'We saved every byte': the adventure life of one of the first Soviet programmers

Colleagues call him "the god of excel." He himself says that he was always a programmer. And in 70, when I was working for the defense industry and growing lilacs in a garage. And in 80, when he painted pictures and counted on an EC-1845 machine. And in 90, when I was selling cigarettes and firing a pneumatic pistol at robbers. Now Vladimir Ivanovich Prusov is 66 years old, and he is a programmer at the POLYComp holding, writes Dev.by.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

“How he did it in Soviet times, I don't know!”

I studied at a regular mathematics school in Lviv, in the last two years the subject was taught in the most profound way. This is a horror that was. Math - every day for four hours. Our lessons were taught by the honored teacher of Ukraine Boris Grigorievich Orach. Very peculiar teacher, I just did not meet such people anymore.

School desk - per student. On each desk - a remote with buttons. On the teacher’s desk there is something like a control room: a large console with lights. How he did it in Soviet times, I do not know. But I have never seen anything like it anywhere else. He explained the lesson. Then the board was leaving, a screen appeared. Tasks were projected on the screen. The teacher wrote them on a drawing paper, photographed them, and then made slides and showed them as filmstrips. For each task answers were given. There were many of them: you can guess, but we all wanted to solve it ourselves. It was like a competition, everyone tried to do it quickly and correctly.

Time was running out, the board was moving, we were pushing buttons with options for answers. The teacher on the table lights up. Correctly decided - green, wrong - red. He chose the one who incorrectly decided, said: "Explain how you decided." Well, the student starts backing, mekat. Then the one with the green light went out to the board, corrected the error, explained how it was right.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

We had programming with 10 class. In 1968, we went to Lviv University in the computer center. There was a lamp-type machine Ural-4. Awful, so huge, and the speed made you want something better.

But I still wanted to do in architecture. Already gathered, and my father says to me: “And what will you do? Red posters to draw and movie posters? ". To achieve something the artist at that time, it was necessary for the authorities to sell. And I was not so.

Left drawing for the soul. For many years, then still painted. Many of my pictures at friends hang out at home. I know where to hang a picture so that it looks good. A lot depends on how the light falls. In one room it will be beautiful, and in the other - absolutely nonsense. He studied for many years, it is necessary to know.

Now the computer swallowed me. I draw on the tablet. It is easier than to suffer with paints: you plant them, you get the whole apartment. And I'm fond of photoshop. In Photoshop generally good. You can express any thought.

“We saved every byte”

My father is a mathematician. He taught at the university and worked with me constantly. Says: "With math you will not be lost." Yes, and I did it well, it was interesting. I love to go for interest. When someone can not, but I can do. You turn on your brains, look for options - and find one of the best methods.

I entered the institute in Lviv on the Faculty of Mathematics. On the calculator - a completely new specialty. Programming was just beginning. Learned to program on lamp machines Ural-4. Then a Ural-14 transistor type machine appeared. These were cars without a screen, the panel - in the form of light bulbs, based on the binary system worked. Then my father was transferred to Minsk to work, and I moved to the BSU at the Faculty of Applied Mathematics.

There we learned to program on Minsk-2, Minsk-22. Then a computer with an EC-1840 screen appeared. Produced these machines in the USSR, but the idea was stripped from the Americans. They were made on the basis of computers IBM: our "removed" chips layer by layer, made analogues. And then it was impossible to do so, and the Soviet machines began to lag far behind.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

After the institute 9 worked for the defense industry for years. Then he went to the Institute of Applied Physical Problems (named after AN Sevchenko, BSU - ed.), Was there a senior researcher in the department of hydroacoustics. Performed different orders. For example, they made gas meters for the metro under construction: from 1984 to 2000, they carried out vibration-proofing measures and predicted the impact of vibrations and noise on the environment.

In scientific work, programming is just a tool like that. The most important and difficult thing is to understand the physics of the process, the technology. You can work only in a team with physicists and technologists who will tell the essence of the process. If I did not fully understand what people were saying, I went to the library and read. You can not know anything, but if there is a desire to understand - you will understand. You get to the point and immediately: “Yeah. This leads to differential equations of the second kind, of elliptic type, it is best considered as the Bauer method. ” And then you start Matlab, Mathcad - and pure mathematics begins.

