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'I Know How To Program, But I Don't Know What To Program' (devdungeon.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-to-train-a-programmer dept.

An anonymous reader has shared an interesting article that talks about one of the most common challenges faced by novice developers: "I know how to program, but I don't know what to program." The author of the article also shares his views on some of the most common solutions for that problem: "do programming challenges", "contribute to an open source project", or "make a game." From the post: Doing programming challenges is good mental practice, but they do little to help someone learn how to create a new program. Contributing to an open source project is a step up. You might learn about how a real project is structured and improve your skill with the programming language, but you won't learn much about the full lifecycle of a project. Some projects are very complex too which can be intimidating for a novice. Making a game is another step up. Games are fun! I started by programming games in QBASIC. The same dilemma arises though. "I want to make a game, but I don't know what to make." The author advises these beginners to try rewriting a library which already exists (despite this being considered as a prohibited practice by many). Developers should also not wait to get the "best idea" before they begin writing it, the author adds. From the post: I've seen the same mentality with musicians. Trying to create a masterpiece on their first attempt, putting all their energy into one song and not seeing a bigger picture. The bigger picture being, you will write LOTS of songs over time, not just one!

6 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. I feel your pain. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know how to post a comment, but I don't know what to say.

  2. Re:solve a small problem by BlckAdder · · Score: 3, Funny

    Because it's an actual problem that my computer does not print 'HELLO WORLD' on bootup?

  3. Well... by Black+Parrot · · Score: 4, Funny

    we need new Hello World! programs for all those recently discovered planets.

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
  4. Re:Open Source by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 5, Funny

    Contributing to open source always seemed intimidating as a novice. I'm too afraid I'd wreck the code or introduce bugs. Basically create more problems than solutions.

    Then you should contribute to the linux kernel.

    Linus always takes an encouraging and tolerant attitude towards new users, especially ones who make mistakes.

    If you want to learn to code, there's no better place to start than the linux kernel.

  5. It's in front of your nose by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rewrite slashdot to either support unicode properly, or (preferably) not support it properly.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  6. Re:solve a small problem by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 5, Funny

    Find a small problem that you are in fact facing in your day to day life, and write code that would solve it.

    All my (computing) problems are either big or already solved. : /

    There you go. Write a program that creates small problems for you! ;-)

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.