Serious question, why does everyone jump straight to making apps?

I see so many new folks in my local library's coding group try to build a full phone app on day one. They get stuck for weeks on setting up their tools and never write a single line of actual logic. My teacher in Chicago said to start with simple text programs that run in the terminal for at least a month. That way you learn the basics without the extra stuff. What was the first real thing you made that actually worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivia5731mo ago

Full phone app on day one" is the coding version of trying to build a house before you can hammer a nail. Your teacher was right, because my first working thing was a terminal program that just asked your name and insulted you. It taught me the important stuff, like how to crush a user's spirit with basic logic.

noahward1mo ago

Started with a text adventure that just printed "you are in a dark room" over and over. Felt like a genius when I got it to accept "go north" as input. That basic input/output loop taught me more than any fancy tutorial.