Now everything is faster, easier. But at the heart of everything that has been done now is the merits of previous generations. The same Matlab appeared on the basis of the first programming language Fortran.

The machines at the end of the 80 were slow, uncomfortable. I had a matrix: 400 equations, 400 unknowns. It was considered a large machine EC-1845 18 hours. Now these 400 equations count - five minutes. A double integral was considered eight hours on a machine with a clock frequency of 4 MHz. I started in the evening, and woke up in the morning - the result is ready.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

It was necessary to write programs using the minimum number of characters. We saved every byte. We first worked on machines where the maximum number of 37-bit commands is 4096. In 80, on a program that weighed 36 kilobytes, I wrote three Ph.D. and one doctoral. Now icons on the desktop weigh more.

IBM computers were already there, but they were very expensive. And the students studied at home. And specialists were released the day before yesterday. It was necessary to study in the course, if you wanted to become at least some kind of specialist.

Technique is just a technique. I was very tired last year, and made one typo: “c” put Russian instead of English. Then I spent several weeks looking for a mistake. Since then, only with a clear head for the work sit down. You have to make the technique work for yourself, it does not do anything for people. I don’t know how now, but earlier in the first years of university it was impossible to use mathematical packages. Because if you didn’t feel what the integral is, what's the point? You will stupidly use the program, not understanding the point.

Everything must be approached thoroughly. Then there will be no mistakes, there will be no satellites in the oceans to fall.

At this time, a lot of them snapped up, and began to knead me

90 is a very interesting time! What is scary out there? Nothing scared me. On the contrary, I saw a living organism: you can do something, move.

Back in 1974, we were trying to grow lilacs in a garage with friends, so that we could sell them on holidays. And this was a crime in the era of stagnation: private enterprise - illegal enrichment! But we went well. Then they found a house in the village: an ideal place, on the outskirts, no one sees, the conditions for the growth of lilac are good. And there they already took up the whole program. We sat in libraries, read about new greenhouse management methods. And then the owner of the house decided to flee from the USSR to Turkey. Passed the post and happy goes to himself in the open. It turned out that this was a fake post, and the real border was two kilometers away. He was taken. In order not to go to jail, his parents were placed in a psychiatric hospital. And our epic with a large scale of lilac is over.

And in 90, do what you want. I continued to work at the Institute of Applied Physical Problems. A friend had a couple of stalls on Komarovka. Once she called me: “Vova, give me a lift”. Her hired driver was unreliable: she started to drink, then she simply would not work. I had a “Lada”, I gave a lift. Well, he began to carry here and there.

When the money went, people became lazy. This acquaintance says: "Let us deal with documents, and you are engaged in trade." The scheme is simple: the supplier worked on 2%, delivered the goods to the wholesale kiosks at Komarovka, they sold small optics and already worked on 10%, and the final kiosk kept 25%. Main products: cigarettes, beer, chocolate. This has always gone well.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

I brought the goods, analyzed where the goods are not enough, what to buy, what to deliver, took the proceeds. For me, all this is how the game was. Very interesting, but like a game. My daughter helped me. Already 11 class finished. I was mumble, the saleswoman began to steal, I could not “build” it. And she will come, with all will understand - the nature of her that is necessary. Well, by the way, this character was useful to her. Now engaged in the sale of auto parts.

My work was a good support for the family. But we spent unreasonable. Could only give 100 food dollars a month. For comparison, the candidate of sciences salary was 30 dollars. The milkmaid on a good private farm received more than my father - the only twice doctor of science in Belarus.

Once on the way home they decided to play with their daughter in the machines. Probably, I svetanul there with money. And they led us, it seems, from there. When we entered the passage between the houses, we were attacked. One - on the daughter, the second - on me. The one that attacked me was tall, wrapped around the back of my neck, pulled off the ground and began to choke. And I had an air gun with me. I bought it recently, we shot at targets. Lay comfortably in your pocket. I pulled it out and, without thinking, shot it. These were scared, I guess. The daughter was released, she screamed, and I lost consciousness. And we had a little money with us. They took them away, and they took all the documents too: a passport, a birth certificate, and much more.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

And the second time, exactly in this place, they pounced on one. They knew, probably. And why be surprised: my appearance is noticeable. Maybe they noticed that I go near the stalls, I think the money. This time a lot of them snapped up and they began to knead me. I jumped up, tried to resist, but they stunned and trampled on me for the full program. I left all the proceeds in the car, with almost no money at all. But after that I spent a day in the hospital 21. Since then, I speak indistinctly.

