Random Precepts of Programming I

1) If we remain stuck in physicality, and the reader wishes to get into any kind of tech work.... codepen and github are a good start.

Codepen is a true treasure trove. They were acquired by Google for an undisclosed sum a few years back.

For Github, first skills are:

-learning GFM/markdown, and
-how to write and fork a decent readme.
-If your readme looks good, money is more likely to flow.

~O~

Check out Vue's readme, for example... Last I checked, Evan was making 14 grand a month... maybe even more.

It's not easy to get to that level, at all. He probably coded for free for years.

Most open source projects make zero money... cos they don't have their PR act together.

Its' OK to work in tech and not be a programmer. But marketers/UI/UX/sales/PR people make themselves 5x more hire-able if they know GFM/HTML/CSS.

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2) If you stick to a browser heavy application, OP, you will massively reduce costs, and be able to outmaneuver bloated and slow competitors.

If you worked in corporate ERP, I think you must have seen the huge waste that can occur serverside. Incompetent, or downright malevolent, sysadmins BS management that they need X equipment and this budget... and basically subtly hold the company to ransom...

We just saw how Elon canned a ton of useless icon designers, and Twitter is flying just fine with staff reduced by 50 to 90%. FB did the same. Big tech limpets are being purged, they totally deserve it.

Stick mainly in the browser, and stay open source, and a ton of payroll/server-bill headaches disappear. Like Linus Torvalds, pour excellence and brainpower into a clear, scalable, well documented, small system, and let others run their own server. He's happy as Larry, and rich as can be. Still codes from his attic, IIRC.

~O~

3) Obviously you want some kind of server code... I'd go looking on github for Lightweight ERP micro framework and maybe fork a stable, popular project.

IMO, the system needs to run on a fresh 5-dollar Digital Ocean or Linode install, with a popular Linux distro like Ubuntu or Debian. There needs to be a clear readme, with 10-15 bash commands, that people can run, to feel the rush of setting up their own server. The key is to standardize, and help people set up on low-cost droplets, so you don't get beginners with a ton of environment conflicts, on old versions of Windows, for example. That can be painful to fix, and massively reduces adoption.

Using Erlang or Phoenix/Elixir may substantially reduce server bills. IIRC, Bleacher Report cut costs dramatically by
switching to Elixir. One of the reasons What's App was acquired for billions, was because they were serving 400 million messages per day, with only 11 engineers. That should make anyone's eyes pop. They did this cos they ran on the Erlang BEAM.

One of the reasons Twitter, FB and other big tech companies have so many staff, is because they violated, or wait, proved, Virding's First Rule of Programming.

tl:dr

1) Codepen and Github for tech beginners.
2) Pursue excellence in the browser first.
3) Try Erlang.

No rush to get back to me, I'm communicating with the whole McGalaxy here.