From: Randy Kramer <rhkramer@...>
Date: 2006-05-24T01:20:38+09:00
Subject: Re: program writing

On Monday 22 May 2006 05:04 pm, corey konrad wrote:
> hmm i dont really have any problems in life that could solved by
> programming. Everything i can think of writing is something that already
> exists. It would be kind of rediculous to write a program in ruby that
> already exists in another language wouldnt it? I think i would fall
> asleep from boredom doing that kind of translation. I dont know i guess
> i thought it would be more of a creative and exciting thing to get into
> that would fill my head with ideas. I thought i would be able to do
> anything on my computer i guess is what i mean, like just deciding to
> write a paint program that does something that other paint programs dont
> do, but i realize now that a project like that would probably take years
> of experience and alot of people working many hours. Like i said i think
> my expectations of programming were unrealistic

Don't give up (at least not yet--I mean, it's possible that you're not cut out 
for programming, but)--unrealistic expectations are (can be) a good thing.  
Maybe you can help figure out how to write a paint program (with new 
features)  in very short order.  Maybe Ruby (or some new libraries in Ruby) 
would be the key.  Maybe some other language (or approach) would be the key.

Randy Kramer

PS: Just following up on my previous post, one of my projects is, in some 
sense, a translation.  It is implementing some functionality that exists on 
Windows but does not exist on Linux.  (Or, at least, did not exist when I 
conceived the project.  It still doesn't exist on Linux, but more workarounds 
are available.  I still think what I want to build will be better, but I was 
wrong once before.   (I thought I was wrong once, but it turned out I was 
wrong about that ;-)