You’re describing nothing more than having the programmer be able to stay in the “fun/challenging” zone, above the “boring” zone and below the “stressful/helpless” zone. This is obviously very personal: What is boring for you may be challenging for me. Further, all learners of any subject are trying to stay in this zone. Professional educators are very aware of this and refer to it broadly as “student engagement”.
The goal of a software project, however, is not optimal individual learning about programming, it is usually something else.
> The goal of a software project, however, is not optimal individual learning about programming, it is usually something else.
Sure. It’s my goal. Not my project’s. My project doesn’t care about anything really.
The name of the game for me (the programmer) is maximizing my output without getting burned out. To that end, my intermediate goal is to find fun where I can. That’s the game.
The goal of a software project, however, is not optimal individual learning about programming, it is usually something else.