Try using Jupyter Notebooks or another notebook based programming environment. Good way to change things up and very enjoyable to use :-)
Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
181–190 of 219 posts
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#182Fun? C++? Bruh.
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#183There is no purely fun way to build a production app. If there were everyone would do it. The hard part of building an app is the slog through the tedious parts. If you just want to build a toy app for fun, I recommend you just mess around with processing or pygame.
This! The fun of programming won't come out of a software project.
I find fun in programming by writing code solving small challenges. Something people really hate, e.g. LeetCode, is actually the fun place for me: I really enjoy writing some small size program to solve a made-up problem with my scattered time. I don't need to worry about language, library, framework, platform, UI, etc. The only thing matters is coding, and that's the thing makes me happy.
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#184Left my job late last year with the intention of striking out on my own. Instead I realized quickly that what drove me to quit had been the fact that the joy of coding had left me. And so for the last two months I have been working towards regaining it. And at this point I realize I have gained it back. The only projects I have been working on are small libraries and apps whose ideas had written down over the years b…
> Left my job late last year with the intention of striking out on my own.
I read a quote from Amy Hoy (/u/ahoyhere) last week that summed it up pretty well, "most people who think they want to start their own business really just want a better job."
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#185Spend a while building a template for a Phaser game that has display and controls working nicely on mobile and in the main browser, package that up, and then start cranking out game prototypes. That’s what I do, minus the cross platform stuff since I don’t know or care much to do it for pet projects. The results have been fun as hell though. Examples:
https://explorerdude.net https://novagame.net https://choreomania.net
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#186This will probably get lost in the noise. But I think what sucks the fun out of side projects is where your agency is taken away by the ‘right way’ to do things. That’s what makes embedded and a lot of Raspberry Pi projects so fun. There isn’t a large collective telling you to use X build tool plus Y framework, and if you don’t, it’s because you’re doing a bad job and don’t care. And if you ask a question like ‘how d…
Agreed - there's a lot to like about embedded programming - it's the antidote to bloat, and encourages a "bonzai" philosophy towards programming. It also means you can have total control and understanding of every byte of the firmware, which - for me at least - is much more conducive to fun than sellotaping together chunks of opaque bloatware.
> Or, pick a ‘dead’ language.
Or a dead platform! Loads of retro platforms still have active and creative communities, and finding new ways to make an old computer do cool things is a lot of fun.
That's where I find my fun, anyway - nothing about what OP want to achieve sounds compatible with fun to me - but that's probably just me showing my age!
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#187I found fun again in two easy steps: (1) Unlearn the "large team workflow mindset" and embrace the "single developer mindset" again. You don't need a plan, a Kanban board or a bug database, just an idea in your head. Get rid of "big languages" which are good for team work, but just a hinderance when working alone. In my case this meant: dropping C++ and embracing C (today that would be: Zig). Focus on getting shit do…
I did microagile extreme few years ago, trying to make a tiny feature with a minimal amount of impact and a tiny bit of parametricity for obvious options. Was a fun constraint to find fun.
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#188Do internet-of-things stuff on embedded devices. It's fun and you can run on bare metal or a minimal stack, but you don't have to compete with the entire internet on the same computer.
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#189Stop doing it professionally.
Try a project that's either completely useless or at least wildly impractical. Don't be afraid to throw away code.
Re: Ask HN: I just want to have fun programming again
#190https://elm-lang.org https://elmlang.slack.com Static FP lang targeting the web as a runtime environment. Wonderful people. The nicest compiler in the game. Tight dev loop. Good tooling. No JavaScript knowledge required. Join us.
₊1 for Elm. Easy, fun, reliable.
And the Elm Slack is the most helpful Slack I've ever seen.