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Programming is fun the free software column
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Comments (7)
You got that right, notbob. Code, compile, debug, recompile, debug, over and over, again and again. I envy anyone with that kind of skill and stamina. Some things never change.
< http://www.metrolyrics.com/white-collar-holler-lyrics-rogers... >
LOL!!..... Never heard that one, before. Thnx, doc. ;)
LOL!!..... Never heard that one, before. Thnx, doc. ;)
Oooops -- wrong thread!
Programming isn't really fun. I've been doing it for 15+ years.
It is fun when you are learning something new but for the 99% of the day that I spend churning out code it is no more exciting than being a checkout assistant at a supermarket
It is fun when you are learning something new but for the 99% of the day that I spend churning out code it is no more exciting than being a checkout assistant at a supermarket
for me programming is fun. i have been doing it for more than 20 years, however it took me more than 10 years to figure out what is fun about it.
learning something new is a big part of the fun, but there are other things.
notbob, was that an online course that you dropped out of? if yes, then i am not surprised. working alone on boring problems can kill the fun in programming pretty quickly.
however that's no fault of the language, or of programming in itself. like most learning, the fun depends on how it is presented. a bad teacher can make the most interesting subject boring and tedious, while a good teacher can make the worst subject interesting.
what makes programming fun for me? working on interesting and challenging problems. (as stated, most programming problems are not of that kind) working in a team, even better: pair programming. (this is a big one, working with a teammate on a problem together can be very motivating even if the problem itself is boring. it's the interaction with others, constant feedback and encouragement that matters here.) getting paid for it (when i do paid programming work then the motivation comes from the fact that the alternative is to do other work which i'd find much more boring. not all my programming work is paid however, and the non-paid work is often more interesting for other reasons) there is always something new to learn. (even with a boring task i can explore new tools and libraries, or new programming techniques. of course how much of that i can do depends on the task at hand, deadlines, etc. being a freelancer allows me more freedom to choose how i work, which is helpful here)
what i don't like about programming? working alone on boring tasks. (and even interesting tasks can get boring after a while) being under time pressure. (the time needed to solve a problem is hard to predict. there are so many unknowns, and sometimes i prefer to take a slower way because it is more interesting (see above), so having to work to a fixed deadline is usually a killer. sitting in an office all day, working by myself. (being a freelancer helps a lot here) ... more that i can't think of right now...
so yes, programming can be very bring, but in summary it is not the programming itself that's the problem, but all the surrounding factors.
similar to what i said about teachers above, the work environment plays a big part in making work interesting or boring at least for me.
greetings, eMBee.
learning something new is a big part of the fun, but there are other things.
notbob, was that an online course that you dropped out of? if yes, then i am not surprised. working alone on boring problems can kill the fun in programming pretty quickly.
however that's no fault of the language, or of programming in itself. like most learning, the fun depends on how it is presented. a bad teacher can make the most interesting subject boring and tedious, while a good teacher can make the worst subject interesting.
what makes programming fun for me? working on interesting and challenging problems. (as stated, most programming problems are not of that kind) working in a team, even better: pair programming. (this is a big one, working with a teammate on a problem together can be very motivating even if the problem itself is boring. it's the interaction with others, constant feedback and encouragement that matters here.) getting paid for it (when i do paid programming work then the motivation comes from the fact that the alternative is to do other work which i'd find much more boring. not all my programming work is paid however, and the non-paid work is often more interesting for other reasons) there is always something new to learn. (even with a boring task i can explore new tools and libraries, or new programming techniques. of course how much of that i can do depends on the task at hand, deadlines, etc. being a freelancer allows me more freedom to choose how i work, which is helpful here)
what i don't like about programming? working alone on boring tasks. (and even interesting tasks can get boring after a while) being under time pressure. (the time needed to solve a problem is hard to predict. there are so many unknowns, and sometimes i prefer to take a slower way because it is more interesting (see above), so having to work to a fixed deadline is usually a killer. sitting in an office all day, working by myself. (being a freelancer helps a lot here) ... more that i can't think of right now...
so yes, programming can be very bring, but in summary it is not the programming itself that's the problem, but all the surrounding factors.
similar to what i said about teachers above, the work environment plays a big part in making work interesting or boring at least for me.
greetings, eMBee.
> notbob, was that an online course that you dropped out of?
Yes, I foolishly fell for the lure of learning to program an actual game, like space invaders. What the hey! I don't even like computer games. What was I thinking? I once again found myself spending fully one half my day, every day, jes keeping up, a problem that killed my interest in my very first programming class. Yes, I can do it and being retired I certainly have the time, but do I want to. Obviously, the answer is no. I may go back and dabble for my own edification, but the burden of achieving a set programming goal is not something I'm interested in. I have other goals far more pressing. Like getting ready for Spring fly fishing season. ;)
Yes, I foolishly fell for the lure of learning to program an actual game, like space invaders. What the hey! I don't even like computer games. What was I thinking? I once again found myself spending fully one half my day, every day, jes keeping up, a problem that killed my interest in my very first programming class. Yes, I can do it and being retired I certainly have the time, but do I want to. Obviously, the answer is no. I may go back and dabble for my own edification, but the burden of achieving a set programming goal is not something I'm interested in. I have other goals far more pressing. Like getting ready for Spring fly fishing season. ;)
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I jes dropped out of a python programming course put on by Rice U. Sure, I can do it. I've done it before, but I don't like it, which is why I dropped out and am not a professional programmer. I can do engineering level math. I can build my own Linux computer and set up my own network. I know enough shell scripting to do what I need, but I HATE coding. I don't even have my own website cuz I hate html coding. But, I listened to all the proselytizers who chant, "python is easy". It really pissed me off when I discovered the truth. The truth is, O'Reilly's Learning Python is 1600 pages long. Does that sound easy?
If you like programming, great. More power to you. We NEED you. If you don't, don't let anyone convince you otherwise. If you truly do not like coding, it's neither fun nor easy, it's a total effin' drag! ....and that's OK. ;)