I've been a developer for over ten years now, but I've recently realized that I'm not satisfied with my current work. It might sound strange, but I'm just using high-level abstraction tools and languages without much passion. I used to admire figures like Linus Torvalds, David Heinemeier Hansson, and John Carmack—true legends in our field. I miss that sense of tradition and craftsmanship. Nowadays, technology seems less exciting, and I feel like I want to get back to the roots of programming. I want to learn more about things like Vim or Emacs, assembly language, operating systems, understanding memory management, touch typing, and customizing everything to suit my needs. I'm simply looking for resources—books or courses—that can help me dive back into this beautiful tradition of software development. I'm weary of trends like AI and cloud computing and long to reconnect with my love for the craft.
5 Answers
Try getting into firmware development! It allows you to interact deeply with hardware, and there's often little abstraction to deal with. It can rekindle that fascination with programming in a really tangible way.
If you're looking to dive into traditional programming, embedded programming could be your best bet. It offers a hands-on experience that's pretty close to the metal, without the abstraction layers you find in web development.
You could also take up projects with Raspberry Pi or FPGA boards. The experience of creating embedded devices will put you back in touch with the joy of building and tinkering with hardware and software directly.
Definitely check out some classic textbooks on algorithms, data structures, and programming languages. You'd be surprised how much you can learn by going back to basics and implementing things in C or other lower-level languages.
You might want to grab a book on operating systems or assembly language. It can give you a solid grasp on the fundamentals and the abstractions that modern languages use. Plus, there's a real satisfaction in understanding how everything connects together.
Sounds like a fun adventure! Hands-on projects can really help you rediscover that spark.