"I started with a PC the size of a three-door wardrobe." A native of Kherson with 40 years of experience - about programming in Delphi, the principle "if it works, touch it less" and the evolution of IT

Started in ACS, moved to IT

I have lived in Kherson since I was four years old. My parents came here when my father was offered a job as a radio engineer at a semiconductor factory. I myself graduated from the Institute of Trade with a degree in «Food Production Machinery». I worked as a site foreman at a Kherson plant, and then my father helped me get a job in the metrology department at the plant.

In 1986, the company began to introduce mini-computers. No one knew what to do with them, and those who wanted to study were sent to Yerevan for courses. My colleagues and their families refused to go, but I agreed. After studying, I returned to the programming department.

These were machines the size of a three-door wardrobe, with a processor the size of a large TV. The 29-megabyte drive was the size of a washing machine and weighed under 300 kilograms, with a rotating disk inside, the boxes of which were still used to transport cakes. The operation of the machines of that period was used for reporting, in the case of our factory — for accounting of finished transistors.

Only in 1991 did I first see a personal computer with a hard drive and a 40 megabyte hard drive. I started programming in Fortran, then I used Pascal, then came FoxPro and the already well-known MS DOS. The systems had almost no graphics for the user, the information was contained in printouts — hundreds of sheets, which were then studied. Only 10 years later did they start actively using the Windows-95 OS, now it’s funny, but back then I had to explain to people how to use a mouse.

«If it works, touch it less»

In 1991, our plant was closed. For a while I worked in ship repair, and then moved to the banking sector, where I worked for the next 20 years. They didn’t pay much, but they paid steadily. IT in financial institutions has its own specifics — it is the maintenance of existing systems. The National Bank’s certification imposes certain restrictions, so no special changes were introduced.

Working in banks was definitely more interesting than at a factory. At that time, SQL services, which were usually used for accounting, had already begun to appear. I witnessed the liquidation of Bank Ukraina, at that time cash was transferred from branches across the country to the central office. These were huge volumes that required careful accounting. Then I worked for over 10 years at Express Bank, which served the railway. At that time, we worked on the implementation of an alternative card system — NSMP (national mass payment system), which was used before the spread of Visa and Mastercard. NSMP cards only had chips, and these cards were accepted only by «their» ATMs. Due to the inconvenience, we decided to abandon the system.

On another project, we wrote programs for internal use that were not distributed outside the bank branch. They used the Oracle system, the Italians who bought the financial institution insisted on this. However, the program was designed for banks with an audience that was several times smaller.

Operations to generate daily reports for the National Bank, which were supposed to take a couple of hours after the branches closed, dragged on until the morning… Therefore, we decided to create our own analogue, the program would «collect» the received data in the middle of the night and already generate a report according to the National Bank’s parameters.

A 3-month project took 4 years

My last job before diving into the world of big IT was a local service company, where we fulfilled orders for a Belgian client who supported a nuclear power plant. There we optimized the warehouses of a nuclear power plant. The specifics were that the nuclear power plant has high security measures. All products were checked, so from the moment of ordering to receiving it could take half a year. Our system allowed us to track in advance what exactly needed to be ordered soon.

The client insisted on having a Delphi developer in the project, since he knew the language himself and could check the code.

This is an example of how unpredictable orders can be. There was no direct contact with the customer, our requests were collected, we went to the nuclear power plant and discussed the details there. And then the client saw how the program was developing and decided to improve it as the work progressed. The final project was far from the initial specifications. We would probably have continued working if it weren’t for the pandemic that had begun.

IT experience — 38 years

I came to EPAM in March 2021 and after the banking sector I felt the scale of project development. I already have four projects here. Mostly Data Science, I was involved in data migration between databases and continued to work with SQL services.

The difference in working with a large company is fundamental — I immediately felt the support of the team management manager. Previously, if you had a problem, you would look for a way to solve it yourself, but here you have a mentor. They also offered to use the opportunity to transfer to other countries for the winter, but I prefer working from the office. I live three blocks away, and in case of problems with the electricity, I am sure that I will be able to continue working continuously.

During my time at EPAM, I participated in three major projects: creating a data warehouse for a large pharmaceutical company. The second and third projects were performed for a well-known manufacturer of youth products — data migration.

Looking back, I can count my experience in IT — 39 years without a break. Interestingly, I am the only one from the factory who continued to work with technology. Once I met a former colleague from the enterprise, she said that after the closure, no one from the team continued to work in their specialty. Therefore, I believe that IT is a specialty that survived the 90s, and even now it is one of the most stable industries.

Longing for Kherson

Kherson was liberated two years ago. After the de-occupation, I was there several times — I visited relatives and managed to get a feel for a different city. Now it is a very difficult place to live. Most of the residents have left. If 300,000 people used to live there, now, according to my observations, no more than 10% remain. The streets are empty — there are no people, no cars. Local residents try not to go out without urgent need, they mostly visit shops near their homes.

My brother and his wife remain in Kherson. He used to have a sewing machine repair business. There were sewing shops in the area, many craftsmen sewed at home. He repaired equipment and had a good income. Now he has no income, so I help the family financially. The three of us live on my salary. I believe that everything will end soon. And as soon as it becomes safer, I will definitely return home.

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