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What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

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Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#3

I’d use an ide from day 1 instead of wasting time with vim. I seriously dramatically slowed down my advancement as a programmer because I didn’t use a full featured ide straight up. Now I only use vi to edit files in /etc

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#4
I don't code anymore (I'm more of a pointy-haired lower boss)...but what i wish i could go back in time and change around this is to have focused - I mean really, really focused - on 2 or 3 different programming languages only. Instead, what I've done over the years - again, when I coded as a dayjob - was to go shallow on far too many different languages (and ecosystems). I don't think it was me just chasing the "new thing" for the popularity of it. I genuinely was curious about, and wanted to learn "the new thing". The problem - as is often the case with tech - is that there's just too many "new things" coming out all the time...and one just can't keep up. So, sure, i feel like somewhat a jack-of-all-trades (and all my employers have benefited from it), but in more ways than i would like, i lack the depth - and possibly enjoyment/fulfillment - of being really awesome at one or very few things. That old adage about picking one (or a very, very few) thing(s) is no joke; and i see its wisdom only now (after working for 22 years professionally). If i could travel back in time (relative to programming), I'd tell my younger self 3 things:

1) Focus on depth of a couple of things, and never mind breadth.

2) As soon as possible - either before graduating college, or right after, etc. - work for yourself and not The Man. whether going into business as a solopreneur, or partnering with a few people - doesn't matter. Mistakes will be made, but you will feel more in control of any/all outcomes - good or bad.

3) Be generous for experiences, but be a cheap bastard when buying actual/material "things". Save shit tons of money.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#5

I’d use an ide from day 1 instead of wasting time with vim. I seriously dramatically slowed down my advancement as a programmer because I didn’t use a full featured ide straight up. Now I only use vi to edit files in /etc

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

Spaces! No tabs.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#6

I’d use an ide from day 1 instead of wasting time with vim. I seriously dramatically slowed down my advancement as a programmer because I didn’t use a full featured ide straight up. Now I only use vi to edit files in /etc

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

The real advice is try different tools rather than sticking with the first one you try or were told to use. When you find the one for you you'll know. Also remember you can make your own tools. Don't struggle with crap tools and find a way to make it easy to develop your tool kit.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#7

I’d use an ide from day 1 instead of wasting time with vim. I seriously dramatically slowed down my advancement as a programmer because I didn’t use a full featured ide straight up. Now I only use vi to edit files in /etc

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

And I'd learn to use the tools that were most appropriate to the environment I was working in and not spend so much time 'optimizing' my own workflow for relatively small gains in productivity.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#8

I’d use an ide from day 1 instead of wasting time with vim. I seriously dramatically slowed down my advancement as a programmer because I didn’t use a full featured ide straight up. Now I only use vi to edit files in /etc

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

Why would anyone not want the power of an ide?

Is it a Unix tough guy thing where there’s nothing that a GUI app does that you can’t do better in a terminal? Or is it that you’ve never really spent a lot of time in a professional ide so when you argue against it, it’s cause you don’t know?

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd use Vim from day 1, instead of wasting time with several IDEs.

The real advice is try different tools rather than sticking with the first one you try or were told to use. When you find the one for you you'll know. Also remember you can make your own tools. Don't struggle with crap tools and find a way to make it easy to develop your tool kit.

It's been a long time I haven't used Vim. I left it in favor of Evil+Emacs a few years ago. And I don't recommend it to every single person I see.

The phrase "wasting time with Vim" was the thing that made me reply the way I did. Learning Vim properly has helped me every single step of my way.

Re: What I would do differently if I was learning to program again

#10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The real advice is try different tools rather than sticking with the first one you try or were told to use. When you find the one for you you'll know. Also remember you can make your own tools. Don't struggle with crap tools and find a way to make it easy to develop your tool kit.

It's been a long time I haven't used Vim. I left it in favor of Evil+Emacs a few years ago. And I don't recommend it to every single person I see. The phrase "wasting time with Vim" was the thing that made me reply the way I did. Learning Vim properly has helped me every single step of my way.

So you don’t use vim as a programming environment/editor?

So not actually disagreeing with me, just stirring?

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