Why do new programmers seem to shy away from libraries?

Question

I've noticed questions from new programmers that can be solved using libraries. People sometimes shy away from using libraries. Is it the learning curve?

Answer 1

Speaking from a personal standpoint, I avoided libraries as a novice because I was more concerned with learning how to solve problems on my own than to have a library solve a problem for me. In my case, and probably the cases of many others, using a 3rd-party library is a "cop-out" and inhibits growth as a programmer.

There is also the fact that libraries often have to be compiled and linked (such as is the case with C++), which is often too complicated for a new programmer to deal with on their own.

Certainly, if a programmer is already struggling to manage concepts like loops, functions, pass-by-value, pass-by-reference, etc, then having to learn how to use an entire library is simply overwhelming. So yes, the learning curve is also a factor.