Common Beginner Mistakes in Scripting

When writing their first scripts, what errors do novices typically make?

CampaignMastermind said:

Beginners often forget to handle errors, overcomplicate logic, or skip testing their scripts thoroughly.

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The majority of problems appear to arise early on when error management and testing are neglected, do you think it's preferable for novices to start with very basic scripts or try to incorporate best practices right away?

How is the scripting section different from the programming section? Aren’t they basically the same?

A common mistake is not writing a test for the script you’re creating. A test usually shows right away where the problem is. Luckily, AI is pretty good at writing tests now.

biggest mistake i see (and i've fired juniors for this lol) is zero logging . if ur script is running 50 threads on a remote vps and it crashes , u need to know if it was a proxy timeout , a changed dom element , or a memory leak . beginners just restart the script and hope for the best .. pros pipe logs to something like supabase or even a simple .txt file with timestamps
regarding the cripting vs programming debate : scripting is about speed and glue . u want to connect an api to a database or automate a browser flow right now . programming is about architecture and longevity . for blackhat , scripting is where the money is cuz u gotta pivot fast when the algos change
also.. dependency hell . novices install 50 libraries globally on their main machine . then they move the script to a server and it breaks . my team strictly uses docker for every automation now . if it runs in the container , it runs anywhere . simple
dont overcomplicate the logic , just make it resilient . a script that handles errors gracefully is worth more than a 'clever' one that breaks on the first 503 error