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How exactly does one get better at programming? (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 days ago by chrischryse@lemmy.world to c/programming@programming.dev

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So I’m an on/off noobie but have been focusing on actually sticking with programming what I’ve been working on is Python but this question is for programming in general. For me it’s hard but I want to see how I can get better

Like are these good ways to get good:

Follow tutorials, then work on ways of adding your own twists or changes? Or trying to code it in something else?

Work on assignments from a resource you’re using like in my case Python Crash Course and attempt to redo the assignments without looking back?

Experiment with multiple libraries and library methods or built in methods?

Please share any other ways especially ones that helped you

Also when would be good to start a new language after learning one

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[–] medem@lemmy.wtf 9 points 4 days ago (3 children)

I am only speaking for myself and I am most definitely not a pro, but I think preoccupation with efficiency and usefulness is the main obstacle to actually liking programming, which is itself a must if you want to get good at it. Some years ago I read an article with the title 'why I spend my time writing useless software'. I can't remember what it actually said since I only needed the title to really internalise the fact that programming is an art. Imagine telling Monet, Picasso, Michelangelo or John Lennon that their line of work is 'imperfect' or 'inefficient'. If that sounds like a ridiculous thing to do, that's because it would be. I've written at least 15,000 lines of code (I'm a sysadmin, not a programmer), most of it for production in banking systems. And yet, the piece of software I'm most proud of is...a library for encoding and decoding morse.

[–] david_@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

The real problem is that programmers have spent far too much time worrying about efficiency in the wrong places and at the wrong times; premature optimization is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming.

— Classic quote by Donald E. Knuth is classic.

But you speak of liking programming, and I emphatically agree with your assessment that that's necessary to get good at it, and I like that you point out that obsession with efficiency quickly becomes an impediment to that.

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