"Rites of Passage" applications

[mnemonic]

It's always said that there are certain applications that all learning developers have to write as part of their "rites of passage".

A starter for ten...a text editor.

Any more?

[parkint]

I would add, Interface-based application.  Working with Interfaces.

[app103]

I think it depends on the particular culture you find yourself surrounded with when you start learning.

For many where I began, a chat client was a "rite of passage". In my WinMX programming chat room there must have been at least 10 of them made, some of them with chatbots included.

Then there was the "competition" on the network to see who could create the best WinMX compatible chat server.

Then the gazillion plugins for everything related to any software used on the network...most notably, Winamp/WinMX compatible chat room music spammers. (I could kick myself repeatedly for coming up with the idea for the first one) Any piece of information they could grab from somewhere else and display in the chat room, they did it, from system information, running processes, translations, google searches...the works. It made the network a crazy place.

You weren't one of the cool kids unless you made something to "enhance" someone else's winmx experience. I used to get teased for not being interested in making any of that stuff. I was content to make stuff for use outside of WinMX, like a text editor, a mini browser, a desktop clock, etc.

And it didn't stop on that network...it started all over again when we branched out to Ares Galaxy, and that was before it was open source. Renko (one of my mentors) opened a chat room there and developed a chat server with a built in javascript interpreter and debugger that could do absolutely amazing things (Arca Eclipse)....for the purpose of teaching all the kids there how to program, too. (he was the original instigator of the WinMX coding fury)

[mouser]

no coding rite of passage would be complete without a game or two.

[scancode]

no coding rite of passage would be complete without a game or two.

Every. Programmer. Must. Write. A. Tetris. Clone!

[mouser]

The most important rite of passage is creating an application for the NANY event.
Another rite of passage is releasing an open source program.

[mnemonic]

The most important rite of passage is creating an application for the NANY event.

I completely agree with that.  The first significant-sized application I wrote was for NANY.  I now know exactly how not to structure the next one    My NANY entry this year could well have the "second-system effect" though...

To any learning developers, NANY is a great way to hustle.

[Deozaan]

no coding rite of passage would be complete without a game or two.

Every. Programmer. Must. Write. A. Tetris. Clone!

Where's yours? I wanna play it.

[Deozaan]

I thought a Rite of Passage in programming always included a "Hello World!" program.

[pyrohacker]

Yeah, you've always gotta have the "Hello, World!" in there somewhere.  I wonder if anyone ever publishes any of them, though... 

Hmm.  Maybe for NANY, I could... 

[mnemonic]

I wonder if anyone ever publishes any of them, though... 

How about this chap 

[scancode]

no coding rite of passage would be complete without a game or two.

Every. Programmer. Must. Write. A. Tetris. Clone!

Where's yours? I wanna play it.

I'm not a programmer. I'm a Software Developer (trademark)

[pyrohacker]

How about this chap 

mnemonic, that link was great!  Man, I love coding humor and traditions.

[app103]

How about this chap 

Hey, he even has Martin's easm:

http://helloworldsite.he.funpic.de/hello.htm#easm