Software developers learn new stuff all the time. And we all know that the best way to learn new things is by creating projects with that thing. But what if you're building a large project and you've just learned a new library to include in it? Do you just include it in your project straight away?
NO! Here's what you should do instead!
The problem
Imagine you're working on a to-do app.
You've been working on this app for months now, so it has become quite complex.
Now you need a simpler way to update records in the database, so you discover a new Javascript library on NPM, called sqlButEasier. Perfect for your needs which gets you excited!
Next thing you do, is read the docs from sqlButEasier. You get a general idea of how it works, and now you want to add it to your big app.
But you need to practice first, and the big complex app of yours isn't exactly the best place to get your hands dirty. So what do you do?
The solution
The solution to this problem is to create a brand new project and practice there!
That's right! No better place to practice something new than a new fresh project, away from the distractions and complexities of an already existing project! Especially if it has hundreds or thousands of lines of code.
Just create a new project with the same programming language and a similar architecture as your current project, and test away!
This way, you'll get some good experience of the tool and once you do, you'll be a lot more confident about using sqlButEasier. With the new confidence, you can now add the new tool in your large and complex project.
Try it out next time you need a new library in a large project. Thanks for reading! 👋
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