I get programming conceptually.

It's a process of commands, conditions, variables and references. In this respect, any of the languages make sense after you deconstruct them to their fundamentals.

Self-Induced Pinhead Pain

Unfortunately, every language has some kind of favored IDE, or integrated development environment, better referred to as a software to run the given program. Some combine a lot of a program languages, and some are specific to one type. They all come with key components of a workplace, a builder and compiler, and an internal execution environment (better known as terminal view). However, like many software areas, programming has become a market of camps. Whether it's Microsoft, Netbeans or some other player, everyone is staking out a territory of how they want their IDE to be the primary tool for language writing, and they continue to make their IDEs more and more complicated for the same. In fact, in some cases, the IDEs are so complicated, you need a separate class just to run the damn IDE versus doing any actual coding.

Why Does It Have to be Such a Pain in the >>>

I'm not a natural coder. I can see the big picture, and how the pieces fit, but I can't just spit out code off the tip of my tongue and translate a thought into a script without a lot of reference and help. In fact, I'm very much a fan of toolboxing, where I take code I know works, and use it again and again. Libraries are my friend. 

Yet one of the reasons I like web-scripting so much more than traditional coding comes down to the stupid IDE issue. Instead of having to have the right tool for some particular OS, I just use coding that is agnostic to the whole affair, whether its python or javascript or similar, with a web approach, it just works on every browser when coded properly, irrespective of who's software it might touch.

This is the way coding should go, and I wish the big programs would get there, but unfortunately it seems a battle of pain to get to a competency level that involves both a language and a particular IDE to use it with. That translates in my mind to a lot of wasted energy that produces nothing functional. Once in a while I see sparks of hope, like Visual Studio offering the ability to code to different platforms, but as soon as you get deep into the machinations of the IDE, it becomes almost impossible to make things work without fifteen menu options and dialogue windows in settings.

I've been at this challenge for some 5 years now. I'm not giving up, being close enough to finally reaching some level of build capacity. I just am tired of the head-pounding on wasted time.