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inghuguesboni
inghuguesboni

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12+ years of coding, hundreds of bugs, and thousands of lines later: Lessons learned.

Introduction

It’s hard to believe, but over the past twelve years, I’ve experienced it all. Twelve years of juggling multiple programming languages, turning ideas into solutions, breaking systems (often my own) only to rebuild them better. It all started with C—an unforgiving yet powerful language that forged my foundation. Since then, I’ve ventured through C++, Qt, Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, and HTML/CSS, adding to my arsenal of skills to conquer the ever-evolving world of development.

My Journey with Frameworks and Databases

Throughout this journey, I’ve had the privilege of working with various frameworks like Laravel, Django, FastAPI, Spring Boot, and Node.js. I’ve been part of building large-scale systems, including databases with over 500 tables in PostgreSQL, and applications serving more than 250,000 active users. As a self-taught developer, every bug and error was an opportunity to learn, and it has helped me gather valuable experience.

The Highs and Lows of Programming

If you’re a developer, you know the drill. There are magical moments when everything works right out of the gate. But there are also frustrating days when you’re stuck, unable to make progress, and bugs seem to pop up out of nowhere. Sleepless nights often lead to those 3 a.m. "Aha!" moments, where a missing semicolon is the culprit.

That’s programming in a nutshell: a mix of resilience, problem-solving, and sometimes a touch of irony. But with every bug resolved and every system optimized, you become stronger, sharper, and more adaptable.

The Stress and Growth

Then, there are the production nightmares. The platform slows down, users complain, and suddenly the phone rings with urgent messages: "The platform is lagging. What do we do?" (If you’ve worked with Spring Boot, you’ll know exactly what I mean!)

As overwhelming as these situations may seem, they are learning opportunities. The pressure builds expertise and confidence, teaching you lessons no classroom ever could.

The Key Lesson: Humility

Through it all, there’s one lesson that stands out: humility. No matter how experienced you are, there will always be times when you need to ask for help—whether from a colleague, a senior, or even StackOverflow, GPT, or Gemini. The key is knowing when to ask for guidance and being open to learning from others.

This mindset is what allows you to adapt in a constantly evolving field like tech.

What’s Coming Next

In the coming weeks, I will share:

  • Practical lessons learned from my most challenging projects.
  • Best practices for writing clean, scalable, and efficient code.
  • Common pitfalls when developing for high-traffic platforms.
  • Strategies for scaling systems to handle millions of users without breaking production.

My goal is to offer you a genuine and unfiltered view into the world of development—the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Your Turn

What’s the bug or project that made the biggest impact on you? I’d love to hear your story!

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