why do people say programming is hard

Question

no, im not trying to be cocky or showoff, this is a genuine question. people say it takes weeks and monthes to learn a programming language, but i can usually learn one within a day or two to a week? it took me about 2 days to learn c's standard library and around the same for c++. python was the first language i learned besides html css and javascript and ive used it for a few years. and yes im aware of libraries, including the basic libraries too (like for python, numpy, requests, beautifulsoup, math, random, other built in libraries, etc), you really only need to learn a few for complex mathematic equations, data analysis and boom your good to go, just learn other libraries as you go. yes im aware languages like assembly exist.
"try assembly and lets see how fast you learn it" im good

Answer 1

The basics of programming is not really that difficult once you get a few concepts down. But there is a lot more to programming. As you have learned about libraries and packages, you definitely know the next level. At this stage you can pretty much create anything using those libraries.

The difficulty of programming is that there is a vast amount of things to learn. Mastering the various collections, knowing which techniques to use on what type of data, handling performance and security issues, supporting multiple platforms from a single code base, etc. The list goes on and on.

Then, when someone says they need a high performance app that uses a database and the GPU, you need to have the ability to use multiple technologies together and it requires much more knowledge across multiple disciplines. This is why we say programming is hard. It's not that any particular piece is overly complicated, it's that there are a lot of pieces.

As an illustration. Someone buys a car. They learn how to change the tires, the spark plugs, the oil, etc. They are generally good at car maintenance. Then they have to swap out a starter or change the brakes. Yes, they can learn it, but it's another level of capability. Now they need to rebuild the engine. Suddenly they need more tools and more in-depth knowledge. Now they must be a pretty decent mechanic and familiar with more specialized tools. Great. Suddenly the computer and electrical have issues. Now they need to know a whole new set of skills.

A great mechanic will know most of these things and have all the tools they need to do all this work. They may have to reference some documentation, etc., and they will know how to do that. They can pretty much do whatever needs doing.

Someone who knows how to do a few things can easily mistakenly believe they are experts. They are experts at a couple things. But not at everything. A "real" programmer will be able to accomplish pretty much anything just as a real mechanic can repair pretty much anything.

Answer 2

One of my favorite expressions is: The more you know ... the more you know that you need to know.

Which means that people with little knowledge thing they know everything. People who know a lot realize how much there is to know and that is is even more to learn. As you advance as a programmer, you begin to realize that it's impossible to know it all. Many programmers at early stages of their career get quite cocky. But programmers who have been around a while are more humble.

Answer 3

Try debugging someone else's convoluted code. Or integrating something new in an old codebase that cannot be modified. It is easier if it is your own project. It gets harder when you work with other people or mistakes and bugs can cost big money.
It is good that you are a fast learner, but there are a lot of things out of your control and working with constraints will always be hard.
Also, as the code grows over time, there will be more and more parts that need to interact. Requirements and dependencies change, and in general, the code just generally gets more complex. Keeping things running and improving performance can be hard.

Answer 4

yes, im including learning some basic libraries. maybe, sure, i wont know some deep down functions that nobody uses, but does that really count? ive been using python for like 4 years and still havent found all the standard functions

Answer 5

everything is hard for those, who don't know that thing

Answer 6

Mihaly Nyilas but even people with years of experience say its hard and it usually takes weeks to monthes to learn a language? either im a fast learner or im doing something wrong