I spend so much time trying to understand the development ecosystem and fighting my way through the build tools and development frameworks that I can barely get to write a single line of code. Every problem I solve leads to the next roadblock and on and on and on. It's depressing me and I'm feeling like maybe I don't have what it takes to be a programmer.
Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
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Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#2I have plenty of relevant platitudes :)
Go simple. Pick a language. Start writing code. Stay focused. Only solve the problems that you need to solve, not any problems that you might maybe, perhaps, come across. Don't go shopping for a toolkit until you have tried building something yourself. Especially if you are young - remember that writing code to solve problems that someone else has already solved is not a lost cause; you are learning!
YAGNI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_aren%27t_gonna_need_it
Remember, perfect is the enemy of good.
Today I think it's way too easy to get lost in the flood of of platforms/toolkits/frameworks. When I got started 20 years ago it was a lot simpler - crappier but simpler. :) You might or might not have what it takes to be a good developer - but I seriously see the risk of potentially good developers getting stuck before they learn how to navigate these new-fangled floods of ... stuff. It's like a tax on brain cycles to keep up with it all. If you have no discipline you will end up spending all of your cycles shopping toolkits rather than solving problems and learning how to actually program.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#3I'm guessing you're feeling depressed because you don't have a strong idea of why you're doing all this.
I'd say that what needs to change is your mentality.
There's a lot of things you can do to change how you're thinking. It all comes down to understanding the essence of why you're feeling this particular way.
What are you trying to achieve?
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#4Are you just learning?
Use less-shiny stuff. Ditch the frameworks etc. Do the simplest thing.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#5I know exactly where you coming from, ESPECIALLY if you are in the javascript ecosystem. There are a lot of gaps in the whole flow, from what you have mentioned, build tools, frameworks, standards, architecture (flux? mvc?)
Personally, I would suggest, to go at it one at a time. The reason being, these "things" (build tools, frameworks, etc) are there to solve specific problems. If you don't have that problem, then you don't need to understand it, yet.
Pick a project and start building, you might find that you need one specific tool, which then you would use that specific tool or you might find yourself having trouble with a certain design then you use a framework that fits your model. This resonates well with @johansch comment. Over time, you will notice a pattern in your knowledge where jumping from one framework to the other is not that difficult because you are jumping from a higher board knowing the frameworks you already used, this applies generally.
Be depressed but don't give up, the joy comes when suddenly it all just clicks.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#6Are you just learning? Use less-shiny stuff. Ditch the frameworks etc. Do the simplest thing.
I'm trying to build a real application and building real applications seems to need to sew together a whole bunch of real bits n pieces.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#7I'm guessing you're feeling depressed because you don't have a strong idea of why you're doing all this. I'd say that what needs to change is your mentality. There's a lot of things you can do to change how you're thinking. It all comes down to understanding the essence of why you're feeling this particular way. What are you trying to achieve?
I'm trying to get an application built using a modern JavaScript approach.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#8> You can't connect the dots looking forward you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
Don't give up and keep learning!
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#9It might comfort you to hear:
That almost everyone hits a steep learning curve when moving to new technologies.
That teams expect new members to take time getting to know how everything works (they have been there).
and that in time you may actually find yourself craving that feeling of having so much to learn.
Ultimately the times you are learning/improving the most are when you are facing many new challenges.
If you are anything like me, you may find trying to find ways to enjoy this time more helpful than trying to bypass or speedup this phase.
Re: Tell HN: I spend so much time solving problems I feel like giving up
#10I was tasked with building a WPF project with no prior experience. I jumped on pluralsight for a lecture on wpf and mvvm, then started building the app. I realized I could use a framework for mvvm but I've learned a lot by doing everything from scratch. At one point I realized I needed some plugins for help (INotifyPropertyChanged, I'm looking at you) and started using them, which has made my life considerably easier. Build the project, use what tools are necessary. Don't let tools dictate your project. I've been down that hole a lot with JS. Gulp, Webpack, Grunt, Node, Express, Babel, ClojureScript, TypeScript, and it goes on and on and on.