news.volyx.in

Some tiny personal programs I've written (jvns.ca)

873 points by atg_abhishek · 1651 days ago · 358 comments on HN

Article summary

The article discusses the author's experience with writing small personal programs to solve everyday problems, such as generating a calendar for a theatre festival or printing custom labels on envelopes. The author finds these tiny projects to be fun and rewarding, and believes they can be a great way for people to learn programming. The projects are often driven by a specific need or problem, and the author enjoys the process of finding a solution. The article showcases several examples of such projects, including a script to check for COVID vaccine appointments and a program to generate crosswords.

Main themes

  • personal programming projects
  • problem-solving
  • learning to code
  • API usage
  • automation
  • productivity
  • fairness and access
  • pet adoption
  • tiny programs
  • programming for fun

What commenters say

  • Writing small personal programs can be a fun and effective way to learn programming and solve everyday problems.
  • Using undocumented APIs can be a useful technique for accessing data or services, but it requires caution to avoid overloading the site or violating terms of service.
  • Some people have used programming to gain an advantage in situations like getting COVID vaccine appointments, which raises questions about fairness and access.
  • Others have used programming to automate tasks or solve problems in their personal lives, such as tracking expenses or generating invoices.
  • There are potential downsides to using shelter dogs, including higher long-term costs and potential health problems, which should be considered when deciding whether to adopt a pet.
  • Tiny programs can be a great way to build something useful and functional, even if it's not a large or complex project.
  • Some commenters have shared their own experiences with writing small programs to solve problems or automate tasks, and have found it to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
  • The use of programming to solve everyday problems can be a powerful tool for increasing productivity and efficiency, and can be applied to a wide range of tasks and situations.