BACKAn essay by Davy, founder at hackages.ai
The Early Days: From C to Java and the Rise of the Software Engineer
Let's take a trip back to the '80s and '90s, when the world of software engineering was a much smaller, more exclusive club.
Universities were teaching languages like C and Pascal, and these were the gateways into programming. You had to get your hands dirty with low-level details, and that built a certain kind of mindset. Then came Java in the early '90s, changing the game and becoming the language that defined a generation of engineers. If you could write Java, you were part of a new wave of developers who were building enterprise software, server-side systems, and serious applications.
This was the era where the term "software engineer" really started to mean something big. It was a period of laying strong foundations, and it was no small feat to break into that world.
The JavaScript Era: How a 'Toy Language' Transformed the Industry
Now let's move into the mid-90s and early 2000s. Enter JavaScript in 1995. At first, it was just this fun little language that let you add a bit of sparkle to a web page, nothing too serious. But then came Gmail, one of the first full-blown single-page applications (SPA) written in JavaScript. It was a revelation.
Suddenly, the industry woke up and said, "Wait, we can build entire applications in the browser?"
It took giants like Yahoo and Hotmail a whole year just to catch up to what Gmail had done. This was the moment when JavaScript went from a toy to a titan. It opened the floodgates for a new generation of developers who started on the front end and eventually found themselves doing things they never imagined.
And then came Node.js in 2009, blowing the doors wide open so these same developers could step into the backend. They realized, "Hey, if I can do this on the front end, I can do it on the server too." And once they started going deeper, they found new languages like Go and Rust that offered even more power and safety. But it all started with that simple entry point.
The Vibe Coding Era: The Next Evolution in the Developer Journey
Now here we are, stepping into what we might call the vibe coding era. AI and natural language tools are making it easier than ever for anyone to jump in and start building. With platforms like GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and tools like Bolt.new or Lovable.dev, people are crafting applications that would have been unthinkable for beginners a decade ago.
It's like opening a new gateway. You've got people who never saw themselves as developers suddenly bringing their ideas to life. They might start with something simple, like automating a task or building a small tool, and then realize they can do so much more.
And just like the generations before them, these new creators will hit those moments where they want to understand more. They'll ask, "How does this really work under the hood?" and that curiosity will lead them deeper into the stack.
They'll move from simply using AI-generated code to learning the principles behind it. They'll explore databases, cloud services, or new programming languages, and they'll keep leveling up. It's a cycle of growth that's repeating on a grander scale.
Conclusion: Embracing the Ever-Evolving Journey
In the end, developers aren't a dying breed at all. They're just evolving, just like they always have. From the early days of C and Pascal to the explosion of JavaScript and now the rise of vibe coding, each technological revolution has brought more people into the fold and opened up new possibilities.
And that's exactly where Hackages.ai fits in. It's a tool designed to help anyone, from brand new vide coder to seasoned engineers, grow their skills and navigate this evolving landscape.
So whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your expertise, embrace the journey. The tools are here, the community is growing, and the future of development is brighter than ever. Let's keep building it together.
