How Do You Store Your Previously-Written Code?

Asmor asks: "I'm a novice programmer who is largely self-taught. It's never been too much trouble for me to reinvent the wheel constantly before, but now as my ambitions get loftier I'm finding that I could really benefit from maintaining some oft-used code that can easily be reused. The problem is, I really don't have any experience with this and I'm not really sure how I should organize things, how the code should be stored, how it should be implemented, etc. I think this is what people mean when they talk about libraries and/or APIs, but not really sure. I'm specifically curious about PHP and JavaScript, but advice for other programming languages is also helpful! How do you store and maintain your most frequently used code?"

Comments

Re:Oh - My - God

[MyLongNickName]

He's new and self-taught. Cut him some slack. I started becoming self-taught on a TRS-80 Model I. The code I wrote was a joke. I picked up lingo along the way. After getting away from computers, I re-entered the computer programming field, only to be faced with a new paradigm -- OOP, n-tier apps, etc. It took a lof of reading, wading through different opinions on design, idiots who have written a lot on the subject and don't know what they are talking about, etc. It was a lot to absorb, but after a few years of trial by fire, think I am on top of these things.

He is at the beginning of the curve. Laughing at him won't help.

Re:Oh - My - God

[theStorminMormon]

I'd say asking the slashdot readership IS doing research. If you've got time to flame him for asking a question clearly you weren't too busy to respond to his question.

The smartest way to get knowledge is to ask the people that know. And by posting on Slashdot it's not like he's barging down your door or sauntering into your cubicle and demanding your attention. It's a very passive non-intrusive inquiry. You read the post, you responded, you have no reason left to complain about this.

Plus, as a largely self-taught programmer myself I know that asking a question from someone who knows can sometimes get an answer 10 times faster (and 10 times more clearly) than reading a bunch of manuals frequently written either for dummies or for experts. That in-between period when you don't need someone explaining how an if-statement works but you don't really quite know the next step is a difficult phase. In my opinion this isn't a question of laziness - it's a question of efficiency. There seem to be plenty of people here who want to help him. Why don't you kindly get out of their way?

-stormin

Re:Oh - My - God

[theStorminMormon]

I can't believe his age is even being discussed. He could be 33 for all I care. since when is it a crime to ask a question? Again - he's not wasting anybody's time. Anyone who resonds to this thread to complain about him proves they have the time to deal with the issue at least a little bit.

I think it's crazy that some poor guy manages to get his question posted on slashdot - which means he's probably going to get a wealth of information - and he ends up having the legitimacy of his question debated in terms of his age!

It's people like this that give techies such a bad reputation. It's one thing to laugh in fun at the dumb users who try to use the CD-drives as cup holders. It's another thing to get irritated with users who expect us to fix their messes after the screw stuff up. But to smack down someone who's actually trying to learn to do it on their own because you don't like their question? That's just elitist and anti-social.

-stormin