Languages.

[mkultra333]

Once I work out how to do variables, branching, looping, math, arrays, and printing data to the screen, I feel like I understand a language enough to do something useful. After that I stop consciously trying to master a language. Just sayin.

*disclaimer: Doesn't apply if I need a language to do something very specific, like networking security or whatever.

[hyyou]

Many years later, I debugged strange value of variables, erroneous branching, stuck in a forever looping, greeted some kind of array index out of bound exception, gave birth to the blue screen of the death, and tried to solve them by printing all statement's result to the screen. I feel like I understand the language more than myself. After that, I stopped consciously trying to know what I am. Just continue the sayin.

*disclaimer: Doesn't apply if I am a religious person, i.e. the believer, or whatever.

[mkultra333]

Thanks for that. Just note that I didn't say I understood a language to the point of being a guru. Nor did I say this was for building something of serious, critical importance. I said I understood the it to the point of doing something useful. Maybe a script to do some operation on vertices or bones in Blender for instance.

So you're saying those errors don't happen to people who've advance beyond the beginner stage in a language? Fascinating! I wish I was you, never ever having a variable with a strange value, never having an erroneous branch, never stuck in a loop. Never printed to the screen to check some data (so far beneath you!)

That must be awesome. Tell me how excellent it is. Describe it in detail, the joy, the pride...

[hyyou]

A person can't understand oneself perfectly, because his/her brain will be out of memory - except an unfathomable one.
Thus, as a mortal, one can't never write a significant-size code without bug.
In someday, if I am good enough, I might be able to understand myself and write some large perfect programs.
The world would remember me? It is not important anymore...
.... because it is another step for me to be an unfathomable one.

I am talking to yourself.

The statement in OP is valid because you have abundant experience in some languages that are hard/complex/big enough, e.g. C++. As Java is my native language, even I learned all of C++ features as you mentioned, I was still puzzled by :-

Code: Select all

template, lambda, function pointer, delete[]

Those are in the wonderland for me. I can probably be the same as OP if C++ is my first language.

[mkultra333]

Hmm, ok... I feel bad for my sarcasm now.

Regarding the complexities of C++, I think most users only ever focus on understanding a subset of the language. My first post was about the minimal subset of any language I think allows me to do useful work. Generally for myself, often in the circumstance of being forced to use a scripting language or something.

[hyyou]

Yeah, I feel even better about your poet now.

Besides C++, that is also my first impression for every language, and I still feel it in this way.
It is like having a pair of legs, I can virtually walk to everywhere in its logical world - such a good feeling.
The hard barrier seems to be only my lifetime.

I doubt if there are any other careers that may reach this level of satisfaction.