Everyone in this country should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you to think.~Steve Jobs
Almost all employers prioritize problem-solving skills first, Demonstrating computational thinking or the ability to break down large, complex problems is just as valuable (if not more so) than the baseline technical skills required for a job because if you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it.
“The biggest mistake I see new programmers make is focusing on learning syntax instead of learning how to solve problems.”~ Anton Spraul
In programming, Nothing can help you if you can’t write down the exact steps don’t start hacking straight away. Give your brain time to analyze the problem and process the information break it into sub-problems. These sub-problems are much easier to solve, solve each sub-problem one by one. Begin with the simplest. Simplest means you know the answer (or are closer to that answer).
After that, simplest means this sub-problem being solved doesn’t depend on others being solved, once you solved every sub-problem, connect the dots.
Connecting all your “sub-solutions” will give you the solution to the original problem. Congratulations!
This technique is a cornerstone of problem-solving. Remember it (read this step again, if you must).
“If I could teach every beginning programmer one problem-solving skill, it would be the ‘reduce the problem technique.’
For example, suppose you’re a new programmer and you’re asked to write a program that reads ten numbers and figures out which number is the third highest. For a brand-new programmer, that can be a tough assignment, even though it only requires basic programming syntax.
If you’re stuck, you should reduce the problem to something simpler. Instead of the third-highest number, what about finding the highest overall? Still too tough? What about finding the largest of just three numbers? Or the larger of two?
Reduce the problem to the point where you know how to solve it and write the solution. Then expand the problem slightly and rewrite the solution to match, and keep going until you are back where you started.”?—?V. Anton Spraul
"The art of debugging is figuring out what you really told your program to do rather than what you thought you told it to do.”~Andrew Singer
unless you struggle (even a little bit), you won’t learn anything. If you don’t learn anything, you wasted your time.
“Just when you think you’ve successfully navigated one obstacle, another emerges. But that’s what keeps life interesting.
Life is a process of breaking through these impediments, a series of fortified lines that we must break through.
Each time, you’ll learn something.Each time, a little more of the competition falls away. Until all that is left is you: the best version of you.”~Ryan Holiday (The Obstacle is the Way)
common ground is the foundation of every new relationship, Relationships of all kinds are formed on common ground. Learn how to prepare for meeting your next new colleague, client, or mentor.
Why are we doing a normal code review, have we found a stream of horrible problems shortly after going live?
Are we debugging in a panic, poring over code that we thought worked? Are customers leaving in droves and managers breathing down our necks? How can we make sure we wind up behind the right door when the going gets tough? The answer is: craftsmanship.
We could write down all the “feel good” principles of clean code and then trust you to do the work, but then what kind of teachers would that make us, and
what kind of student would that make you?
One of the realities of building a startup is the seemingly-endless series of back-to-back-to-back meetings.
All of that to say, keep an eye out for things that seem to be personally meaningful or passionate about; something about who they are as a person, not just a professional.
important for both of you that you leave the meeting feeling accomplished, not just connected.
Learning to write clean code is hardwork. It requires more than just the knowledge of principles and patterns. You must sweat over it. You must practice it yourself, and watch
yourself fail. You must watch others practice it and fail. You must see them stumble and retrace their steps. You must see them agonize over decisions and see the price they pay for making those decisions the wrong way.
yourself fail. You must watch others practice it and fail. You must see them stumble and retrace their steps. You must see them agonize over decisions and see the price they pay for making those decisions the wrong way.