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Leonardo Teteo
Leonardo Teteo

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Do you make the same project with two or more frameworks/languages just to practice?

When I come up with a project idea I always have this same dilemma. I want to use new technologies, but also to continue improving in what I know. Should I make the same project many times with different languages just to practice?

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jrohatiner profile image
Judith

I have done this a lot and still do it often. I use an online IDE. Like Stackblitz or Codepen and just hack away. I learn better and faster by doing - so this is my go to for testing out a framework. And when it doesn’t come out perfect I can hit delete or fork it and start again.

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leoat12 profile image
Leonardo Teteo

That's a good idea. Didn't think about Stackblitz mainly because I generally practice more backend, making APIs, calling it, etc. But to practice some frontend it is a great.

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jrohatiner profile image
Judith

yes, agree totally. For an "instant backend" these work great for me. There are other go tos for more complex practice mechanisms like aws cloud9 (AWS free dev program really helps here). Here is a good list of IDEs that provide the backend for you: hongkiat.com/blog/cloud-ide-develo.... Thanks for the great topic!👍

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jmrapp1 profile image
Jon R • Edited

I went down this route with a pretty large project I was working on. I was developing a web app for a barbershop that would allow clients to register accounts, schedule appointments, etc, and let the barbers and owner manage their appointments, the services they offer, etc.

I decided that Node, Express, and Mongo were the best way to go on the backend, but I was split between two technologies on the frontend: Angular and React. I had experience in React, but only a small amount in Angular. For the sake of learning something new I decided that Angular would be the way to go.

It was one of the largest/complicated apps I've developed, and I learned a lot while making it with Angular, but GOD was it ugly. So ugly in fact that I redeveloped the entire application in React from scratch (oof). BUT, it was a great learning experience, not only on the frontend side of things, but also on the backend. I learned a lot from the mistakes I made and learned how to better organize everything. It made me a lot more confident in my programming because I understood the whole process better.

So tldr; if the application you're developing is something very critical/important (ie. you are creating something for a client that they will be purchasing), stick to what you know. If the application you're developing is something less critical and more of an experiment, I'd highly suggest working with some new technologies. You'll learn what technologies should be used in certain situations, and have a better understanding of multiple libraries and environments. It'll help you grow as a developer and help you become more well rounded.

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leoat12 profile image
Leonardo Teteo

I'm talking personal small projects, not projects for a company, so no budget necessary, unless you are talking about time. hahaha