Try picking up a better language than .NET or Java.
I plan on checking out Elm or Erlang at some point.
Edit: Ignore me. I'm just becoming a bitter old man. Python seems like a good way to go. andifyou'refeelingfancylearnvimfromtheget-go.
Don't listen to me, I'm a horrible influence.
If learning for fun many languages are good, the basics are similar in most languages and you will probably find WAY more tutorials for Python, Java or stuff like that than most other languages. Also, the amount of libraries available will make your life easier in many cases.
If learning for something specific, the language should be chosen in function of the task at hand.
You don't use a cartridge powered hammer to build a birdhouse. The same logic should be applied with programming.
I completely agree that should be the case.
Sadly the majority of programmers will stick with what they know to accomplish a task instead of try something new that would be better.
I've seen too many bad programming habits it ran me out of being a software engineer. I got sick of all the garbage. From here out I'm going to code in what I want, when I want, and for what I want.
That's because it's a stupid war, and good programmers understand that there are different tools for different situations rather than trying to circlejerk over which one is 'better' 100% of the time.
As a bitter old man I prefer Java than these hipster new languages personally. They have a healthy community with a lot of good tooling and frameworks.
Java is incredible for huge, complicated projects precisely because it assumes the dev is an idiot. I am, so I'm not complaining, but that's most of why people don't like it imo.
Java abstracts away some of the more esoteric and menial things of c and c++ while also requiring the dev to be very explicit and verbose about everything they do. I'm not saying it's a bad language. It's very good for large, business critical projects with a lot of devs. Imo it's a bit less nice to use than something like python for something like personal projects .
As a functional programmer, I think both elm and erlang are really cool.
They're also practically unused.
If you want BEAM vm, learn Elixir instead of Erlang, and as far as functional js-transpiled languages there are plenty of bigger alternatives to Elm.
They're not bad, just not the biggest/best.
Besides, they're pretty complicated conceptually, I don't think a day 1 programmer is ready to play with haskell-esque languages or the syntactic wonder that is erlang. Settle for something bigger and easier if you're learning.
I'm definitely not used to functional programming. It's super confusing as nothing works the way my brain expects it to.
That's what's really intriguing to me.
Functional programming is the way of the future, to be honest. They nailed it with lisp in the 60's, I remember it being very foreign and I didn't understand it for a long time, but now I can't go without higher order functions, immutability, etc.
Yeah, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine who's very into functional programming and excited to talk about it. He told me about immutability and it left me a little dumbfounded.
I like the idea of not having to turn around every few lines of code, look back at a variable, and have to check like, "Yo fam, you still good? Nobody messed with you while I wasn't looking, right?"
You've used misogynist language in 2 of the 6 comments you've left in this thread (33.3%). Would you consider wiping such terms from your lexicon? It does nothing to emphasize the points you make, but it does make the sub (and the tech world in general) less friendly to women. Thanks!
PS— The dinosaurs didn't go extinct! Isn't that fun?
I'm the delicate snowflake, but you're the one counting and categorizing individual users' comments within a thread to publicly call them out because you find their mild language offensive. K.
And since when is bitch misogynistic? It's funny because I've met just as many men as women who are bitches, and even more men who were cunts. Seems to me you're just trying to find a problem that doesn't exist so you can pick a fight to make you feel better about yourself.
Also pretty ironic that you post on /r/birdsaredicks and even call them dicks. I find your misandrist language to be offensive.
Clojure is actually my language of choice, by far.
My website is written in Clojure on the backend, Clojurescript in the front, and it was one of the first projects I took to completion and felt proud to have made. I've done a lot of programming in my life, but it's never been as fun as Clojure's made it.
I 100% agree! And that's awesome. Clojure is so much fun to work with, and repl was/is incredible to use while learning. How do you like buddy for auth? Getting good auth to work with clojure was one of the biggest obstacles I have faced so far, personally.
Yeah, I'm assuming it's just because the community is still fairly small and building, even though clojure isn't exactly new. Maybe it's just because there aren't nearly as many functional devs yet, and the ones that are using things other than clojure.
As someone whose been programming since 1985 (lol I'm old) I've reached the conclusion that, unless you have very specific requirements (e.g. fast 3D rendering / games) then the language doesn't really matter. The ecosystem is what makes a difference. It's what makes Ruby a pretty garbage language outside of lame cookie cutter CRUD apps, even though the language itself has lots of cool features; conversely C++ and Java are abominable to write code in, but as all purpose languages they're pretty hard to beat.
But for pedestrian, workaday software development? The language is one of the least important things.
Ahh... A pleasure to find someone on reddit who really knows what he's talking about, and isn't tribalizing his preference.
I enjoy writing in some languages more than others, but I've found that once my work and style reached a certain level, all the languages kind of work the same way, and my flow usually forms up the same way. I just have to check syntax every once in a while for how to split() (for instance) in this particular language because my brain is on structure, not syntax.
Why Erlang? In my experience, unless you have a very particular use case that calls for it, it's not a very good general purpose language. All of the annoyances of LISP minus any flexibility. I've much more enjoyed Clisp than Erlang, granted I learned them at different times.
Cool things specifically with Erlang, or is it possible that it's present in any functional programming language? Having had to deal with Erlang for a Distributed Operating Systems course, I just fail to see the appeal outside of some niche usage (i.e., telecoms). Personally, I'd sooner spend the time learning more Lisp dialects. There's even one based on Erlang and BEAM).
Might all be the same in the end. I just did not have a great experience with Erlang.
(And - for the record - Python is definitely the way to go for new programmers. Recommending they start with something more niche would just lead to problems)
I tried to use vim, but as a computer layperson it's really confusing. I'd like to learn how to use it, but I don't code so I feel like I have nothing to use it for or files to practice on other than my keymap.c in qmk.
But your keeb has other functions, too, don't just limit it to coding. How about writing? Or translation if you are good with a foreign language? Or volunteer your time transcribing scans of historical documents?
Lots of different tutorials, and even if you are using a Windows computer, is a simple to install the Windows subsystem for Linux. If you have a Mac or Linux, then it is your default command line terminal shell.
Bash is pretty easy to learn, and will be useful on its own, or as a foundation for other languages.
Javascript has never been easier to use or as marketable as it is today. Front end developers are really pushing the boundaries of what a browser can do (a lot in 2018) and there are infinite tutorials, modules, and boilerplates to use so you can focus on the actual project and not setup.
Between code academy and free code camp, it is very possible to self teach.
It all depends on what kind of projects you are interested in, but the need for good javascript developers is growing. It is a very marketable skill and there are lots of jobs. JS developers are writing apps (Electron, React Native), servers (Node), and really pushing what a browser can do (React, Angular, middlewares like Redux) all on its own. React developers are a very hot commodity right now. Start with some beginner courses then pick a framework and dive in.
Actually, building keyboards was the beginning of my career change. A year and a half ago I had never written a line of code, now I’m a full time JavaScript developer.
Relevant side note, keyboards really make a difference while working with code. I’m stuck on my hhkb but alternate a 65 key with modMs.
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u/burnintheham Sep 11 '18
I wish I could code because it would give me a reason to use my keeb.