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JavaScript

Brian Daub
Brian Daub
3,949 Points
Posted by Brian Daub
Brian Daub
3,949 Points

Using plugins or writing code from scratch?

Ok, I have always been told that you should be writing your code from scratch. Is that just while you are learning? There are so many plugins out there that help speed up production time I am wondering if its better to not re-invent the wheel.

2 Answers

Michael Newman
Michael Newman
39,508 Points
Michael Newman
Michael Newman
39,508 Points

Like most things in programming and web development, there really is no correct path or answer, and everyone will tell you their own opinion and what worked for them. It's my personal opinion that using other libraries at first will help you learn and get projects actually completed. As you get more comfortable with these libraries, maybe you'll learn what you like and don't like about specific components and want to start building or customizing your own. Another factor, of course, is time. Time is money and using pre-made libraries can save you tons of time by not forcing you to "reinvent the wheel". Hope my input helps, happy coding!

Brian Daub
Brian Daub
3,949 Points
Brian Daub
Brian Daub
3,949 Points

Reinforced what I already thought myself! Thanks for the feedback.

Vance Rivera
Vance Rivera
18,322 Points
Vance Rivera
Vance Rivera
18,322 Points

First question is what is the purpose of you using a particular library? Second, you always have to ask yourself why reinvent the wheel if it's already built? If your purpose is for learning and you are new to programming and concepts I would suggest building from scratch. I believe the easiest way to learn is through repetition, trial and error, and debugging. Now if you got all of the basics down or you have a project to get done I'm all for picking up a library and running with it, that's of course if the shoe fits. But in the case that it partially fits I would work on creating some type of helper plugin to create exactly what I was looking for.