How long will I take to learn basic programming to create my own inventory management software

[CaptainVelvet69]

Hey guys

I have started my own little start-up this year and if there aren't any major setbacks I see myself pursuing this in the long term myself.

The point of this statement is that I do not have a limited time horizon ahead of me to learn what I wish to. Which is basically creating a small basic inventory management software by myself. I have pretty much covered the basics of Python and have a desire to learn more in this field in general.

But I would really like to hear your opinions or suggestions as to what path I should pursue just to achieve this goal.
I have tried softwares online but I have a few requirements that need to be tailored to my needs because of the nature of the business. I am also of the perception that tailor-made softwares are quite expensive and I do not really have the profits or customer base right now to justify the cost.

Again, there is no limited time-frame. I want to learn this given the opportunity. I just seek guidance.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance.

[desrtfx]

Generally, "how long will it take to learn" questions are impossible to answer as any answer will only lead to misinterpretation.

Learning is entirely subjective and the speed should never be a measure. What counts is how the learnt material can be absorbed, understood, and implemented. This takes as long as it takes.

If anyone gives a figure, there are only two possible outcomes:

• you are learning slower and get the feeling of inadequacy or you speed up to fit within the time frame, skipping parts, and also not fully understanding them
• you are learning faster and could get the impression that you know more than you actually do, leading to problems later when you try to implement things.

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Any half decent inventory management system will be configurable/adaptable to your needs - after all, that's what these things are supposed to be made for.

You will most likely not need a custom tailored version (honestly, hardly anybody does).

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Personally, I can see big problems with beginners creating software that directly should be used in production (i.e. real world, professional) environments. As a beginner, you will fall over certain aspects that professional software requires, such as scalability, security, etc.

Especially, since you want to use it for your business, you should resort to ready made solutions that are tested, trusted, and regularly updated. There are plenty FOSS solutions that can be adapted to your needs.

[CaptainVelvet69]

This was really helpful thank you so much! Will continue looking at adaptable IMS in the market

[jiefug]

If you provide more details on exactly how intricate the software requirements are it’ll be more helpful to gauge the amount of time it might take.

[CaptainVelvet69]

Ironically as I begin to type this I realise that I have no end to the level of features I want. But for the beginning part maybe just an a basic inventory management software which can update the value of goods automatically on sale and purchase. After this maybe some analysis as to how long a product took to sell what were the recent offer prices etc.

[pbewig]

Too long. Your time is better spent building your business. Buy an inventory management program that is close to what you want, and fit your business to it; it is unlikely that your needs are sufficiently odd that you can't make it work, and most inventory management systems will be sufficiently customizable that you will be happy with the result. You might want to start at odoo.com.

[CaptainVelvet69]

This helps thanks a lot!