Stories From 25 Years of Software DevelopmentBy Susam Pal on 06 Feb 2026Last year, I completed 20 years in professional software development. Although I had my first taste of computer programming as a child, it was only when I entered university about 25 years ago that I seriously got into software development. That incident, however, made me realise how much further I still had to go before I could consider myself a good software developer. Animated Television WidgetsIn another project from that period, we worked on another set-top box platform that supported Java Micro Edition (Java ME) for widget development. So the project was a partnership between three parties: our company as the software vendor, the telecom carrier and the set-top box manufacturer.