The wife said: "The third time they will kill you." Maybe it would be. I quit entrepreneurship.

“I'm not a bunny-jumper. I had three jobs

The most buzz in the work - to make candy out of nothing.

Once we received an order for gas meters. The counters did, and the installation that would test and verify them was forgotten. Fired!

The customer says: “Send photos of the installation.” What to do? Guard at all. I took a camera, found the points from which the photo will work out well, took a picture of the place where it should hang, well, and drew it in Photoshop. With penumbra, all as expected. Not lazy, went to the studio printed. Then - at the end of 90-x - there was confidence in the photo. Sent to the customer by mail, those remained satisfied. The director calls me, says: “Sit down. And tell me what you drew there? ” I say: "Installation painted." Director to me: “So it must be turned into life! Sit down, rivet drawings, write programs. " I did not know AutoCAD, painted in Excel. I wrote the program in four days. Since then, they called me a genius at work. When the Internet appeared, it was already possible to adopt the experience.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

By the way, there is one good feature on the slow Internet - porn sites are slowly loading. While you download, nothing is needed.

I'm not a bunny-jumper. I had three jobs: first nine years in the military industry, then at the Institute of Applied Physical Problems, and 14 came to work as a programmer for POLYComp holding years ago.

I was already 52 of the year, but they took me here without question. We often came across the management of this company, they knew me well. At first I was engaged in simple work. It was here 20 machines, they had to follow. But now, when they have grown, young people are engaged in this.

I love more subtle tasks. Now I work as a project manager, I organize production processes. If to adjust the work of a team of programmers, designers is still easy, but to adjust the work of the workshop is a problem. When everything goes on the same thread, it's simple. And when orders are different and they are many, what to do, how to track? We need to find the part, and where is it now? At what stage?

Barcode system and allows you to do this. The worker did it - he beat himself, he put it on the rack - he beat himself. The program itself clicks, and we see in real time at which stage of production each part of more than 100 orders.

It was difficult to implement. Walked, convinced. I wrote a program, then I bought two scanners for my money, I showed it. Then they only listened to me when they were seen at work. We bought six more scanners, for which I received money back.

Photo: Victoria Gerasimova (dev.by)

I like when it turns out, when it is possible to introduce something like this, to convince people. And if it didn't work out, then I get upset.

Here, more than 10 years ago, we proposed an idea with magnetic cards to the metro. Not like they have now: the number of trips. And magnetic cards, on which there is real money. The essence is simple: a person enters the subway, the cost of a trip to the final station is read from his magnetic card. But if he leaves after two stops, part of the cost, which he did not pass, is returned. And ground transportation offered. This is logical, the state in the period of inflation would not spend money on reprinting coupons, and people would not overpay. The method of common sense, as I call this idea. While she was buried in the courts.

Loser means lazy

If a person is a loser, then he is a bummer. And everything can be learned from Google, you just need not be lazy. Read to yourself, develop.

Not everyone wants easy. Even among programmers, there is a division: some are system programmers who set tasks, looking for orders. And the second - coders. They have other tasks, they are gaining crazy speed, but just dialing codes.

Profession programmer has always been prestigious. And before, and now. And it will be prestigious. Technologies will always be there, they help us live, they unite us, they simplify a lot. This concerns personal life. So, earlier, my brother and I called each other once a month, and now we can talk on the vibe every day. This is good!

New technologies are born from new ideas. And new ideas are born only in an open society, where there is freedom. It is very difficult to create and implement something from the stick. That's all the US scolded, and in fact the whole world uses their technology. Because people have freedom there.

I will not look into the distant future. Who could have predicted in 1900 that two pieces of metal could be joined together - and there was no whole city. Think about it.

Everything depends on people. From how they use these technologies will be.

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