Programming is futile without a goal

[freedomclub]

Just like anything I suppose. I used to program a lot in high school and college but I always had some assignment or goal. Either for a CS class or for my research in my senior year. But now I still have that itch to program but no goal to speak of. It's impossible (for me) to just sit and learn a language. I need something to program towards. What do you guys do in this regard?

[Dave Kaminski]

Go to rent a coder and pick up a job, or even just do one of the jobs they have listed.

Get a job using that language.

Brainstorm.

Draw! I have a whiteboard that I just randomly sketch on from time to time and it helps to bring up ideas.

[Brutha]

Joining an opensource project would be another choice.

[colbycheeze]

Try to make a "one day game" in flash. It's a super fun challenge. What I do is give myself 1 hour to brainstorm ideas and then I MUST pick an idea within an hour and begin on it. Obviously the idea is to keep it simple enough that you feel you can finish it by the end of the day.

This is a GREAT way to warm up your programming muscles and make some good cash too. (most crappy games sell for about $1000 each if you want to just make up front profit)

Flash Game License: Welcome
FlashGameSponsorship - Home

[Trezker]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Joining an opensource project would be another choice.

Absolutely. Many serious open source projects have a list of tasks you can choose from.

You could work on making wireless networking work better in Linux. If you're good...

[Apollia]

I'd suggest, try to think of a program you always wanted but no one has ever made, or made well enough. Your hobbies might also be a good source of ideas.

For instance, I have an interest in music, but have never found any MIDI software for Windows that I really like, so that's something I might attempt eventually.

And, I've been sort of wanting to start a blog, but I'd rather use something less database-driven than WordPress to keep my web host happy, and I also would prefer a blog which doesn't list everything in reverse-chronological order, and makes it easy to browse past posts, and doesn't tamper with any HTML code I input - so, I've been working on my own blog software.

I also have thought of less realistic ideas... I'm not completely satisfied with any computer OS I've ever used - Windows, MacOS, or Linux, they all have something about them I can't stand, either being closed-source and not easily changeable by me, or being too confusing. I know it's probably beyond me to write an OS, but someday, I might get around to trying it.


I keep text files of ideas on my computer, and whenever I think of an idea, big or small (not just for programs, but for anything I might like to create, or see someone else create), I note it down. Whenever I read back in these files I am frequently surprised by the ideas I came up with - there are a ton of ideas I most likely would have forgotten all about if I hadn't written them down.

I write down everything from the grandiose (write my own OS), to small but nice feature ideas (like to have a text cursor conveniently automatically appear in a web text box when you first load a web page - which isn't a totally original idea, since that's what Google does... ).

The latter kinds of ideas may sound minor, but actually, little thoughtful details like that are what can make a program a real pleasure to use. And, since they're so minor, I think it's especially important to write them down so you don't forget to implement them.

Over time, you can build up a mountain of ideas, perhaps more than you'll ever get through in a lifetime. I'm probably going to end up starting a whole Ideas section on my website just to share the ideas I've thought of but will probably never implement myself.

Good luck...

[freedomclub]

Well I guess I caught myself in a lie in this post then. I'm also very interested in MIDI and I'm sure I could think of millions of things I would like to see that don't exist. I'm also a huge fan of Linux and would love to contribute to some open source project. I've actually thought of this stuff before but I have so many options I just never knew where to begin.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

[colbycheeze]

you know, I do agree with needing to have a clear goal and purpose however. I think those rules apply in life in general but OH SO much for programming. When I write down exactly what I want to get done and all of the "parts" i am currently aware of that need to be built for a program I can get a LOT more done.

Not only that but I am able to get myself to work longer hours w/o really caring. If I don't really have an idea of what I am trying to do or need to do I guess my brain just gets sick of it and I have to stop.

[ragtag]

colbycheeze: I've noticed the exact same thing. If I have a very clear list of things I need to do, my productivity increases drastically. Before writing a piece of code, I generally just write comments in the code of what needs to done at each stage, then afterwards I just go through it and gradually replace each comment with the actual code.

Contributing to Open-Source projects is great. If I find the time, I plan to do so too.

[1000feet]

Make a program for yourself - think of a way your computer could help you manage and organize some information, and tell you things that would take a long time to figure out on your own. Then go and find out how to make each part of the program work. This is a great way to learn because you may end up using the program every day, which teaches you a lot about making something that lasts for a while and isn't hard to use.

[andyoyo]

the way Java is set out is ridiculously illogical & it is very hard to find decent tutorials that have a defined purpose behind them. In your boat completely. I guess the best thing to do is just skim it & pick up some val info. The way the programming community is turning more away from base hard code & more towards GUI program editing is a big plus. Examples especially in the gaming & blogging(yuck) industry.

Btw want to be programming buddies, lets make a flash game or somethin, peace.