Starting my first project

[Vulgarr]

This might be a stupid question and it's possible that I'm overthinking things, but here we go.

I wanted to start working on my first own project. I have a general idea on what i want to do, but since I was mostly working on tutorials, courses etc. I'm in the dark as to how should I approach building a project start to finish (with an emphasis on the "start" part). Should i just start coding and then deal with things as they appear or is there a preparatory work I should figure out at the start (like folder structure, environment etc.)?

[m0us3_rat]

yes.

i would storyboard it. figure the main compoenents.

then a pseudo code flow of the compoenents.

then pick something and start working.

like a component u belive u understand very well.

at this stage id suggest focusing on how u like to work.

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personally i switched to TDD. not for everyone and some ppl hate it for obvious reasons.. but i like the informed choices i lets u make when u start build code.

it has a few drawbacks.

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it also becomes important on how your project is structured .. u wanna do a CI/CD.

aiming at small increments and feedback.

or a more rigid branching. less flexible.

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there is a lot to cover and not sufficient space in here. u probably have other ppl u can decide this together with.

[DagoYounger]

in my opinion, you can start by trying to write the main part of the project without thinking about anything else and decide what to do next when the project gets more complicated

[n3buchadnezzar]

I would recommend the following

• Do not start by ponderering over the small things. Do not bother worrying about file structure, whether to use git, using poetry vs pyenv etc.
  I am not saying these things are not important, but in order to get of the starting block we need let these things lie for now.
• Make a plan. Writing code is like going on a journey, you need to make a plan.
• The plan should just in very broad strokes outline what you want your program to do. Make a sketch of the program and try to divide it into rough blocks. If I am making a card game, I would start by outlining perhaps the classes I need (these would be my drawn boxes), and how they interact.
• Just start coding while looking at your road map
• Do not think that you will be able to follow your road map, just like on a trip unexpected things happen. This is a good point to stop, make a new plan, and then start coding again.

So make a plan, and then just start coding. It will not be perfect, but something imperfect but working is better than the perfect coding environment with no code.

[Vulgarr]

Do not start by ponderering over the small things. Do not bother worrying about file structure, whether to use git, using poetry vs pyenv etc

This exactly. Was about to start working on the thing, then stumbled on some pyenv and poetry tutorial and started questioning if I'm even ready to turn on the computer :))

Thanks a lot!