DEV Community: Sai Sakthi

My Life as a Dev III - (From Python to Java , And the Moment I Realized Languages Have a Purpose)

Sai Sakthi — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 12:32:23 +0000

So if you see one of my old posts, I started with python and then Java

Let's talk about Java

One Word, Bro Code

An absolute legend for me in my programming journey, So let's start on how I started Java
After seeing how horrendous C++ was to me, I tried Java, from what I heard at that time, the opinions were mixed

Some complained "It is too old and mostly centered around OOP"
Some said "If you want to become or even remotely do something with a old company, go blindly learn Java"

For me, both point of view is correct
Java might not be the new flashy language or tools everyone chases for, it chases for another thing, stability

The only thing that even keeps Java in this field to be honest, there is no pain to migrate from Java 5 to 6 with 100 breaking changes, or tools that just suddenly gives you a breaking change once a month, like it's milk delivery

It's core idealogy is around, "If it works today now it should work tommorow" atleast that's what I understood personally

So let's start with how I learned Java

The very first thing itself just made me regret my decision
class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello world");
}
}
just imagine, I came from python and seeing words like public static void class main

Man I was ready to give up, but something just said to like pursue it, I don't know what it is, the feel you know that you should do it, I got that feel and I continued it

And it was one of the best decisions I ever made, Java was good, like very good and easy if you understand what OOP is and why it is there in the first place, the history of java itself is another story to learn,

Untill that point, I saw languages as more of a convertor from our language to it's machine native language, like a translator

But I was so wrong when I heard about java, and practised and what I heard changed me forever

Languages are not mere translators, most if not all of them is built for a purpose, to solve a specific problem in a industry in compromise to something.

Like take python, we know it is heck slow to be even called to be a programming language, but you know why almost all AI companies and even all beginners (including me) started there, it's not about the speed, it's about the image and entry to barrier to the space of programming language itself. Python is just plain english language and even a baby could understand it, and that's why it hides almost all abstractions and just leaves on what is necessary to learn and do things like scripting, and there is another deeper side

Inside python, it uses a C++/C engine, and most python libraries are indeed made in C++, so again the speed is not the issue, it's the understanding that we get when we use Python

Same for Java, It is primarily built for stability, backward compaitability, long term reliability and most importantly Cross Platform Running,

We forgot this after docker huh, most languages at that time like C++ C etc did not cross platform, you have to take the source code recompile into it's orginal one and then run it, pain in the ass

So java decided, F**K it I build a VM which can run it, and it worked like a charm, now just drop your JAR (not your home jar, I won't be responsible if you broke it 🤣🤣)
But Java Jar which runs if you have java, no recompiling from source code and hoping it won't break

that's one of the story, I did learn till Method over-riding and then left it after seeing there is just way too much in that

So, now I did learn Languages, what about projects,

For that let's start in our next story

Systems

Sai Sakthi — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 05:23:30 +0000

My Life as a Dev II - (Starting with Python)

Sai Sakthi — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:57:46 +0000

So if you read the first post, this is a continution from there, but still you can follow this if you did not read about it,

In short, I spent a year installing Mac OS in Windows resulting in complete utter failure but I was in 9th grade so I won't complain much there. But I did learn many things in Computer, especially in the virtualization side of things

Then it was 10th, Anyone in India knows it's a Big deal because there was public exams, so for that year I did not use computer that much.
I mostly used it to study and sort of things, but I wished for a new laptop

Then it was over, The April leave arrived and my life long wish of new laptop with it too, HP Victus 15
It was fantastic,
You know the first thing I did, Game. I mean it is a gaming laptop, I played Titanfall 2, A absolute masterclass of a game, glad to be that it's my first game

So I was spending like that, then I finished that game too, but I just felt this empty void this boredom, It told me you don't belong there,
This destiny shit I guess, Led me to see a video on Python absolutely by chance I never searched, It was rare to see algorithm of youtube recommended that, then I just thought "Ok what's a big deal let's learn it just one hour"

There it is all started, the bro code (absolute legend who taught me Python and JS) and another bald guy I don't remeber I saw those 2 videos, one was short like for a hour, it was nice and good and wow that feeling to type something and get it in this black box in pycharm, that feeling was different.

