

Ask HN: Will I ever feel like I know "everything" about web programming? - marcamillion

I am a fairly technical person. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and have a solid understanding of the building blocks of computer science and the web.<p>I "learned" programming in college, but when I graduated I felt like all I could do is just build random projects - which is what I did - in languages I considered 'archaic' and uninteresting to me (largely C, C++, Java, Assembly, etc.). I am not starting a flame war, but those languages are just not interesting to me - or rather, they weren't until I stumbled upon Ruby.<p>I learned OOP via Java and hated it.<p>Over the last 3 - 4 years I have been teaching myself Ruby &#38; Rails dev. I am loving every minute of it - but I am a bit self-conscious about my development skills because I know how much I don't know.<p>I am not one of those guys that has a huge Github repo and actively participates in lots of OSS projects. But if I want to build something, no matter how long it takes me - I figure it out. I can't say it's always "very elegant" the first time, but there is always a desire for me to make it so.<p>Is it normal that 3 years into Ruby &#38; Rails development I feel like I still have A LOT to learn? Will I ever feel like I know "everything" there is to know about Ruby, Rails, OOP, etc.?<p>The more I learn Ruby is the more I find myself looking at other languages to see how things are handled in those languages, which also leads me to start thinking about languages (both programming and natural/spoken) and the way they are constructed and other things outside of web programming. But then I just stop because I already feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount I have to learn about the web.<p>I know this may be a bit subjective, but I feel torn.<p>I don't know if the way I am feeling is a good thing (i.e. because I know what I don't know, I am always trying to improve my craft) or a bad thing (that I am learning too slowly - I do tend to take the long route because I want to make sure I thoroughly understand what I am learning).
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shdon
You may at some time feel like you know everything about web programming but,
just as with any other topic, you'd be wrong.

Programming (and web programming even more so) is a highly dynamic field. The
field is vast and new technologies and techniques pop up at an amazing rate. I
still learn new stuff pretty much every day and I've been doing this for 16
years as a hobby and 10 years professionally.

It's definitely not bad to realise your own limitations and constantly strive
to expand and improve your skills. It's what separates those who can grow from
those who are narrow-minded and/or complacent.

~~~
marcamillion
That makes sense.

I just wonder how people like DHH feel...I wonder if a) He feels like he knows
everything about Ruby and Rails.

 _shrugs_

