Hello World, I have been learning XOJO for the last 7 months. it took me that long to build my first app for testing. Now I am looking for somebody willing to look at what i have done and tell me if I’m crazy, or if I have any future writing programs. I have no formal training so I find myself constantly wondering if I am following best practices. I know what I want to build just looking for some guidance from somebody with some experience. I would be happy to answer any questions.
My ultimate goal is to build a desktop app specifically for the raspberry pi.
The form has been a great place to find answers to all my questions so far. My thanks to all those who participate!!
It took me about the same timeframe to learn how to use Xojo and launch my first app. Being a few years later now, I’m absolutely disgusted by my code from back then. So much so that I’ve started an entire ground-up rewrite (that’s moving very slowly) of the app.
I guess my point is, you never stop learning when it comes to software development. You will continue to grow and get better, and when you look back at code you sometimes wonder why you approached things the way you did.
There is no way to know if you have a future in software from the way you write code when you start learning. I never would have guessed I’d be doing software development full time for an established company back then. I thought maybe through my best efforts I’d maybe pull off being an independent developer enough to get by.
The only true determination of whether you can have a future in software is your passion for it. That’s the only common thing I’ve seen with my time in development communities. Those without passion look for cheap outs and shortcuts, and never learn (or have any desire) to make quality software.
If you’re feeling up for a general code review by the community go ahead and post your project. The only thing is we have a general community guideline to be supportive, so you may not get the full and honest truth about how bad something is here. A private mentor might be more helpful in that aspect.
Thanks Tim,
I agree with all you said, and have had some similar experiences maintaining code somebody else wrote. My situation is such that this is my livelihood, and if I can’t get it done I will have to go flip burgers or something.
I have hired programmers, and even a programmer to help me and never got the results I wanted. That was with a different language.
I do need a true and honest opinion especially for the bad parts. I can’t afford to produce garbage. As this test app will ultimately be part of the final product I don’t really want to put it out there. Probably over protective.
Charles… I think Tim underestimates some of the people on this forum… If you post code and ask for an opinion, I know for a fact that you will get one… And not many of us will “sugar coat” it… after all what good does it do you, if everyone looks at your code and says “That is FANTASTIC!” when in fact it is not. You won’t have learned anything, and would continue down that same muddy road. What I would expect, is for people to (politely) point out bad habits, offer alternative approaches, etc.
Personally, I have been in this business for over 40 years, and to this day I am STILL learning things…
I have failed to locate any questions you have posted… Are you expecting someone to jump in, hold you hand and lead you thru the intricacies of learning to be a computer program developer? That isn’t going to happen. Everyone here has other life pursuits, and nobody has the time to be a Mentor just for “the fun of it”. It is up to you to take the initiative and do the research, write some code, make mistakes, and then perhaps we will help you resolve those mistakes… But you have to prove you are willing to make that kind of an effort… Everyone else here has or is in the process of doing just that.
You said " write some code, make mistakes, and then perhaps we will help you resolve those mistakes…" “perhaps we will help you” NOT VERY FRIENDLY!! That kind of attitude is one of the reasons I would prefer to find one person who is knowledgeable in XOJO and work with them.
You don’t know anything about me, or what I am trying to accomplish. You don’t know my skill level, maybe there is a reason you can’t locate any posted questions. With 1 exception I have found all my questions either already answered or read and researched myself. I don’t need somebody to hold my hand.
I simply checked to see if anyone was interested in becoming a mentor. No takers, great, question answered.
I saw that you replied to this post earlier and mentioned the word (politely)? Your last response feels more like a personal attack than a (polite) offer of alternative approaches, etc.
First, a disclaimer: English is not my first language and I don’t succeed in conveying all the subtle nuances I wish. So, here it goes.
Trust me, people will help if you make the effort. Every time I needed help, forum members stepped up to help. But you do have to research your subject, make some effort on your side, properly define the issue and ask politely. (yes, the word is warranted…) Sometimes, members will hesitate to help because the question is either vague or on the contrary pertains to a very specific use case they have not encountered yet. Hence, perhaps we will help you. Most often, you will receive help when the question is properly documented.
If members read that you feel like help is due, chances are that you won’t get any. Take some time to read your posts again. A passive aggressive attitude does not entice prople to attempt to help.
For what it is worth, if you searched the forum even diagonnaly, you already know that @Dave S has helped many forum members already. I am one of them. Just because he is frank and direct does not mean at all that he is unfriendly - hey, I prefer to know up front and in no uncertain terms that I am about to jump off a cliff! Like I said, take a deep breath or take a short break, re-read your posts. Then, let’s start over fresh. Help will be forthcoming.
I think you are misunderstanding things here. I am using Xojo now since 2005 and like you I am still wondering if I do things right, despite they are working well.
I do not know what you want to accomplish but I do know that you should ask questions here in this forum. When you are not sure if a section of code you wrote is fine, just post that code and ask for opinions. I am sure people will give you their advice and suggestions.
In programming, you can do things in so many ways, it can be indeed confusing. To make it even more confusing, there are not really “good” or “bad” ways. There are only “better” was to do things. You can write today a piece of code which you are very happy about and somewhere in the future you just rewrite it because you found a better way. That is what a developer does, constantly learning and adjusting his/her skills.
What also helped me is being determined to finish the project. Despite the problems you encounter, just move on towards the finish. When you get stuck are running in cycles, just do something else and come back later.
If your application does what you expect it to do, then check those things you are doubting about. Do your research on the internet, the forum here. Ask other people, ask your end user how you can improve or what their wishes are;
There are just so many ways you can find out if you are on the right path towards success.
I hope you will continue using Xojo and remain improving your skills and talents. The more you do it, the more you are gonna believe in yourself and before you know it you are gonna finish that application you wanted to write.
Wish you very much success in the bumpy but challenging road of the software developer;
FWIW, I consider several people from this forum as my mentors, even if I don’t interact with them privately/directly. A lot of helping people in this forum.