Dev. To /cglikpo/tip…

Christopher Glikpo

Translator: WooodHead

A learner and a Youtuber who likes to write tech blogs. www.youtube.com/c/Christoph…

A good programmer, even when crossing a one-way street, looks left and right for traffic. ~Doug Linder

To be clear, I don’t consider myself a qualified programmer. I think my coding skills are mediocre, I still have a lot to learn, and I still have a long way to go to become a qualified programmer. Yes, I’m better at programming than a lot of people, but that’s only because they’re lazy and choose to sit around all day instead of writing code. Their “terrible abilities” make my not-so-terrible abilities seem amazing.

So, most of the tips below are lessons I’ve learned from my failed efforts. They’re all points I wish I could do, but haven’t done yet. Let’s get started.

1. Focus on basic concepts

As is true of any industry and any job, conceptual understanding is key to success. Unless a person has a strong conceptual foundation, he/she will never be a good programmer. Understanding the core concepts will help you design and implement the best solution in the best way. If you still feel lacking in the core concepts of computer science and the specific concepts of your programming language, it’s not too late to go back and brush up on the basics.

2. Figure out how and why your code works

I’ve noticed a clear dividing line between skilled programmers and other programmers: skilled programmers crave to know what happened and how it happened. There’s a small group of people who won’t stop digging until they know exactly what happens when a piece of code runs. I understand that we don’t always have this freedom when deadlines are tight. At this point, we can just give up asking questions and just work. Of course it’s a bit off topic to talk about how to do things well under tight deadlines, but as a programmer, we can always try to dig as much as we can. Trust me, over time, this will become a habit, and you’ll do it every time you know it.

3. You’ll learn more by helping others

Most of us have a common tendency to open StackOverflow or turn to wechat groups only when we are in trouble and need help. One obvious difference between good programmers and other programmers is that the former help others more often in forums or groups. This enables them to learn more than others to solve their problems. The same is true in a team, helping others solve their problems. Trust me, you will learn more than ever before by learning about other people’s problems in the context of their work, researching and offering solutions.

4. The code should be simple, easy to understand, and logical

KISS (Keep it Simple and short) is universally true, even for programming. Write more logical code to avoid complexity. Sometimes people write complex code just to prove they can write it. My experience is that simple but logical code always works well, has fewer bugs, and has better scalability. I remember a good saying that good code is its own best document. When you’re ready to add a comment, ask yourself, “How can I improve the code so that I don’t need this comment?” ~Steve McConnell

5. By spending more time understanding and analyzing problems and devising solutions to them, you’ll save yourself a lot of time fixing bugs

Design doesn’t always mean using UML or drawing a flow chart, it can be as simple as looking at the sky and thinking of a solution in your head. People who are used to typing at the first sign of a problem often produce far less than they need.

6. Be the first to review your own code

It’s a little difficult, but you can try to analyze your own code carefully before anyone else does, and over time, you’ll learn to write code that’s close to bug-free. Always conduct a close, unbiased review of your code. Don’t hesitate to listen to what others have to say about your code. Working with great programmers and listening to their feedback will definitely help you become a great programmer.

7. Read more documents

A basic habit of good programmers is that they read a lot of documentation. This could be specifications, JSR, API documentation, tutorials, etc. Reading the documentation helps you get the basic information you need to program in the best way possible.

8. You can also learn a lot from other people’s code

I’ve talked to some good programmers who have Java source code open in their ides all the time to read/refer to in their daily work. They do this not only to satisfy their hunger for the basics, but also to learn how to write good programs. Reading and referring to reliable, known open source code or code from your predecessors can also help you write better code.

There is one last item, not listed above. Don’t compare yourself to others.

Comparing yourself to others will only lead to negative emotions and unhealthy competition (don’t scroll). Everyone has his or her strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, we should know our strengths and weaknesses and work hard for them. I’ve seen many programmers — the so-called “fundoo-programmers” — make stupid mistakes. So, analyze your strengths and weaknesses, list the areas you need to improve, and go for it. Programming is real fun. Enjoy it.

Any fool can write code that a computer can understand. Good programmers write code that humans can understand. ~Martin Fowler

If you like my work, please consider buying me a cup of coffee so I can bring you more projects, more articles.

If you want to learn more about Web development, feel free to follow me on Youtube! www.youtube.com/c/Christoph…