Introduction
Since I got started coding only 2 weeks and a half ago, I've been obsessed with making sure that I'm learning things right and as efficiently as possible. I want to maximize my learning curve as much as I can at this point.
To be honest, I don't really like when a person "pretends" to be an expert by giving tips. In my case, you can be confident that those tips are not from me...they are simply a compilation of what I found most helpful so far.
1. Start with Why
He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. - Frederic Nietzche
We are goal-oriented beings. Without an aim, we simply don't find the mental fortitude to go through the hours and hours of debugging...trying to figure out what's wrong with our simple code.
For quite a bit of time, we don't necessarily see the point of what we are learning. But for those of us that know their WHY, it is much easier to pull it off.
2. Set a Learning Plan - Begin With the End in Mind
With all the choices out there, it's easy to get lost and confused about what language to learn. It can become much clearer once you begin with the end in mind and work backward from there.
Once you have that you won't get distracted by people telling you should learn javascript when you are learning to write python or java. You'll know WHY you are learning java and why you shouldn't learn something else.
That plan should not just include classes, but also books, websites & podcasts. For me who want to become a front-end developer, this medium post was especially helpful => My journey to becoming a web developer from scratch without a CS degree (and what I learned from it)
Check it out if you have a similar goal than me.
3. Learn by Doing
Practice, practice, practice. That's the only way I can ever imagine the number of concepts and syntax I've learned so far...and yet, I have so much more to learn!
It's all good to write a textbook or watch a video on how to code. But if we don't immediately start implementing what we've just learned, we are bound to forget that stuff.
Right now, I'm working on a to-do list app. It's been challenging to say the least but at least, I'm getting a lot of practice with the basic concepts that I've learned so far such as loops, arrays and functions...and that's what matters at this point.
4. Code by Hand
I tried this for the first time yesterday and it was an amazing exercise. Trying to figure out a problem from a to z with only pen and paper was challenging but now that I did it, I feel like it was a great way to dig deep in my brain and make sure I will remember what I've learned. (I did the to-do list on paper first before bringing it on the computer)
Try it out, it's pretty cool.
5. Don't Use Copy / Paste
Typing code can be exhausting sometimes and it gets repetitive. It is tempting to copy/paste the basics of an HTML file for the nth time rather than typing it by hand.
<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
</body>
<html>
But by doing it again and again, it drills the syntax into your brain so that you retain it better and also understand the syntax better and better.
6. Master the Fundamentals
I see a lot of people telling me that I should jump on a framework(react.js for example) and start getting stuff done as soon as possible. But what I am getting from a lot of great coders is the emphasis on learning the fundamentals and mastering them. Once that is done, it will be easy for me to understand better how and why frameworks works (react.js, angular,js, etc). I never want to be a prisoner of a framework and having to relearn everything when react.js is not cool anymore.
I intend to have a continued education in Javascript for years to come by reading books such as Eloquent Javascript or You Don't Know JS when I'm done with the basics and starting to learn frameworks.
7. Get Help!
This one I haven't actually implemented. I know that there are many meetup groups where people hangout and code together. There are online forums, stackoverflow.com and many more places where we can interact with one another to get better. A mentor or working side by side with an experienced coder would definitely help me at this point.
Conclusion
Would it be nice to have a group of steem devs and aspiring ones working together and chatting? Anyway, feel free to share your tips if you are already a dev and correct me if some of my assumptions are wrong.
Photo by Martin Shreder on Unsplasht
@cryptoctopus,
You are 100% correct! Being a coder or a developer will not happen in a single day! People can only see UI or interface and they only want to "Click" buttons! But behind that buttons there are a lot of functions, methods, classes and etc! No one cares about them, but only developer cares!
What you shared as 7 steps, I really like and I think I want to follow them also. End result must be the genuine developer! Great work friend! Keep it up!
Cheers~
You're right, start with a firm grasp of the fundamentals. Don't ever become a prisoner of one specific form of feature. Let the tools work for you, never the other way around.
A salute to all the coders in the world because they gave courage the new meanings :)
Learning curve is best when you applied what you learn. It is not only for being a coder, but this rule is one of the most important one in life is to know your "WHY". Tnx for sharing your insights.
These tips are mostly transferable to almost anything you attempt to do. Although the hand coding is an exception ;)
The first point is really important, because your "why" is your motivator, and must be bigger than any obstacle or frustration you may face.
Regular hacking away at code is the best way to learn. Unless you actually implement what you study it won't cement in your brain. When I began mirc script years ago I regularly worked on scripts with a pen and notebook while at work. This combined with later typing in what I had pen coded earlier really helped me.
I have found that having a mentor is a big help.
Another thing that has always helped me is a simple maxim:
Read code, not books.
