I’m not complaining, but I didn’t realize how much work it was. It makes me really respect the people who do it on a regular basis.

For example:

  • You know how to use your software, but other people don’t. So you need to write documentation.
  • You can just modify the source files, but it’s impractical for everyone to do that. So you need to add a config file.
  • You can just drag the output files into place, but that’s impractical for everyone to do. So you need to package it.
  • You trust yourself, but distro maintainers rightfully don’t. So you need to package your source code and configure the package to compile it.
  • You will abide by your idea of how the software should be used, but other people might not. So you need to pick a license.

Sometimes I think there must be an easier way, but I can’t think of any. I guess it probably gets easier with experience.

  • amki@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    If you use something like C# at least source management and packaging are being done for you by the development tools.

    But yeah it needs to do something useful and one needs to know how to operate it. That doesn’t go away.

  • Square Singer@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    I have so many projects that could be cool for someone else, but I just can’t be bothered making them usable for others.

  • bleistift2@feddit.deEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    Even the step from one-off script to reusable code is a 1:3–10 rise in complexity, even without distribution. It’s really interesting how problems grow.

  • swnt@feddit.de
    0·
    1 year ago

    For the first and second point however, I’ve learned that whatever the others don’t know today, that’ll be my state of lack of knowledge in a few months or years. Anything that isn’t a one off script I generally document/comment because I’ve had some projects when I was young, and couldn’t work in them after a few months of break because I didn’t understand anything.

    That’s when I understood, that “others” is just me in a few months.

    • mineapple@feddit.de
      0·
      1 year ago

      Once, I searched for a very specific thing about my laptops power throtteling behaviour and found an reddit post with an answer to it. After reading it, I saw my own username next to it :D I seemingly dug down that rabbit hole a couple of months prior.