I don't remember how it exactly looked alike but my first program was one to let cycle the elements of a 7 segment display on a machine driven by a Zilog Z80 A (rebuild).
It's strange but first I learned assembly and machine code and I always remember our tutor saying :" ..look boys, one day you'll be thinking in machine code - ehm - as I already do."

Have a nice day
All decision is left to your taste