This newest issue of the “BisBabble” series introduces ShadowCrypto, a Bismuth user who became a community developer.
The interview
Q: Hello Shadow; we heard of you in a previous “BisBabble” episode, you are a vibrant supporter of Bismuth and a much-appreciated code contributor to the Pawer bot.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
A programmer by profession and a photographer by passion who got intrigued by the shadows and crypto. Hence, my username (pun intended)
Q: Since forums do not allow for direct observation, how do you describe yourself at dinner parties?
As an introvert, I prefer to stay silent and focus on the purpose of being there (to eat, a lot)
Q: Well, introvert maybe but you were the one to reach out and bring @aravindballa to the party, thanks for that!
How did you get into computer programming in the first place?
I have an interesting background story for this.
Back when I finished my schooling and was about to decide the stream to pursue my further studies, ‘Anything except computers’ was my answer to the question when my cousin asked my preferences.
Fast forward a couple of years, I ended up doing my undergraduate in CS.
But I never regretted any single day studying CS, in fact, it was so much fun.
I came to know about coding through coursework and it very much excited me.
I enjoyed how few lines of code can achieve some complicated tasks.
It is this very simple reason that keeps me motivated to continue coding.
Q: The preferred minimalism can be seen in your code. So, programming is your day job?
Yes, I pay my bills through a programming job.
Q: And how did you get introduced to the blockchain industry?
As with many, through Bitcoin. Heard the buzz and started looking into it as a potential investment.
Initially, the technicals of Bitcoin were complicated for me to understand.
Slowly, I gave myself some time to understand it better.
I still don’t understand it in detail, but yeah, on a very high level, decently knowledgeable.
Q: What did you write that you’re the most proud of?
Back then when I was very new to HTML, CSS/SASS, I migrated the existing email templates to plain HTML & CSS/SASS to be supported on all browsers and mail clients.
I brought down the existing code of 1700 lines down to 450 per mail template all while learning and implementing.
There were 10 such mail templates.
Q: Minimalism again! Programming languages you practiced?
Python, Java mostly.
Still in dilemma to consider C/C++ or not, though I started with them, haven’t continued afterward.
Q: Then what led you to Bismuth?
It was @Crypto_Tyrion from whom I first came to know about Bismuth.
And the second thing that made me dig further into it was as it was in Python, my favorite language.
Q: What’s your experience in the crypto field?
As an investor/trader since 2017.
Q: What would you say is Bismuth’s biggest strength?
I would clearly say it’s devs. I’m surprised to see such hard and smart work put by them even during the toughest times.
And not to mention the welcoming environment that they have.
Tbh, Bismuth was my first open-source contribution.
I had many fears on how to start, and the devs here made my task very easy and they were very helpful.
A perfect environment where one could start learning about blockchain in one of the most famous languages, Python.
Q: Thanks, we try to be welcoming, because we need you – and you proved that were well deserved.
What would you say is Bismuth’s biggest weakness?
I may be wrong or less informed, but the business model or how they generate money from this ecosystem is what I feel is it’s weakness right now.
Q: As for now, you mostly worked on the Pawer Discord bot. Are there other sides of Bismuth or its ecosystem you’d like to explore?
For sure, yes.
I’d love to explore ZircoDice, Dragginator and other dapps and try to build one on my own.
If anyone has any idea and looking for a partner, hit me up!
Q: Most loved programming language & why?
Python. As simple as writing a few statements in English.
Q: Most hated programming language & why?
I haven’t figured out yet.
Q: You’ll live longer if you only love and don’t hate- good call!
On a more personal note, What are you up to when you’re not coding?
I’m a photographer at heart. At least, that’s what keeps me alive.
I love to find patterns, symmetry, silhouettes in places where people least expect them.
Also, I got a national level award and a few other recognition, which made my parents proud of me.
And I was very glad to experience that at a very young age.
Q: Do you feel this artistic side has some play in your dev work?
I mean, you’re talking of patterns, symmetry: There are such things as well to be found in code.
Do you make some bridges between photography composition and code, or are they two completely fields for you?
Great question.
Well, to me, programming is an art form too.
People express the artists in them through various forms, and programming is one of them.
I do find similarities between photography and programming, be it composing a shot or composing a function, trying to keep things minimal, finding patterns and using them more often and so on.
For me, both are two different ways through which I express myself.
It’s the same dopamine hit I get every single time I click a great photograph or write a beautiful script.
Q: Your best piece of programming advice.
Programming languages and their ecosystem have evolved drastically.
It hardly takes a couple of days to start on any programming language, especially Python.
You can automate many of your daily routines at work or do fun stuff with that.
Not everything you learn has to earn you a penny. You can have fun with programming too.
Thanks a lot ShadowCrypto for answering our questions, may the good vibes stay with you!
You can meet ShadowCrypto on the Bismuth Discord, or via his twitter _shadow_crypto.