The code others have written is often the most effective teacher. Tutorials and books teach concepts and that is important. Another coders work teaches you how someone else solved a complex problem and that is often invaluable.
Thanks for the post.
Keep Steeming!
Finally I was looking forward to you showing us the baby steps and real steps towards coding . I’m still part of the baby steps but I’m learning from different sources. The most difficult part for me is the language which really confuses me and I think youtube has helped me a lot in that too. I’m better at when I see things done than read it
@cryptoctopus
I'm not a dev but i can tell say I have been equipped a little from this post.
I have to practice practice and practice by hand not by copy/paste.
Practice makes perfect, if we keep practice while looking at the end not the beginning we gonna have a nice time learning.
Yes - having the core fundamentals will help you when things get frustrating. I think having a community which you mentioned in a prior post is important as well. Motivation is the only way to learn this stuff.
Noted about the copy/paste coding style. I foresee that this will be a pitfall for me as i will start the Bootcamp. Thanks for reminding me sire! :D
If i need some help, i will contact you asap. :)
It'd be great if you can also make a post about different programming languages and their pros and cons. That'd really help picking a language to learn that match a person't end goals.
Thanks for the great post. Reteemed.
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote!
I face this problem sometimes.... u missed 'concentration' while writing code in text editor.
Try and check semicolon missing somewhere.......... ;)
Found it on your reply :D
Amazing, I expected exactly the same... Great dear You deserve 100 %
Thanx for the article! I'm starting to learn Java coding and exactly the same principles of mastering the Java language was messaged to us by our Mentor - "Practice, Practice, Practice". I see it as the key recipe for success just for any activity!!!
This will help you a lot
hahahha VeryTrue :) :) I face the same many times
I remember when I started learning how to program at high school- there was a fancy room with shiny computers but they wouldn't let us in! Instead we sat and wrote down in plain language what are the stages we need to implement, what is the way to do it - again, in every day language, then write the code down with pen and paper, and only then we entered the computers room and began trying to do things on a compiler.
That's was frustrating - we were eager to get programs running and become hackers as fast as a lightning, because you always imagine yourself sitting in front of a computer with green pines runing down the screen.
Today I know why they did it, and I thank them - being in a hurry is just going to make you slow - one might try things he just can't do yet and it can really take the motivation to the floor!
So fellas, stick to the tips cryptoctopus provides here- I can vouch from my own experience (which isn't much :) that they are almost mandatory in the way to success!
I'm not a coder and had no plans to learn it until I saw these motivational coding monkeys:
Reveal spoiler
Last time, I tried learning it for free was through a a blog post at Mashable but I'm unable to find that post now. The course was #4 in the list and it was very easy to learn coding but I'm ashamed to share that I failed to complete it:
[43 Classes You Can Take Right Now to Advance Your Career (and They’re Free!)]
Sharing because it might help someone.
Excellent job @cryptoctopus.
Steem On!
yhis considered the tips very good especially for beginners in the field
Yes, it is a complicated area, but with some advice and experience in the field, it will be somewhat simple
Thank you again
what type of coding this is? any software required?? @salahchiva
Great tips to follow it...
When I was managing developers (before source control) I occasionally had a disasters where work was lost. A programmer might have spent a week working on something, and for some reason all that work has gone. They were beside themselves with grief. And they knew it would take another week to re-do all the work.
Except it didn't.
Usually it took a day, to redo the work. And often the re-done version was cleaner and better.
That's a helpful tip in itself, making sure you're on top of your version control is essential to making sure you avoid disasters like that.
I am a website developer and I know the coding @cryptoctopus sir,and I am totally agree with you sir"practice is only the key to success in coding",I have my own experience that whenever I stop coding for long time,I have to start from the scratch but If I do coding regularly I code it perfect,I really appreciate your hard work of learning and all your points are very important to be good in coding.Udemy is best website to learn coding,and I know some of good you tube videos that are best to learn coding like html,css,bootstrap,javascript,jquery and many more.One small request sir I am upvoting you regulary and also add you in steemauto but I am not getting upvotes from you sir,Please support me sir.I really apologize If I had said something wrong,Upvoted and resteemed,I hope you will reply sir.
You have excellent training. You have talent, so everything is clearly described. Thank you very much.
Excellent advice on practical programming and I learned a lot about the frames from this source, look, maybe this will be useful for you. Thank you @cryptoctopus
https://www.upwork.com/hiring/development/angularjs-basics/
I think that the tips that you listed here @cryptoctopus not only applies to coding but to learning any skill in general. I find tips 4 & 5 interesting. There's just something about using your hands that helps with retention. I believe it has something to do with muscle memory. Thanks for sharing these helpful tips with us. Have a great day. 😀👍
thank you for sharing. I am a student of mechatronics engineering. and we are constantly coding. I would like to state that I participated in your thoughts.
