artist,
If you have not already, you should read Portrait of J. Random Hacker - especially the Personality Characteristics.

You asked for personal experience and opinions, so my post is purely written from that perspective though I recognize different things work for different people. I would say that 90% of the code that I write I never use, an additional 7% is toy programming, leaving about 3% being used practically.

I program because it is a nice balance between the freeform creative side and the very rigid logical side of my brain. I spend vast amounts of time at the Monastery and #perl on IRC solving other people's problems. I try and find interesting problems to work on for no other reason than to learn and grow.

I believe the previous paragraph answers both your first question and your second. Your third question to me is highly dependent on your situation. Currently, I don't program by trade though writing code is a tool I use in my job. That means what is essential to me now is unlikely to be essential for me in a different environment.

To me it boils down to repeatedly using techniques until you no longer have to think about them. Once you assimilate them, you code them naturally when they are appropriate. I expressed this in several Meditations. A couple of the most applicable are Value of "RE"-coding for the newbie and Necessity is the mother of invention. Force yourself out of your comfort zone gradually learning new things in an ever expanding circle of knowledge.

Cheers - L~R

In reply to Re: Perl in Mind by Limbic~Region
in thread Perl in Mind by artist

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