About
The Software Developer is a blog about computer programming.
My goal is to pass on some of the experience I have gained as a programmer and to share some of my views on programming and computers in general.
My name is Chris Boss and my business is called the Computer Workshop. The primary software product of the Computer Workshop is called EZGUI which is a GUI engine and Visual Designer for use with the PowerBasic compiler. EZGUI will soon be in its fifth generation sometime early in 2011 (EZGUI 5.0 Pro) and is the product of years of development.
My first exposure to programming was in 1975 (Basic on a teletype terminal linked to a college mainframe). It was not until the 1980’s that I started doing a lot of programming on home computers. My first computer was a TI-99 and later I got an Atari 400 and Commodore 64. I opened a small office downtown and started teaching local people how to program a home computer using Basic. I landed some custom programming work with a local factory writing software for their quality control department. I then started writing custom software for a variety of local (and some not so local) businesses. My first work was with GWBasic on CPM computers, then QuickBasic on IBM compatible computers. I learned some assembler for the IBM as well. I wrote software for small mom and pop businesses (video rental stores, auto repair shops, etc.). I also wrote software for a local Sheriff’s department, a Lumber supply store and a custom machine shop. I wrote an application for an engineer who did custom work for Dupont for their PBX systems (telephone) to track all the patch cords in the system. The engineer was in Puerto Rico at the time and I was in Virginia and we connected two computers via the phone and I sent updates via the computer and this was long before the internet. I wrote my own compiler (using the Abacus Basic compiler) for the Commodore 64 so I could write a family friendly video game. I then sold the game to the Compute Gazette magazine which ended up in a 1987 issue. I actually made about $1500 off that game. (see a screenshot here: http://www.gamebase64.com/game.php?id=1465&d=30 )
Around the year 1999/2000 I started developing EZGUI 1.0 and sold it online to programmers who use the PowerBasic compiler. I was using the PB DLL 5.0 compiler at the time. The Computer Workshop is still a small business with a “home town” attitude. When you contact tech support you get a real person (me!) and some customers even telephone me and I’ll spend time with them on the phone. The Computer Workshop can be summed up as “a software development company providing quality tools for programmers”.
If you like my Blog, feel free to link to it from your web site and feel free to pass on the URL to your friend and workmates.
The link is: http://cwsof.com/blog/