13 Stories

I grew up in New Zealand. I studied graphic design at University and worked briefly as a graphic designer after graduating. I found myself in a cycle of procrastination, guilt, self-doubt, and euphoria. I loved my job a small proportion of the time.

I became interested in web design and discovered that I enjoyed writing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This work was also creative, but I found the emotional ups and downs much less extreme. In recent years my interests have shifted towards programming, specifically functional programming.

(…)

Sanctuary promotes programs composed of simple, pure functions. Such programs are easier to comprehend, test, and maintain – they are also a pleasure to write.

– David Chambers, author of Sanctuary - a JavaScript package that facilitates programming in a functional style, survivejs.com, 2017

We want the software to exist, to solve our problems, to continue to improve, and to be available for our use. Therefore, we commit that we will uphold these four freedoms for all, under all circumstances:

  • The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1).
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
  • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3).

– Adam Jacob, Chef co-founder, and the SFOSC, source

13.1 Thanks

This book would not have been possible without those who encouraged me to explore computers, and then programming.

There was Piotrek who promised to help me with any problems I would encounter with my first computer.

When problems arose, he was there, and when everything was working fine (or I could manage the thing by myself), the sole thought that if I break something he will be there to help, gave me a lot of courage to try new things.

Those things included resizing a cluttered partition, which could result in an unbootable computer - a nightmare for a kid who loves computers, is scared about his personal data getting lost or corrupted, and can barely stand a day without a working PC.