I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has become quite proficient in a programming language they actually despise, but are required to use at their job. What language are we talking about, and what steps did you take to improve your skills in it?
6 Answers
I reluctantly learned Perl out of necessity. It wasn't exciting, but I kept pushing through and asked experienced co-workers for help. Not the most thrilling advice, but just keep practicing and asking questions!
Bash is something I really can't stand yet have to deal with constantly. It's fine for simple tasks, but writing scripts can feel like torture. You never know if you're going to hit a bizarre edge case, and maintaining larger scripts is a nightmare.
I know what you mean! Every project looks unreadable after a week. It's like you need a PhD just to understand your own code!
JavaScript is my nemesis! I absolutely dislike it. It's just used everywhere, even when it's the worst tool for the job. I've had to get decent at it mainly because it's so ubiquitous, but honestly, every time I work with it, I feel frustrated.
Yeah, I feel you. My issue is mostly with the JavaScript ecosystem rather than the language itself. It's a nightmare with all the NPM dependencies and build tools that slow everything down!
Did you manage to get really good at it, or just enough to get by?
I started off disliking Python because I came from a Java background and struggled with its dynamic typing. Over time, I realized it was different for a reason, and once I understood its design, I actually grew to prefer it! Now it's my go-to language.
That's interesting! So what exactly did you find annoying about it initially?
For me, it's Powershell. It was a real struggle, and I often found myself thinking that if it were a true programming language, I wouldn't have to resort to such hacky workarounds. But ultimately, I kept at it and learned the ins and outs of the language.
Do you prefer a different CLI? Or is it more about Powershell not living up to your expectations?
You should try writing Python scripts alongside it for feature-parity. That way, you can showcase how much simpler it could be!
I begrudgingly learned SQL, and honestly, I can't say I'm a fan. That language has a lot of quirks that drive me crazy, but it's crucial for my job, so I just embraced it and kept learning.
Wow, Perl? Isn’t that a bit dated? Are people still using it?