The CodeFoxSoft Java Archive: Where the Fox Learned to Run
By Nicholas Larkin Buchanan
In the age of Artificial Intelligence, where code can be generated in seconds and applications are born from prompts, there is a dangerous temptation to forget where we came from. We are told that the future belongs to the machine. But I believe the future belongs to those who know the machine’s heartbeat—because they are the ones who built it, line by line, loop by loop, mistake by glorious mistake.
Today, I am opening the vault.
I am publishing the CodeFoxSoft Java Portfolio, a comprehensive archive of the projects that shaped my life as a developer.
This isn't just a portfolio.
It is a fossil record of my evolution.
From QBasic to the Galaxy
My journey didn’t begin with a startup pitch or a university degree. It began in the 6th grade, staring at a QBasic terminal, realizing that if I typed the right words, I could make the screen obey my imagination. That realization—that to create is to be free—became the defining obsession of my life.
For nearly two decades, while others were playing games, I was reverse‑engineering them. While others were using tools, I was writing my own. This new page is a living gallery of that obsession, set against a backdrop of drifting stars—a visual metaphor for a universe built from code.
But to understand why this archive matters, you need to understand the grind behind it.
The Heavy Hitters: Why I Was Coding While You Were Sleeping
There are two kinds of developers today:
those who need AI to write a loop, and those who use AI to build empires.
I am the second kind.
Anyone can prompt a bot to spit out a script. But when the AI hallucinates—and it will—do you have the skills to fix it? I do. Because long before AI existed, I was grinding out logic in a blank text file, fighting syntax errors line by line until the machine obeyed.
I didn’t learn to code with autocomplete, Copilot, or Stack Overflow copy‑pasting.
I learned in TextPad.
I learned by hard‑coding physics engines and cracking encryption algorithms with nothing but my own brain and a compiler and the Java API as my Bible.
This archive isn’t nostalgia.
It’s proof of work.
It is the difference between a prompter and a programmer.
The Heavy Hitters: Pillars of the Archive
When you scroll through this archive, you’ll see dozens of experiments. But if you look closely, you’ll find the giants—the projects where I stopped being a student and became an engineer. These are the true heavy hitters, the ones that earned me the right to command AI instead of depending on it.
1. Pong 2011 — The Birth of Physics
Before I released apps on the Play Store, I cut my teeth on Pong 2011.
This wasn’t just about bouncing a ball. It was about understanding that physics doesn’t happen by magic. You have to calculate the vectors. You have to simulate gravity. You have to handle collision detection in real time.
Pong.java was the moment I realized a blank screen isn’t empty—it’s a coordinate system waiting to be conquered.
2. Binary Converter — Speaking the Machine’s Tongue
To master the machine, you must speak its language.
The Binary Converter (DecimalConverterGUI.java) was my deep dive into the raw data that powers our reality. Translating seamlessly between Decimal, Binary, Octal, and Hexadecimal forced me to stop seeing numbers as abstractions and start seeing them as the processor sees them: raw data, pure truth.
3. KeyGenerator — Chaos into Order
The KeyGenerator.java wasn’t a toy.
It was an algorithmic beast.
It calculated massive Fibonacci numbers, carved out subsets, and converted them into formatted hexadecimal keys. It was an exercise in turning mathematical chaos into structured, secure order—a philosophy that still drives CodeFoxSoft today.
These weren’t assignments.
They were rites of passage.
From QBasic & Java TextPad to God Mode
That manual grind didn’t just teach me Java.
It taught me how systems actually work.
This is why, when I use AI today, I’m not asking it for help—I’m giving it orders.
I use AI to accelerate my workflow, not to replace my brain. I can spot a hallucination in a millisecond because I’ve written the underlying logic myself a thousand times. I can architect complex, cross‑platform ecosystems because I know what happens down at the metal.
This repository is the raw, unedited proof that I earned this power.
Why This Matters Now
At CodeFoxSoft, our mission is to prove that programmers aren’t obsolete in the age of AI—we are the leaders shaping its future. But to lead the future, you must understand the foundation.
I didn’t jump straight into building custom AI solutions.
I earned my understanding of logic by writing sorting algorithms by hand and debugging thread synchronization.
I learned the structure of data by writing converters and generators from scratch.
Expertise isn’t downloaded.
It is forged.
An Invitation to the Archive
I invite you to visit the new Java Repository.
Don’t just look at the code.
Look at the intent.
Look at the “pranks” like BSOD.java, where a teenager’s humor met a programmer’s precision.
Look at BabySitterPayCalc.java, where a young entrepreneur tried to solve real‑world problems with logic and a keyboard.
This is who I am.
I am a shaper.
I am a builder.
And this is my foundation.
Come see the Code where the Fox learned Run.
