When I first read the source for his original QuickJS implementation I was amazed to discover he created the entirety of JavaScript in a single xxx thousand line C file (more or less).

That was a sort of defining moment in my personal coding; a lot of my websites and apps are now single file source wherever possible/practical.

This is like Feynman's method for solving hard scientific problems: write down the question, think very hard, write down the answer.

It doesn't necessarily translate to people who are less brilliant.

I agree: he loves to "roll your own" a lot. Re: minimal dependencies - the codebase has a software FP implementation including printing and parsing, and some home-rolled math routines for trigonometric and other transcendental functions.

Honestly, it's a reminder that, for the time it takes, it's incredibly fun to build from scratch and understand through-and-through your own system.

Although you have to take detours from, say, writing a bytecode VM, to writing FP printing and parsing routines...

Because he choose the hardest path. Difficult problems, no shortcuts, ambitious, taking time to complete. Our environment in general is the opposite of that.

He's one of my programming heroes but that's based purely on the sheer volume of high quality output he has.

Can you elaborate a little about the methods you mention and how you analysed them?

> few seem interested in his methods:

You are absolutely wrong here. Most of us wish that somebody would get him to sit for an in-depth interview and/or get him to write a book on his thinking, problem-solving approach, advice etc. i.e. "we want to pick his brain".

But he is not interested and seems to live on a different plane :-(