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Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

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Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#61

Post by daxfohl »

dmoy wrote: post #4

The thing that my job is requiring me to do. Trial by fire. But also after the 4th or 5th language and Nth framework, it gets much quicker to pick up new ones.

This, but also I like to at least have a Hello World console app (or API server or web page or database reader or whatever the bare minimum is) that I can play around with and know that I can create something from scratch and not be entirely at the mercy of whatever the work infrastructure is.

But I also agree with the last sentence. When you are just starting out in your career, it's nice to have something more complex (I used to write sudoku solvers) to really get the feel of things. I'd never do that anymore though, as most things are similar enough to something I'm already pretty comfortable with.

Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#62

Post by [deleted] »

coryrc wrote: post #57
fridental wrote: post #35

The whole idea of implementing something useless to learn a tool is deeply flawed and it is sad that most of our schools and universities still follow this practice

Most of the things I've worked on in my professional career have been ultimately useless :(

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#66

Post by JetAlone »

mikercampbell wrote: post #56

Pokemon games!! All of the algebra is solved, and you can dig as deeply as you like in any direction you like. Graphics? Check. And simple, top down, tilesheet or character maps work just fine. Battles? Check. You can leverage anything from purely functional, object oriented, websocket, long polling, SQL, you name it. Whether you use 3 elemental types or flesh out everything from multiturn, semivulnerable, exp/leveli…

That's actually a great idea, hey. The only problem is getting C&D'd if you find yourself mesmerized by how much you like a new system into developing something that people would actually want to play.

At which point, going the "Freedom Planet" route and re-skinning is probably the epic gamer move I'd want to take.

Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#68

Post by nkabbara »

For me it's usually rebuilding a solution to a problem that I understand well that I've already solved with a familiar language.

Take for example Git. If you understand its internals well enough to build it yourself, then rebuild git in the new language. In the future, when you want to pick up yet another language, rebuild it again.

One of the reasons that I think it's extremely useful for a programmer to have at least one complex system that is well understood and implemented under their belt.

Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#69

Post by mikercampbell »

bavarianbob wrote: post #58
mikercampbell wrote: post #56

Pokemon games!! All of the algebra is solved, and you can dig as deeply as you like in any direction you like. Graphics? Check. And simple, top down, tilesheet or character maps work just fine. Battles? Check. You can leverage anything from purely functional, object oriented, websocket, long polling, SQL, you name it. Whether you use 3 elemental types or flesh out everything from multiturn, semivulnerable, exp/leveli…

Is there a tutorial for the boilerplate for setting this up? Where would I even begin as someone who has never built any graphics.

Yeah! I've done it a few ways, mostly in React. I'm currently trying my hand at it in Solid.js, as I want to learn it, and Web Components.

As for graphics, I've been following along in this book, and absolutely love it. They have an online version. You use the author's bespoke engine, so it does abstract much of it, but it covers things from map generation to event buses!

https://pragprog.com/titles/hwrust/hands-on-rust/

You make a roguelike, but the concepts carry over. And it can compile to Web Assembly, so any work you do can be embedded and shared on the web.

Re: Ask HN: What do you code when learning a new language/framework?

#70

Post by Gigachad »

yrgulation wrote: post #21
dmoy wrote: post #4

The thing that my job is requiring me to do. Trial by fire. But also after the 4th or 5th language and Nth framework, it gets much quicker to pick up new ones.

Learn as you earn.

This is me learning Rust right now. Work wants more performant and higher reliability solutions, and I want to learn some new stuff.
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