bnb

Hey there, really, really great article! It really spoke to me. I've got a small question for you, though: I'm in the Cliff of Confusion, but I have a serious problem. I can't even build a program. I know syntax, structure, etc., but I don't know how to pull all of it together to actually build something that serves a purpose. Do you have any advice for me?

I don't think it's right for you to call what he said crap without backing it up with any evidence. Node.js is essentially the modern poster child of modularity. JavaScript doesn't have inherent modularity--but the devs of Node have made some choices that make it possible to have an extensive module ecosystem for Node. npm is probably one of the best package managers for development right now, as it comes with one of the most popular platforms and is inherently flexible.

Just a quick list:

1. You use the name "snapshots" in the header, yet call it a Snap everywhere else.

2. You don't outright define what a Snap is anywhere on the page. I have to infer what it is from the screenshots and specific, single words you use.

3. Platforms in the header are disjointed. Put both on one side. Information should be modular--the OS X/iOS parts should be close together--so the user doesn't have to look around for it.

I'm based in the middle of friggin' nowhere, New York (State). Not many good programmers around here. The nearest big city is Albany, which I'd bet has some, but I'm not really in a situation where I can go there to meet up with people.

Thanks for this. I think this is a large part of my problem. I don't know how to do fundamental things, such as set up an index route with Express, or how to use a templating engine with that to display dynamic text, or how to use a database to store that dynamic text.

I think your comment is a more direct way of saying what a lot of people have said: Break it down into smaller problems. You can go through each smaller problem and solve it, then move on to the next, until you're done. Once there, you'll have learned how to program. Or I should say, I will have.

I agree with this, but I do think there must be something that we're missing. Many, many skilled developers are saying "just go out there and build." The problem is we don't know how to build.

I think there might be an implied aspect of this that we're not getting. Someone said to (paraphrasing here) "Google every problem you come up against; 'how do I do x with y, how does a work, how do I implement b, etc.'" That seems like it would work--if you Google every problem you have, or look at the docs for every function you use, a pattern will start building in your head that shows you how to do x with y. I think the key here is looking at the core source of the tools you're using and connecting the dots in your head.

Absolutely agree with this.

There are hundreds of tutorials on how to write JavaScript, use the for loop, use if else statements, and so on. But not very many that I have found actually show how to use those to build a real program, explaining the steps and thought process behind the program along the way.

There are definitely ones that show you how to do things with it, but there's often not an explanation of _why_ something works the way it does.

Thank you very, very much for your main comment. I am actually a member of both academia and the realm of "regular people/programmers/hackers/whatever." I'm a college student, so a lot of my work is for the most part free (despite what most people think about academia). However, I also want to do programming for a living, and know I will have to conform eventually.

That said, you're absolutely right in saying that I want to "solve problems" (that's just the best term I could come up with after months of trying to convey my meaning to many people--I have no attachment to it) for the intellectual satisfaction and joy of doing so. I really just love what I have done with writing code. It's really fulfilling and the structure of it resonates with me at a deep level.

So, your comment is very helpful. There's no end to the small problems or ideas that I have, especially within my work writing code. You may have answered this and I didn't understand, but the main thing I'm getting at with my OP is that I don't have the skill set to actually solve the problems. I know it probably sounds completely ridiculous, but I've approached many small problems and have always produced the absolute barest skeleton of the program which solves the problem I have. I then draw a blank on what I need to do next to continue solving the problem--the structure and the logic don't exist in my brain yet. That's what I really want to get from this thread, and I think there are some excellent responses that help with that, including yours.

First off, thank you for the excellent reply. I think I'll be saying this a lot in this thread, but I don't know how to express my gratitude for your response--it's shed some light on things for me.

I'm a college student, and I haven't had a single programming course. I'm interested in full-stack, including front-end design and dev. I've learned my shit with that, and can hold my own with it pretty well. However, I do have plenty of free time to do what I want with programming, and I've taken on a massive load.

Every day I'm hopping between frameworks. I did half of the Ember.js course at CodeSchool, realized I didn't like how the project was being handled and decided to try React. That's just the latest, though--I've been trying to learn Node, Express, Gulp, Slush, and a bunch of others. I've got about 10 projects with just a bit of work done on them, and no more because I got stuck, didn't know what to do, and moved on. I see now that I really need to pick my tool and learn it.

