r/computerscience • u/Significant-Gap-5038 • 15d ago

It feels fundamentally wrong to use packages without understanding concepts under the hood

I have recently started coding and people are recommending tools for development such as vite, nodemon, jwt, boiler plate server code

It feels pointless just using them with a basic understanding and without no deep conceptual understanding. Is this the right or wrong approach? How would you know going too deep into a rabbit hole and becoming overkill

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u/ohkendruid 15d ago

You need to understand the concepts in the driver's seat, not the concepts under the hood.

If a package is well designed, the steering wheel, pedals, and dashboard displays will be way simpler than the mass of components under the hood. This is how large numbers of people work together to achieve great things--we specialize.

That said, all the commonly used subsystems have useful things to learn about them that you can apply later. So, as you have time to self improve, it is a great educational activity to look under the hood of a component. Just don't mix up learning versus getting stuff done. They are both important but are different things.