Hit 500 lines of code on my first real project today and it finally clicked

I started learning Python about 6 weeks ago and finally finished my first project that wasn't just following a tutorial. It's a simple script that organizes my lesson plan files by subject and date so I don't have to dig through folders every morning. When I ran the final version and it worked without errors, I checked the line count and it was 512 lines. That surprised me because I thought it would be way shorter, but every function I added solved a tiny problem I actually had at work. Looking back at my first few attempts that were like 20 lines of messy code, it felt good to see how far I'd come. What milestone made you feel like you were actually getting somewhere when you first started out?

3 comments

3 Comments

shanem371mo ago

Pretty sure that's 512 lines of solving actual problems though, not just padding it out with comments (like some people do to feel better about their code). The real milestone for me was when I could look at something I wrote a month ago and immediately see five things wrong with it - that's when you know you're actually learning.

theac631mo ago

Read an article saying the best devs feel embarrassed by their old code. Means they're leveling up. If you still think your old stuff is perfect, you're not growing.

the_robert28d ago

So you're telling me you wrote 500 lines and not a single one of them is a function that you imported but never actually called? Cause that's the real trap I see with new guys. They get proud of line count but half of it is dead code they thought they'd need. The milestone for me was when I started deleting more than I added. I used to think more code meant more progress. Now I know the opposite. Clean code that does exactly what it needs and nothing else. That 500 line script could probably be 200 lines if you really looked at it. Not saying it's bad, just saying the next real growth spurt is learning to cut the fat.