I got a c ++ course in college. my department is electrical and electronics engineering. I headed more to the electric forehead. but I have little knowledge of coding. I wanted to improve myself in writing code. it was good for me to come across this article. I will do it. I will learn and believe by typing. I hope succeeded. Thank you for helping me to be motive @cyrptoctopus
hackr.io is a great resource for upvoted coding guides and websites free/paid! I don't work for them, but learning flask from one of the popular guides has been a BREEZE as it should be :))
Dear, @cryptoctopus, all these seven tips are must for anybody who wants to learn how to write code. The learning plan is the best tip, and don't forget to practice every day. Try to think the problem and solve them on your own with your coding.
More importance needs to be given to the fifth tip;
Coding is very practical... For a newbie is wise and best to always write the codes yourself, this way you learn faster.
Am learning from the tutorial you shared yesterday, its quite tricky but am not giving up anytime soon. Thanks for the encouragement and motivation @cryptoctopus
Keep Steeming
This is a nice list of tips. Since there are many different guides out there for practically any coding language, it's not hard to find information that will help. I am curious what languages you are learning? I personally know a bit of C++, Java and Android and am working on learning JavaScript.
One of the best resources Iv'e found has been www.stackoverflow.com.
The people there are very knowledgeable and you can likely find someone who has worked on the same project you are working on and has posted their own code. I'm not telling anyone this to say they can copy/paste someone elses code,(Just like your guide there says, copy/pasting won't help you learn anything),
only to say that,if you have a project you are stuck on, those guys can not only give yo advice but you can see real working code and compare it to how your code is. Lots of times, you will see a solution in the posted code to your problem before you ever have to ask a question.
The easiest way to learn a language or technology stack is through developing a project that everyone can use with this language or technology stack. A piece of program that no one else has used is silent. The programmer does not provide feedback. Since the worse is not a problem, the programmer does not care. The headless programmer does not travel to the depths of the iceberg. So it is absolutely necessary to get feedback from users. In a very short time they will determine the direction of the course. Since the desires and complaints are not over, the programmer has to constantly solve the problem. In this way, you have to dive into the depths of the programming language or technology you are using. Learning and domination in a real sense starts from this point.. @cryptoctopus
Thanks a lot for your post sharing us, all the best my dear
thanks for sharing this tips it helps me to learn coding easily great post upvoted and resteemed
Very nice tips for Coding i learning about Coding thank for this
Typing code is intersting and boring. But at the same time, it is what trying..keep it up @crypoctopus.
Yes! Correct.. It took me nine years to learn programming and I'm still learning.... The technology is also going very fast! So, when you finished one there is already something new out there waiting for you.
thank you for giving some tips. this really helped me. thank you
Thanks for the important update..
Dynamite post. Really, really good tips for me.
I really like 4. Code by hand. I'd never seen that and it's genius stuff for me. If I have to speak or give a presentation I write it out and edit entirely by hand long before I sit at the keyboard. A significant fraction of my book was written by hand. That particular practice really helps my memory and familiarity. I'll try it today!
Thanks for another great post that is spot on the subject.
Your publications at the level always benefit from them. keep it up ♥ following you ♥
Very interesting article and a research revealed 10,000 hours required to be an expert in a subject.
The theory of 10,000-hour expertness law by the famous psychologist K. Anders Ericson, researched how the persons gain expertness in their area of interest and found the theory of 10000 hours has to utilise.
Learning code is always useful
what your career ambition are.
Waiting for you first application for steemit.
Coding is very boring work to do.
But you expalin it very nicely and in an easy way.
Thanks for sharing.
Lets get connected.
@qami
@zacharyknight - one for you!
@cryptoctopus Wow Jerry that was a lot of work, thank you!
I will check them out when I get home this evening and can sit down and read.
Dear @cryptoctopus
Wow, thanks for this. After reading this, I'm convinced in the next 3 month I will be an expert
Great and valuable post.
Truly, brilliant!!
Thanks @cryptoctopus for sharing this post.☺
Upvoted + Resteemed your post.
Very good step by step tutorial, especially with a question why do you do that, what is your main purpose and what you actually plan to achieve. I think it is the most important question in any field, whether it is marketing, finance or design. Nice inspirational article.
Gracias por tus consejos amigos, mu buenos, un saludo desde Venezuela:)
I've been following your daily coding posts and tips and I must say I've really learnt a lot.
The above tips is what I've really taken into heart today and I'll try to adhere to it since it'll help to improve my coding skills.
I'm about signing up on udemy too as I know it'll help me greatly.
Thanks for sharing this tips with us, mentoring and inspiring beginning coders. God bless you.
Happy Steeming
this is very helpful to us sir..thank you very much for sharing this knowledge with us :)