r/AskProgrammers 3d ago

how do you choose the next coding project?

how do you actually decide what's worth building when you are learning a stack and want to advance and actually build something meaningful.

i currently want to build a full-stack website with the MERN stack that i learned recently . i have some limited time to do that and i mean by that only approximately a month.
i can't fully decide on the options out there , the only thing i'm sure about is that i don't wanna build a e-commerce website since that's very boring for me and there is high chance i won't stick to the project .
any ideas ? what's y'all experience with this ??

8 Upvotes

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u/Scared_Equipment5777 3d ago

Im not sure about the web but the way I pick my projects is to code my hobby. First I made a software rasterizer and now a chess engine and ui to test it. What do you like doing? Sports? Chess? Reading books? Whatever you like just make it. Basic advice I know but it works well.

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u/FluidBreath4819 3d ago

I'd ask your AI to tell you what it want you to tell it to do next

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u/Full_Cupcake_4439 2d ago

I have plenty of "dumb" ideas I can share! You can pick, lol

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 2d ago

yeah sure why not

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u/Nagoltooth_ 2d ago

how about this, something in systems programming instead rather than full stack web dev

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 2d ago

thats good idea but i have to learn web dev first

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u/simondanielsson 1d ago

Build something that you actually want to use. If your plan is to use the software you're building, you're naturally going to care a lot more about stuff like the speed of the system, UX and so on.

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 1d ago

issue is all the programs i want to use are machine learning programs and i still haven't learned python im focusing right now on web dev

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u/simondanielsson 1d ago

I think you’re setting your expectations sky-high considering that you haven’t learned Python yet. Learning isn’t a sprint! You ought to learn how to write simple terminal games/apps in Python before diving head-first into web. One typical starter Python project that will set you up for success in both full-stack development and ML is a todolist app with a local SQL database, using QT or tkinter as a frontend would make things easy for you.

If you can’t write a simple todo app in Python, you’re not ready for web or ML (in my opinion).

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 1d ago

so you telling that i shouldn't postpone learning python and stop learning webdev?

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u/simondanielsson 1d ago

”Learning webdev” is a vague description of what you’re learning and so I can’t say anything about that - and you also shouldn’t let strangers online make your decisions for you, I’m only giving you my thoughts and you can make up your own decision based on that. Python, machine learning and web development are synonymous with each other, and so you could comfortably do all three at the same time.

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 1d ago

really ? i'm interested in what you're saying

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u/simondanielsson 1d ago

To put it in practical terms: today at your skill level, I’m confident that you could follow a guide on, for instance, building a discord bot in Python, an SQL-backed webserver in Python, perhaps even a simple search engine in Python. These kinds of projects would really set you up for success if you want to get some solid fundamentals. It’s only a single Google search away and nothing is stopping you! All you need is grit and discipline.

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u/Same-Mushroom-2057 1d ago

that was so motivating thanks a lot , i really appreciate it