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These are the words of death for any programmer! Once someone has uttered those simple words, it's causation for the programmer, regardless of experience or skill, to be flooded with requests from other people to create things for them!

Why might this be so, besides the obvious reason that the people with the requests don't know how to code?

Perhaps it's because some people don't want to learn because they're too busy with the ongoings in their own life, which is understandable. Perhaps it's because of the seemingly abundant amount of programmers floating around the web who are willing to take requests to code things for others.

But I believe the real reason is that the challenge of learning how to code presents itself as an insurmountable mountain for most people. And for the most part, it is! You may have heard the comparison that learning how to code is just like learning a foreign language, and it really is true.

I hold testament to the fact that I didn't believe that it was like learning a language at all for the longest time - and then I got a kickstart about how to code, and I realized how similar it really is.

If you look at it simply, by learning how to program, you are learning how to converse with a computer. It's a machine that holds infinite possibilities, and by learning a particular language, you are learning how to talk to a computer in a specific way.

Once that boundary is crossed, coding becomes easier, but definitely not easy.

There is always something more to learn about programming, especially when you least expect it. There's always a way to do something more efficiently, or more effectively, or perhaps more of both. You're constantly learning when you're coding.

The spark for this rant derives from the outrageous amounts of impossible requests by users everywhere to programmers who code mods, plugins, or other things for Minecraft. I think it would be an enormous step towards greater understanding for both parties if the people with requests understood that coding ISN'T easy, and just because someone knows how to program, it doesn't mean they can create the world's greatest mod or plugin from your bank of ideas.

It doesn't mean it CAN'T be done, but the more complex the idea, the fewer the people that are able to complete it. A great way to evaluate your request is to think if you could translate it to a foreign language and how hard it would be to do so. But, before you go claiming how easy it is, imagine if you were tasked with the job of translating A Midsummer's Night Dream from Chinese to English... and you're missing multiple lines of the work.

In a way, that's what developers have to go through, because they are often left with many puzzle pieces to complete after reviewing a plugin request or idea.

In conclusion, I try to depart you with an enlightened view on code and coders, and how many coders / developers / programmers would love to simply have your understanding about how difficult it is to code, and to have patience with them when there is a major project that they are working on.