My sentiments, precisely, and I’ve found the explanation at least for myself. Picking up a programming project sporadically involves re-learning for rapid proficiency — like context switching but from a hard disk.
Programming in our youth required one language/framework such as C/UNIX or even Visual BASIC. In contrast, to develop something useful today, you need to learn a different language or framework for the UI, services, DB, security, deployment, and others. Each offers its own universe of packages, tools, procedures for debugging, troubleshooting, and building.
One can certainly persevere and complete a full-stack application with the aid of StackOverflow, Dash, and Google searches, but there is no pleasure in it. The drudgery replaces any sense of gathering speed you feel when you’re proficient and rushing with satisfaction toward your next stopping point — before you realize it’s 5:00am.
My guess is that you keep returning to Hacker News in search of that one-stop language which will offer a hobbyist the old-fashioned combo of proficiency and completeness.
Programming in our youth required one language/framework such as C/UNIX or even Visual BASIC. In contrast, to develop something useful today, you need to learn a different language or framework for the UI, services, DB, security, deployment, and others. Each offers its own universe of packages, tools, procedures for debugging, troubleshooting, and building.
One can certainly persevere and complete a full-stack application with the aid of StackOverflow, Dash, and Google searches, but there is no pleasure in it. The drudgery replaces any sense of gathering speed you feel when you’re proficient and rushing with satisfaction toward your next stopping point — before you realize it’s 5:00am.
My guess is that you keep returning to Hacker News in search of that one-stop language which will offer a hobbyist the old-fashioned combo of proficiency and completeness.