Right now, that's going to be Node + Express for me. I don't think I have the gusto or interest to get into the nitty-gritty of Node core dev, but I could definitely do that with Express. Thank you for the excellent guide on how to really focus with it. I'll definitely be doing that immediately.

Thanks for your help, and I'll definitely sign on to Freenode to chat and get some help/ideas some time.

> http://howtonode.org

Very infrequent updates. I was told that it shouldn't matter, but ran into several problems immediately when I tried some of their tuts.

> http://nodejs.org/documentation/tutorials

Only lists NodeSchool. Why not just list NodeSchool?

> http://nodetuts.com/ (video tutorials)

Last updated a year and a half ago.

http://blog.modulus.io/absolute-beginners-guide-to-nodejs

So basic it's almost useless. It introduces you to including modules, package.json, and callbacks, but if you want to actually go further, there's not much help.

>When you are done, look at this list of extensive node at Stackoverflow:

>http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2353818/how-do-i-get-star...

Pretty out of date as well.

OP: There's not a ton of resources for jumping into Node easily. The majority of the ones I've found haven't worked for me--however, that could just be me, not being an experienced programmer. I just took the Real Time Web with Node.js course at CodeSchool, and it was pretty good. I learned a lot, familiarized myself with certain modules and functions, and was able to come out of it feeling positive about the experience. Highly suggested.

So Mozilla is "some random startup"?

Google tries to copyright cookies: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2014/0156738.html

Bullshit actions in partnership with Apple: http://pando.com/2014/03/25/newly-unsealed-documents-show-st...

And, to me, the worst - Bulling the CSS WG: http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/www-style/2014Feb/0103.h...

How is it stable if it is based on an inherently unstable currency? And what about people who don't live in the U.S., A.K.A 17/18ths of the world?

This is fucking cool as shit. Thank you so much for posting it--will definitely be trying to use it in the future.

This is really god damn cool. Totally going to start using this every time I talk about code on my social networks. Thanks a ton.

Step 1: Get a real design, and don't just use 100% default Bootstrap.

Flynn is a (adjective) PaaS platform that can be hosted on your own servers so you can make it work for you.

Flynn can (verb) as a PaaS platform that allows you to do what you need to within your existing infrastructure.

Flynn runs on your servers as a PaaS platform that you can build upon to (whatever a PaaS does).

I don't really know what PaaSes do, but those should work if you find interesting words (not just generic ones) to put where I've noted. Adding extremely informative details in a sub heading would be very beneficial.

Something to note on thinking everybody is a super-brilliant "10x" programmer: You're not seeing the same people post deep, insightful things here on HN. There are people who know a lot about this one thing, and can write very accurately and intelligently about it, but don't know anything about HTML or desktop programming (C, C++, others), server-side logic, etc.

The same goes for each of those fields, and every other field--there are certain people who know a lot about them, and when the topic comes up they talk about them. The reason it seems like there are a bunch of super-brilliant "10x" programmers is that there are many, many of these specialized people on HN and around the web, and at least a few of them always have something to say about a topic. It doesn't mean they're all super-brilliant "10x" programmers.

I haven't read the rest of the comments, but am I the only one who finds it strange that GitHub says that Horvath was contacted for the investigation, yet she says she wasn't?

Using a standard Win8 PC, and it works fine for me. I'm guessing there's something going on in your computer that's causing that to happen.

You could even call it... GMail.

Jesus, what is his problem? It seems someone or something upset him, and he ran off and wrote the "worst" possible thing he could about Node, GitHub, and Mac users.

There's good diversity in languages in our field. Get over it. There's a good reason GitHub has done so well. Get over it. There's a good reason why Macs are the most popular amongst designers. Get over it.

I would guess it's something on your end. I'm not seeing any speed increases; it was already incredibly fast for me.

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You can build any type of app you want on top of Tent.

See the hosting provider Cupcake.io to get a working Tent account: https://cupcake.io (say ^bnb.cupcake.is sent you!)

Shouldn't you be able to do this with a link in the footer of their emails? If I recall correctly, it's US law that companies (and websites in general) have to put unsubscribe links in their emails.