print advertising campaign. In addition, the book has been chosen as an Alternate Selection by Macmillan’s Small Computer Book Club. Microsoft Press will support this title with a print advertising campaign. In addition, the book has been chosen as an Alternate Selection by Macmillan’s Small Computer Book Club. Microsoft Corporation, based in Redmond, Washington, develops and sells a wide range of software, including: operating systems, languages, application programs, as well as hardware products, and books, for the microcomputer marketplace.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1986.