For the last part of my internship, I’m adding a search function to the Java Wiki Bot Framework. Unfortunately, the Java ecosystem has had other ideas. JWBF uses Maven, a common build automator and dependency manager, and I’ve had a difficult time getting it working on my own system. (I wrote about the things I tried here.)

Partly because of the frustration of getting such a simple program up and running and partly because it’s been a decade since I used anything besides a scripting language, I’ve had a hard time getting myself to work on the project itself. Tonight I jumped into the Java method problems at Coding Bat. It’s all online so there’s no need to struggle with classpaths or system-specific differences. I’ve been enjoying it, kind of like I enjoy working math where I know the steps, or enjoy balancing redox equations.

Note to self: doing little bits of code practice is kind of like washing up the glassware you know you’ll need so you can just get started on the next reaction whenever the one running decides it’s done. Gather ye momentum where ye may.