Fresh Out of Secondary School

It all started way back in 1993. I was fresh out of secondary school and had just started college. Back then, everything was new. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the events that were about to unfold during that academic year would change the course of my life.

My mum had convinced me to take the following courses:

  • A-level Mathematics
  • A-level Physics
  • AS-level Electronics
  • AS-level Geology

So, no pressure there! 😜

The Casio fx-7000G

As part of the Maths and Physics courses, we were advised to buy a graphical calculator. The college could supply them cheaply — £80 (subsidised) for a brand-new one — a Casio fx-7000G, to be precise. This device was to become a keystone in my subsequent transformation, but let’s not get ahead of myself.

Drawn to the Older Students

Being just sixteen, I was enjoying my first real taste of freedom. I found myself being drawn to the older students in the year above. They were liberated. I wanted to be liberated too.

A Field Trip to Salford

A few months into the first term, one of the second-year students was on the same train as me. We were both on a field trip to Salford University, organised by the college’s Physics department, along with other students.

His name was Treffor (his actual name). He was tall and slim, with longish, curly, mousy hair. Treffor stood near one of the doors, across from me. He looked at me, smiled and invited me to join him. The conversation immediately flowed.

It was as if we’d known each other for years. In reality, we’d exchange pleasantries between lessons as we passed each other in the corridors, or have a brief chat while fighting with the vending machine in the college canteen, desperately trying to get our hot chocolate fix.

Have You Got a Graphical Calculator?

The train stopped between stations due to some unknown delay. We barely acknowledged it. Then Treffor asked, “Have you got a graphical calculator?”

He reached into his satchel and pulled out a Casio fx-7000G.

“I’ve got one of those!” I said excitedly.

He invited me to retrieve my device from my bag before announcing, “I’m going to show you some cool stuff!”

The Programming Facility

Treffor proceeded to demonstrate some of the device’s lesser-known functions — things that would help me with my college courses. Then he showed me something that changed me forever.

“You know about the programming facility built into these?” he asked.

I had no idea what he was talking about. I just thought the fx-7000G was a glorified scientific calculator with a fancy display. It turned out that it had its very own coding environment, with a stripped-down language that was a bit like QuickBASIC (but wasn’t).

Treffor started demonstrating some of the code he’d written. He had programs that took user input and plotted trajectories, even drawing them on the graphical display. He’d also written programs to solve equations in Maths and Electronics.

Pontoon

But then he showed me Pontoon.

Yes, the card game.

A fully working, interactive game where you played against the fx-7000G — and he’d coded the whole thing himself!

Back in 1993, this was awesome. I was glued to that small dot-matrix screen, taking in everything Treffor said.

A Lecture I Can’t Remember

I couldn’t tell you what that university lecture was about. I’m not even sure what the subject was! My mind was spinning with excitement…

I HAD to learn this!

Coming Next

Treffor had lit the fuse. Now I had to work out how to write a program of my own…

Part Two: Learning to Code the Calculator — coming soon.