Which Computer Language will you grow up to Speak?

My first computer language book should have been BASIC. That is really the only type of language I was capable of understanding, but for some reason, it was not the first book that came into my possession. Instead, it was a book on Fortran and it intimated the heck out of it.

I got the book through my Uncle, who was friends with a guy who worked in computers and happened to mention my budding interest in the subject. His friend said he had some old books he wasn’t using anymore, and the first and only one he ever gave to my Uncle to give to me was this basic Fortran book.

My Uncle had little to no knowledge of computers, but he would quiz me on what I was learning. I did try to understand, but I found the book dense and difficult to decipher at that tender age. This must have disappointed him since this was the only book I received. A few months later I would get a book on BASIC, and after a few tutorials, I was really cooking.

I found the above illustration in an old magazine. It reminds me of those early days, when even the names of programming languages provided a mystique that made me dream of building and controlling digital universes.