51–60 of 77 posts
I find competitive programming pretty fun. If you want to learn X, you can start solving problems with X instead of a language you know. I use codeforces and used to solve problems on Project Euler as well.
I enjoyed learning Clojure by playing https://spacetraders.io . It's a game where you use their API to buy/sell ships, food, goods, structures for profit. You write code to plan trade routes, send out scouts, or whatever strategy you think will make the most money. They reset the game every week and you can see how you're doing on a leaderboard. Good stuff!
If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work. While others have some good suggestion, I'm going to ask the hard question: do you really want to be coding as a hobby? The fact that you ask that question suggest you already code enough during work hours and you need to do something else after work. Did you used to code for fun before it was your work? Then maybe it's a good idea to accept that you are not going to find…
I would be very careful with this sentiment. Pretty much any creative endeavour consists of parts that are not strictly fun. Coding in particular is filled with difficulty, tediousness, deep and wide thinking, etc. It's also the best creative tool that I know of, deeply engaging, very intelectually stimulating and fulfilling and lets you create things of extreme sophistication with very little limits. It's easy to rationalize your lack of motivation or discipline with a statement like: "I don't feel like doing it so it must not be something that I like" but creating an environment and a mindset to pursue fun, creative projects is not easy.
Playing with embedded devices (microcontrollers etc) has become my favorite coding-related hobby. The barriers to entry are hilariously low, the parts and tools are cheap and the code and documentation and tutorials are all free. At the end of the day, what you are left with is a physical thing that you can touch and which Does What You Told It To Do.
Common Lisp is fun!
Most of the book is built around fun side projects I have done.
If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work. While others have some good suggestion, I'm going to ask the hard question: do you really want to be coding as a hobby? The fact that you ask that question suggest you already code enough during work hours and you need to do something else after work. Did you used to code for fun before it was your work? Then maybe it's a good idea to accept that you are not going to find…
> If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work I would be very careful with this sentiment. Pretty much any creative endeavour consists of parts that are not strictly fun. Coding in particular is filled with difficulty, tediousness, deep and wide thinking, etc. It's also the best creative tool that I know of, deeply engaging, very intelectually stimulating and fulfilling and lets you create things of extreme sophisti…
Of course any creative endeavour is not only fun, but I know the feeling of trying to do something "for fun" and it ends up feeling like work. Some people like to hustle, and that's fine. But just not doing it and finding something else you find fun instead is something to keep in mind.
I thought the "maybes" and several questions made it clear, but I'll state it regardless: there is no one-size fits all answer, and what I said is just a possibility that should be kept in mind. While it happens to be the one that worked best for me, I'm aware it's not the answer for everyone.
If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work. While others have some good suggestion, I'm going to ask the hard question: do you really want to be coding as a hobby? The fact that you ask that question suggest you already code enough during work hours and you need to do something else after work. Did you used to code for fun before it was your work? Then maybe it's a good idea to accept that you are not going to find…
Honestly, most days I wish I had kept it only as that.
If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work. While others have some good suggestion, I'm going to ask the hard question: do you really want to be coding as a hobby? The fact that you ask that question suggest you already code enough during work hours and you need to do something else after work. Did you used to code for fun before it was your work? Then maybe it's a good idea to accept that you are not going to find…
It's OK to be a programmer for 40 hours a week and be anything else in the remaining hours.
I'd like to make a distinction here between "fun" and "easy". For me, the best kind of fun is when I'm working on something really important to me. A better word might be "meaningful". Often, the work is really hard, and sometimes it's very frustrating! At those moments, if someone asked me if I was having "fun", I'd be hard-pressed to say yes, but still there is a kind of deep enjoyment that comes from it.
So I guess my suggestion would be to spend a few minutes figuring out exactly what you mean by fun. What are all the different elements that make it up? You mention "using different tools and languages", which would fall under "novelty". New things are typically a lot more stimulating than something we've been staring at for thousands of hours. (This is why travel is so refreshing!)
Programming definitely is work, whether you're doing it for money or for amusement. Communicating your ideas clearly to a computer is one of the most tedious possible kinds of human activity. But when it all comes together, it's also one of the most satisfying :)
The trick, I think, is to be moving in a direction (ie. a project or language) that is important to you. Then the work won't feel like such a drag. At the best of times, you will be making a tremendous effort, but it will feel effortless.