Programmers are constantly tempted to build things ourselves.
You could bring a third-party library into your application for logging or graphics or testing or any number of other things… or you could probably write one yourself. And you could build exactly what you need, as opposed to doing things the way the library authors thought was best.
You could install WordPress or you could write your own custom blog/CMS, just the way you like it.
You could buy Quicken or write your own personal finance stuff, just the way you want it.
You could sign up for Evernote or you could write your own personal productivity thingy, finely tailored to your needs.
You could register for Pinboard or Instapaper or Flickr or Dropbox or whatever… or you could write your own versions of these. It’s probably well within your capabilities (especially if you take away the need for it to scale).
Yes, you can do it yourself. But there’s an opportunity cost to that, always. What else could you be doing? That free library might not be perfect, but it might very well be good enough.
