[larsbarnabee]

I highly suggest you learn about Design Patterns in a language that you enjoy. For example I wouldn't suggest buying: Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software but learn how to use design patterns in a language you want to use. Learn about singletons, factories, and learn about anti-patterns as you go. Think and give yourself some time to decide "what is it that I want to create". Also, design patterns for like a web app are going to have different patterns for a video game. Not every language is object oriented nor is every language functional. So different language types may have different patterns.

Personally I like react because it allows me to make reusable components. I have worked in various places that rather just copy and paste a block of html and css that they use in many places. It becomes hell if you want to change it. Sure you can search and replace, but sometimes those pieces may change a bit based on requirements.

In my opinion the more hands that pass through a codebase without following any standards becomes a nightmare. I think when you are worried about bigger programs, the important thing is to understand how different components are connected. You don't need to know the exact code running in that moment. Although it could help if you have a photographic memory.