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Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

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Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#11

Post by alexdevbr »

I don't know of a current way to do front end dev without CSS. The frameworks which allowed you to do that, like Flash, Java Applets, Silverlight are long gone. You could try Blazor, it's statically compiled in C# and can run either on the server or in the browser, using WebAssembly.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#12

Post by cmrdporcupine »

It's not "fun", but it's perhaps best to start with the problem you're trying to solve rather than the tools you want to use.

As for "fun" for UI, I found doing UI in Dear ImGui strangely liberating. It sounds like a web front end is part of your requirements, maybe, but if not, try one of the "immediate mode" UI toolkits like that. They have their limitations, for sure, but they come with a lot less "normative lifestyle assumptions" and it's strangely enjoyable to toss a UI together in them.

Also I started having a lot more "fun" once I start doing my hobby projects in Rust rather than C++... once I got past the initial learning curve... I say this not so much for the language side of things -- which can be a little straightjackety -- but for the fact that I was no longer fighting all the sharp corners in the C++ ecosystem (CMake, different 3rd party lib packaging styles, dubious 3rd party library programming styles/standards, etc.). Rust+Cargo simplifies a lot. And the third party crates are generally of pretty good quality and consistency.

Or learn another language, like Zig. That looks fun, too.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#15

Post by schwartzworld »

You don't need much expertise in CSS to build common web UI patterns. It's been around a long time, and tropes like "it's hard to center a div" aren't really true anymore.

It's absolutely possible to build JavaScript apps in a single page with no external dependencies. All you need is a single .html file and a simple development server (I use python http.server).

Writing in typescript is a easy as a single dev dependency to compile the code. There's no multithreading but first class async support.

Additionally, JS / TS are very flexible. You can implement almost any programming paradigm you want to learn. I love doing FP in typescript personally.

Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again

#16

Post by philliphaydon »

C#/.NET is cross platform. I find it more fun than doing things like php or node. But I also don’t follow the whole “everything needs an interface” crap, or the insane level of abstractions people seem to implement.

I’m sorry learning rust tho. Like it a lot.

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