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Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

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Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#1

Post by jb1991 »

I've written in many very different languages in a professional full-time capacity in my many-year career. Now I'm interested in building something new and I have a clear idea in mind with some code already in C++ to proof-of-concept it for myself, but I'm struggling to find a direction forward that would be... fun. I don't mind challenging work, but I like an environment that feels sane and logical and where I am not facing loads of incidental complexity along the way. I'm also attracted to implementing my app cross-platform.

I just want to have some fun writing something without headaches, and that is seemingly less and less easy to achieve today. I'm not a fan of the complexity of either JavaScript or C++, and while I very much like Swift and working in the UIKit world, it's not so portable to platforms that many use.

I feel like there aren't really any good options in software development any more. It's always one big compromise with lots of possible decision fatigue. Every direction has drawbacks.

If I could write an app in a good static-compiled language that did not require extraneous expertise in CSS but that shipped on a web page and looked good using tools only in that language, with good interop with an HTML Canvas, that would be one possibility, but it is again a compromise -- no easy multithreading, dealing with all the front-end baggage to bundle or deploy such an app, etc.

Any recommendations? I'm not afraid of learning an entirely new language too.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#3

Post by Kelteseth »

Qt/QML? I have been doing cross-platform development with Qt for a few years now [1]. It does have a learning curve, but I do like the split of C++ logic and Qml for the UI. I can recommend the qml book [2].

[1] https://screen-play.app/

[2] https://www.qt.io/product/qt6/qml-book

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#4

Post by jb1991 »

senojsitruc wrote: post #2

Qt? https://www.qt.io/

I've used Qt in past years. Qt is to C++ what C++ is to other languages. It's the "rich man's rich man." It has some nice qualities, but it takes the complexity of C++ to a new level IMO. Also its most easily-used editor (Qt Creator) has historically been buggy on mac, which I typically use.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#5

Post by jb1991 »

Kelteseth wrote: post #3

Qt/QML? I have been doing cross-platform development with Qt for a few years now [1]. It does have a learning curve, but I do like the split of C++ logic and Qml for the UI. I can recommend the qml book [2]. [1] https://screen-play.app/ [2] https://www.qt.io/product/qt6/qml-book

Thanks, I've used it. I left another comment about it [0]. Perhaps I should give it another look. Qt doesn't really satisfy my desire to use something fun and relatively simple, but you and the other commenter are pointing out the obvious -- it is clearly a viable choice.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34707057

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#6

Post by latexr »

> while I very much like Swift and working in the UIKit world, it's not so portable to platforms that many use.

Your title says you just want to have fun programming but your post is full of other requirements. You need to decide if having fun really is what you’re after—in which case it seems you’ve found your answer—or if it’s secondary to some other metric such as customer reach.

There is always a compromise. No solution is all good things at once, including easy, performant, and cross-platform. If that existed we’d all be on it. You’re clamouring for a past which I’m doubtful truly existed.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#10

Post by joenot443 »

jb1991 wrote: post #8

I just discovered and it seems enticing: https://github.com/raysan5/raylib > no fancy interface, no visual helpers, no gui tools or editors... just coding in pure spartan-programmers way. Are you ready to enjoy coding?

Doesn’t it also say no debugger? You’re a brave soul, my friend :)
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