I think I’m going a little crazy.
Right now, I’m working with the following languages (I was just doing a mental inventory):
- C++ – our game engine
- Assembler – low level debugging and a few co-processor specific routines
- Lua – our game engine scripting language
- HLSL – for shaders
- Python – our build system and utility tools
- Objective C/C++ – game engine platform code for Mac and iPhone
- C# – A few tools developed in our overseas office
- ExtendScript – Photoshop exporting tools
- ActionScript – UI scripting
- VBScript – some spreadsheet related stuff
- PHP – some web related stuff
- SQL – some web and tool related stuff
On top of this are the plethora of API’s that often have many different ways of doing the same thing: std library, boost, .NET, wxWidgets, Cocoa, Carbon, native script libraries for Python, Lua, etc, OpenGL, Direct3d, GDI, Aqua, augh!
I find myself inadvertently conflating languages and api’s, not realizing what I’m doing until I get syntax errors. I feel like I can’t possibly keep up with it, and I can’t possibly be proficient in all of these areas. Especially outside the realm of C++ and Python, I find myself programming more by looking at manuals that from memory.
Do you have a similar problem? Ideas for compartmentalizing so you’re more efficient? Deciding where you want to stay proficient? Organizational tips? Good ways to remember when you switch from Lua to C++ you need to start using semi-colons again? Rants on how complicated we programmers have made things for ourselves?
Any ideas welcome!
For any language I plan on learning thoroughly, I will write my own syntax highlighting in Vim. I try and make the colouring strict so that the colouring picks up obvious mistakes as I type them. This helps me remember where to put certain syntax items in case I forget (so // doesn’t look like a comment in python, and I always have trouble remembering where to put * or [] in C). If I can’t remember a function or method name, I guess it, and if it shows up in colour I know I’ve spelled it correctly. I also try and choose differing colours so that different languages stand out from each other, it helps my brain remember what language I’m writing in.