> You should be able to learn at least one language deeply enough that, given sufficient time, you could do just about anything without libraries or external de

> You should be able to learn at least one language deeply enough that, given sufficient time, you could do just about anything without libraries or external dependencies, and therefore without needing additional documentation. Aspiring to and eventually developing that level of language mastery is, IMO, one of the core signs of maturity for a Software Engineer. I don't understand why so much emphasis is put on being able to do this without consulting the docs. Sure, it's nice to be able to pound out the most basic valid HTML page without googling it, but that's hardly a web app. If you need a backend component, I suspect the ecosystems where you can make anything practical using only built-in functions (no libs) are in the minority. You'd end up doing ridiculous stuff like using the filesystem as a database, plain javascript on the client side, node's builtin http in the backend. People with years of expertise may be able to do this, but it's just a side effect of having been steeped in the tech stacks for so long. I don't agree that being able to do this is something worth aspiring to. Rather, people should aspire to moving efficiently within their ecosystems and conserving mental space by knowing where to find things quickly.