1. To be honest, I have never been able to associate the living Zhou Aimin with the ID "aimingoo," nor could I connect him with being the author of software engineering books like "The Simplicity of the Great Way." The congratulatory message he sent for Hongtao Software's establishment, "The Dao is not far from people; those who practice it will naturally understand," truly let me see a sense of profundity. Yes, practice is the source of true knowledge. All success stems from continuous practice, not endless imagination.
2. Zhou Aimin was once my colleague several years ago; after a male gathering dinner, he fell from a building and passed away the next day, leading to the company and hospital being sentenced to pay 120,000 yuan in compensation. The two things that left the deepest impression on me were: one, the Aurora program he wrote in 2000 (a community program with extensive use of JavaScript), which made him extremely popular among Zhengzhou internet users and turned him into an idol for many netizens; two, in 2002, he used Delphi to write a C/S structured CMS system with data collection capabilities. During the process of writing this software, he excitedly said that he had implemented an incredibly fast hash function. At that time, I clearly saw a bright green light in his eyes.
3. Zhou Aimin often refers to his fellow townsman and former mentor Zhou Hui as "Big Gray Wolf," and has done so for many years, with Zhou Hui openly acknowledging it. A few months ago, I consulted Zhou Hui about a technical issue, and Zhou Hui actually said that some issues related to Delphi could also be asked to Zhou Aimin, as Zhou Aimin is a Delphi expert. I was greatly surprised because I always thought that Zhou Hui, who came from the Pascal background, should be considered more of an expert. However, Zhou Hui firmly told me that in some aspects of Delphi, he is not as good as Zhou Aimin. I've known Zhou Hui for over ten years, and for such a veteran software engineer, it's not easy for him to say these words.
4. A friend told me that Zhou Aimin is now an expert-level figure on CSDN. Thinking about it, it seems normal. Since Shanda was willing to hire him as a system architect, and Zhou Hui also believes that Zhou Aimin has extraordinary abilities, this kind of reputation must not be undeserved. Perhaps I am too poor at discovering others' strengths, and this is something worth reflecting on.
5. Sometimes I feel sorry for Delphi engineers. I always have this feeling that the golden age of Pascal and Delphi might be gone forever, just like my lost youth. Microsoft is too powerful; even if some people say .NET is a bubble, or that .NET is not yet worthy of respect, .NET still swept in irresistibly. Under the pressure of VS.NET and Windows Server/SQL Server, Delphi quietly declined. Fortunately, Zhou Aimin has always been a person who is good at learning and innovating. Fortunately, Zhou Aimin is a young software engineer. And fortunately, if things get worse, he can completely switch careers and become a technical writer.
6. Zhou Aimin did not originally work in technology; few people know that he once worked as a sales manager and was promoted all the way to regional manager, overseeing several provinces. More than ten years ago, I also wanted to learn programming but ultimately failed to persist. In comparison, Zhou Aimin is better at learning and transformation, more persistent, and such qualities are bound to lead him to greater success.
7. "The Dao is not far from people; those who practice it will naturally understand." On the road of entrepreneurship, I may be able to better understand the deeper meaning of this phrase by Zhou Aimin. Thank you.