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Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

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Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#41

Post by truncate »

gilesvangruisen wrote: post #14

This is awesome! Keep up the good work. As a fellow developer who began writing software around your age, I have some advice that is definitely subjective and biased, but which you may indeed find helpful. 1. Keep practicing. Practice makes perfect. Explore different languages, frameworks, and problem spaces (interfaces, servers, distributed systems, statistics, etc.) to see what you find most interesting. You will m…

I'm 27, and learned this over over years, but still I needed to hear this again! And I'm sure I will need this advice again. Bookmarked :)

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#42

Post by aero142 »

crooked-v wrote: post #27

Good work. For a next step, I would suggest giving a try at breaking it up into multiple files using import/export statements (it doesn't need it but it's good practice), and using a bundler like Parcel to build the finished file. npm i --save-dev parcel-bundler ...then move your source JS files to a folder named src, and add to package.json... "scripts": { "prepare": "parcel --target node src/index.js" "start": " no…

That last thing a 12 year old needs is a complicated build toolchain.

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#43

Post by dchest »

crooked-v wrote: post #27

Good work. For a next step, I would suggest giving a try at breaking it up into multiple files using import/export statements (it doesn't need it but it's good practice), and using a bundler like Parcel to build the finished file. npm i --save-dev parcel-bundler ...then move your source JS files to a folder named src, and add to package.json... "scripts": { "prepare": "parcel --target node src/index.js" "start": " no…

It's a program that fits in one screen and has 3 functions. No need for these trendy overcomplications.

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#44

Post by saagarjha »

mLuby wrote: post #16
kupiakos wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. I'd say having all of the work in 1 commit makes it more likely to have been created by a young programmer. What impresses me the most, and makes me skeptical, is the good code style. I know at least 3 12 year old programmers who might be able to do this, but none of them have this diligence for style. The program is short enough and I was enough of a nerd at this age to be interested in doing something l…

The good style might be a result of using ESLint.

If so, then it's good that the author has learned to use useful tools.

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#45

Post by godelmachine »

gilesvangruisen wrote: post #14

This is awesome! Keep up the good work. As a fellow developer who began writing software around your age, I have some advice that is definitely subjective and biased, but which you may indeed find helpful. 1. Keep practicing. Practice makes perfect. Explore different languages, frameworks, and problem spaces (interfaces, servers, distributed systems, statistics, etc.) to see what you find most interesting. You will m…

Would you please provide an example on how one proceed with T shaped learning and expertise?

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#47

Post by noobermin »

crooked-v wrote: post #27

Good work. For a next step, I would suggest giving a try at breaking it up into multiple files using import/export statements (it doesn't need it but it's good practice), and using a bundler like Parcel to build the finished file. npm i --save-dev parcel-bundler ...then move your source JS files to a folder named src, and add to package.json... "scripts": { "prepare": "parcel --target node src/index.js" "start": " no…

How about we let the kid learn how to program (which will outlive your favorite bundler and file hierarchy anyway) first? It's a 100 line script, one of the mistakes I made learning how to program was trying to be like the adults and focusing on minutiae like code organization rather than good code.

EDIT: story time. I once tried to make a 2D game engine in my late teens, but I wanted to be like the adults and have a proper class hierarchy. Suffice to say, I never finished it. Come to find a few years later, now class oriented OOP is passé and I was wrong to waste that time on it.

Learning to code and get things working is more cool (and in the end, more profitable) than making your code fit the norms of the day, which won't last anyway.

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#49

Post by crooked-v »

dchest wrote: post #43
crooked-v wrote: post #27

Good work. For a next step, I would suggest giving a try at breaking it up into multiple files using import/export statements (it doesn't need it but it's good practice), and using a bundler like Parcel to build the finished file. npm i --save-dev parcel-bundler ...then move your source JS files to a folder named src, and add to package.json... "scripts": { "prepare": "parcel --target node src/index.js" "start": " no…

It's a program that fits in one screen and has 3 functions. No need for these trendy overcomplications.

The fact that it's dead simple is the point of the recommendation. It gives an opportunity to learn the tool with the bare minimum of moving parts involved.

Re: Show HN: I'm 12, learning JS, and wrote Wolfram's cellular automaton in Node

#50

Post by crooked-v »

aero142 wrote: post #42
crooked-v wrote: post #27

Good work. For a next step, I would suggest giving a try at breaking it up into multiple files using import/export statements (it doesn't need it but it's good practice), and using a bundler like Parcel to build the finished file. npm i --save-dev parcel-bundler ...then move your source JS files to a folder named src, and add to package.json... "scripts": { "prepare": "parcel --target node src/index.js" "start": " no…

That last thing a 12 year old needs is a complicated build toolchain.

Everybody needs a build toolchain eventually, and learning it early saves the eventual "this webpage has become a 5000-line JS file and it's incredibly unwieldy to maintain" hassle with a more complicated project.
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