this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2026

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Programming

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Writing Toy Software Is A Joy (blog.jsbarretto.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by cm0002@toast.ooo to c/programming@programming.dev

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[+] ugo@feddit.it 15 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

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[–] insomniac_lemon@lemmy.cafe 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Same here, much too ambitious/low-level for me. I haven't done enough though, TBH (currently stalled, for a few reasons). I did complete my last project though (~150 LoC minesweeper clone, Godot+bindings, no UI except win/lose screen, and I did simplify and pick my features).

some of my project ideas

simplified X11 floating WM, clone of my current frameless XFWM window theme
- First steps: rectangle (titlebar) above window contents that can drag the window, close button within the window contents
simple 3D mesh editor+part/face colors (VC), 2D workflow with extrude/revolve, project palette management
- First steps: hexy triangle mesh with faces that can be painted+deleted, manually place faces (think wooden pattern blocks), any depth (vase, multiple heights, multiple sides/parts, transform)
- the sort of thing you could make wall decorations, mesh particles, chess pieces etc
gridmap editor supporting multiple sizes, semi-modular room creation
- First steps: cuboid cell placement+space reservation, single-layer auto-tile (made of at least 3 cell types, though I also have an outer corner for hallway junctions)

This assumes I can figure out how to do these at high-level (using libraries, not writing mesh stuff completely from scratch).

EDIT, an extra:

At one point, I wanted to make something to take analog input from a gamepad trigger and turn it into pen pressure (in one hand, position from mouse in other hand). Some people have looked into this for sc-controller but it didn't seem viable (input type mixing might be an issue). I wonder how much just an evdev rule or two could do.

△

Even those might be more-than-a-few completed simple projects away for me (if I can get that far), though.

I was going to say voxel stuff isn't such a bad idea, though when searching I did find a voxel editor with smoothing which is the one thing I'd want there (not quite sure about it using ASCII).

The 1.44MB thing has made me think about stuff like Raylib again, though a while back I actually made a toy-like polygon text format+loader but wasn't quite happy as it's sort of in catch-22 territory (usage complicated by 2 polygon types w/different capabilities+windings, if that weren't an issue an editor still might be nice).

I likely will stay with Godot for 3D, moving on to something simpler (like Raylib) especially when I have a set of models that look good unshaded.

[–] vext01@feddit.uk 9 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

I've always wanted to write a chess engine.

[–] abbadon420@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

I might steal that idea

[–] vext01@feddit.uk 3 points 3 weeks ago

There's a great book on it. Old, but very well explained. You wont make stockfish, but hey.

https://dn760106.eu.archive.org/0/items/How_to_Use_Computers_to_Improve_Your_Chess/How_to_Use_Computers_to_Improve_Your_Chess.pdf

[–] Albbi@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago

There's a bunch more ideas just like it! All you have to do is ACTUALLY OPEN THE POST'S LINK.

Going for that Futurama Lucy Liu vibe.

[–] moonpiedumplings@programming.dev 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

There is the excellent chess programming wiki, but unfortunately it does error 503 for me right now.

Here is the archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20250302091125/https://www.chessprogramming.org/Main_Page

Main site: https://www.chessprogramming.org/Main_Page

It has some pretty good resources to get started, and all the techniques being used.

EDIT: It's back!!! And Lichess is doing the hosting.

[–] Starfighter@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

If visual explanations help you then I can highly recommend Sebastian Lague's video series on chess engines where he iteratively builds one himself and finally ends up organizing a tournament.

His other content is top notch as well.

[–] bridgeenjoyer@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 weeks ago

I love this site !!

I have always wanted to make something but its just so time consuming. I also dont have ideas for something that isnt complex. ...and I refuse to use an llm to do it, for me thats fake and not real learning.

[–] JakenVeina@midwest.social 3 points 3 weeks ago

Upvote for recommendation to make a GBA game. GBA is seriously a joy to dev for.

[–] Reptorian@programming.dev 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I always write toy software. I derive joy from writing in G'MIC.

[–] insomniac_lemon@lemmy.cafe 2 points 3 weeks ago

I would post a "Wait... I know you" picture with the ordered dithering filter used if forced .webp conversion didn't muddy the edges/colors further.

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Aggressively avoid over-engineering, restrict yourself to only whatever code is necessary to achieve your goal.

I have to repeatedly tell myself this when building out prototypes. It's surprisingly difficult to not get lost in the weeds doing something not immediately necessary like setting up CI/CD or modularizing components.

[–] trem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago

I guess, this is different from automating a part of your workflow every so often, in that you don't yet know the surrounding context. It is the point to just dick around with some new context for a bit.

And if you get bored of it, i.e. you've learned enough about the new context, then you can just archive the repo and move on, because you don't actually need it as a solution.