It took me about 4 months to properly learn Python from those videos, remember that was just basics, I learnt it in a month then I did some exercises for 3 months and learning random modules

A embarassing part here, I tried installing C++ in Pycharm
🤣🤣
It was so embarassing looking now that i can't control my laugh on how stupid and naive I was back then,

So this was going on, learnt Python and when C++ did not run in Pycharm (Obviously) I installed Clion and tried it and well ...

I DID NOT UNDERSTAND ANYTHING

what the heck is std::cout << "hello world << std::endl;

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS
I gave up after a month and then I touched Java

there it came, every Java beginner confusion
class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("hello world")
}
}
atleast there is "print" in here instead of "cout" 🤣🤣
that convinced me to proceed with it, It was a good decision as I loved OOP,
Inheritance : What, are you a child, well ... yes
Encapsulation : Protect the medicine (here it is the data in java) by capsulating it (private declaration here in java)
Polymorphism : Naruto / Ninja clones with different costumes 🤣🤣
Abstaction : GUI, like interfaces are (part of) abstraction in technical sense here so I just made sense of it like this

It was fun, Car class Animal class and things like that, I saw the bro code videos (again coming in clutch here) his videos really strengthened mmy knowledge in java but after seeing method over-riding and things like that, I felt it was enough,

We learnt 2 languages. So we should be able to do a project right
right ...

My Life as a Dev - I (How I got into Programming)

Sai Sakthi — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 12:32:07 +0000

Ok short intro here, My name is Saisakthi, currently 18 and studying
You might wonder what I am doing in the dev.to community as a first year, well I have my own set of experience to share in this community

I am a self taught dev, nothing new in that. So let's start with where I started computers it was 9th Grade. I was seeing youtube and this video about Mac OS vs Windows popped up, I just watched it i did not know why

I did not know things like what is OS etc etc but one sentence struck to me, "Mac OS is the best software and Windows is the best hardware"
Then I asked a simple question "Why can't be best hardware be in the best software", A simple enough mind at that time thought like that

I got straight to work
Virtualization
Images

Nah
"How to install Mac OS in windows"
🤣🤣
Done searched and saw one video
I did not understand shit in that, my mind was like
"Virtualization", "Oracle VMBox", "Download a Image"
What the heck is a image

but you know what, I did put hardwork on it, I just can't ignore this feeling that I had to solve this mystery on why it can't be the case
Mind you I did it on 10 year old laptop with dual core and 6GB RAM
not only that, If you are in India, there was no concept of unlimited (atleast I did not know that), I only had around 2GB Data daily, So when I saw the image size as Freaking 14GB, I gave up, I know i could never even download it in chrome and I can't leave laptop on for 14 Days to download because when you restart the progress will be deleted in chrome

Or is it (Vsauce Reference)

Then I embarrassingly searched "How to continue download after restart"
One word, Torrent
and it changed everything

What do you mean I can restart and continue like normal, I did not know how torrents worked at that time, took it as magic and started downloading it, Panstackingly after 14 Days fo internet and scouldings from my mother on how internet is over before her facebook, I did it donwloaded the main guy, the Mac OS image.

The the hell started, I was optimistic, I ran with excitement, I got into the install page, ran it and waited
and waited
and waited, nothing happend and suddenly my data is gone, confused I saw the video again
saw that which I never should have saw
ANOTHER 14 GB HOWWWW

I became sad, but there was hope, unlike that chrome, we can actually pause the VM in Virtual Box

AGAIN 14 DAYS

after that, man it was done. Yess finally it ran, I got the apple logo
I stared at it
Stared and ...
after 30 mins it restarted, I was so happy that I was jumping
well it was short lived because it was a boot loop,

Did many things but nothing seems to work for that, My first Project was a utter failure, but That's what started my journey to the programming