Julia EvansAug 8, 2023

what helps people get comfortable on the command line? https://jvns.ca/blog/2023/08/08/what-helps-people-get-comfortable-on-the-command-line-/

Would love more stories of things that helped you in the last ~5 years!

(as usual, no need to reply if you don’t remember, or if you’ve been using the command line comfortably for 15 years — this question isn’t for you :) )

What helps people get comfortable on the command line?

What helps people get comfortable on the command line?

Julia Evans
Show threadFear and Tooting in Las VegasAug 8, 2023
@b0rk A lot of what I've done over the years is to force myself to use the thing I'm trying to learn instead of getting it done "how I know how to do it/have always done it." Scripting languages, shells, editors, new tools or utilities or environments.
Show threadarclightAug 8, 2023
@steevmi1 @b0rk I forced myself to learn Python that way. I had a process automation task that would've been quicker to implement in Perl but it was straightforward enough to use as a useful non-toy project to learn Python. A few years later I did the same thing to begin learning Rust; I had a project that would've been faster to implement in Python but it was small and useful enough to be a good vehicle for learning a new language. I have far fewer regrets about learning Rust; Python is rapidly joining ColdFusion, Oracle, and SQLServer as technology conveniently omitted from my resume. #ContinuousLearning #DisavowAllKnowledge
Show threadrhempelOct 1, 2023

@arclight @steevmi1 @b0rk This is how I learn things too - and I've been on the command line for 40 (yes 40) years :-)

Small project and willingness to try a new tool/method/approach in a low risk environment is my key to always learning.

Not being a reply guy - trying to be a supportive go and try it guy.

Show threadarclight
@rhempel @steevmi1 @b0rk Taking this in the spirit in which it was intended :) I'm revisiting Rust and looking at porting some existing projects - they work fine as Python apps but are a nightmare for non-developer users to install. I don't need 90% of Rust's important features but it's a fairly decent general purpose language that isn't a swirling vortex of abstraction and uncertainty. The low cognitive demands of the infrastructure and abstraction selection make it really attractive for this project.
Oct 1, 2023 at 10:50amWeb
Show threadrhempelOct 1, 2023

@arclight @steevmi1 @b0rk Me too for Rust. I'm an old embedded C guy and I was super stubborn about Python because of using spaces as block level delimiters. Finally got over it and love Python now :-)

Skipped C++ and almost every other language and am picking up Rust (slowly) for embedded work mainly because Linus is allowing it for kernel modules :-)

Show threadarclightOct 1, 2023
@rhempel @steevmi1 @b0rk My path was BASIC, Fortran, Pascal, VAX assembly, more Fortran, an unexpected and terrible introduction to C, even more Fortran, then whatever came my way or could find on my own. It started witn VB, Perl, SQL, and the late 90s web & sysadmin languages. 6 failed attempts to understand C++ over 15 years (finally made headway in 2018). With easy discovery & access to books (thanks to Google [RIP], Amazon, Half-Price Books, Internet Archive, @bitsavers ) I've been expanding my library to cover APL, ALGOL, COBOL, MUMPS, Forth, Prolog, Ada (especially the provable subset SPARK), SNOBOL4, and so on. I had a good experience with Racket but Scheme/LISP still eludes me. A typo in Haskell locked my machine hard enough to require power cycling so I'm still very suspicious and dubious of functional languages. Maybe ML or OCaml can show me the supposed light. Eiffel, APL, & Rust have been my recent favorites and I need to do more with Forth until I see why people love it.