terminology and history (was Re: Re updating BIOS)

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Sun, 16 Feb 2020 08:42:23 +0000, Ottavio freebsd-questions wrote:

>1) Define "computer programmer" in 2010 and in the 70/80s. Back then,
>computer programmers were an elite that programmed mostly in low level
>languages. They were a tiny minority in any field of society and they
>probably were also in the ham community, who, at the time, were mostly
>ex-military or analogue RF engineers.

Actually a friend of mine was a radio operator for the Bundeswehr in
the 80th. I was an anarchist who neither opt in the Bundeswehr or even
opt in alternative services. He and I were indeed low level (Assembly
language) programmers. I tested a few higher programming languages that
time, but never felt comfortable with higher languages. I can't comment
on the 70th, but between the middle or ends of the 80th and the
beginning or middle of the 90th, I was a computer programmer myself and
soldering stations were not that seldom part of an averaged household.
"minority" yes, but not that "tiny".