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Will people crucify me for suggesting that maybe you should also learn a language that's not JavaScript?

• mewpmewp2 5y ago
  I should, but not sure if learning bash specifically is best for productivity. Especially if I don't use it daily, I will forget syntax etc, will still have issues understanding what is going on quickly, more likely to introduce bugs when trying to improve something etc.
  • gen220 5y ago
    The shell is a long-term investment, and decades of programmers are happy to quietly testify to its continuing dividends. POSIX shells (and OS) are the common thread underlying all *nix-based software. Bash prioritizes terseness and backwards compatibility; which is occasionally contradictory with UX, but are valid prioritizations nonetheless. Also, learning something new gives you a more nuanced appreciation of what you already knew. It’s a mind-expanding experience, even if it’s occasionally frustrating. TLDR. I’d advocate for it. It’s OK if things break or fall apart on the road, this is the price of knowledge acquisition.
    • mewpmewp2 5y ago
      Makes sense, but I'm still afraid if I don't use it daily I will tend to forget it. I have learned everything I know by doing it in practice, so personally unless I would take some huger type of side project to learn up bash I don't see how I could do it. And in the end if I'm working with other frontend devs, I'd also have to convince them to learn bash as opposed to just using JavaScript/TypeScript for scripting. Do you have any suggestions on how one should go about learning it? If I do some course right now, then in a year's time if I use it maybe on few occasions in a year, I won't remember it, and it will stop being practical again.