You’re learning programming and you want to know what is the most effective way to develop. What type of concepts do I need to insert in my head and never forget. Which resources can I count on and how many hours should I be putting in.
You can be a self-taught programmer , graduated from bootcamp, student in/or graduated with a computer science degree, these are the three programming habits to start to make you an effective programming journey.
1. Once you think you know, refactor
This was a mistake I made when I first graduated Flatiron and even in Flatiron to be honest. Once your code works you move on to the next piece of work.
But before you move on to the next task you should refactor your code. Refactoring helps improve readability not just for yourself but also for your peers.
Refactoring can also help reduce the complexity of the code and help improve maintainability. In the long run, you will look back and thank yourself for this.
2. Consistency is key
You think NBA Players stops practicing once they win a championship? Setting a schedule is important but sticking to the schedule is what keeps you going.
Pick a style guide and stick to it , whether it is using camel case for variables or holding down the spacebar instead of tab. STICK TO IT!
The second thing about consistency is naming. Variables, methods, class, function should be named in the same way.
Consistency in practicing the way you code has a high impact on the maintainability of your code.
3. DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself)
This code works from my previous projects let me just Crtl + c and then Crtl + v right here. WRONG!
Stop it! I know everyone here was capable of doing this at one point. Duplicate code does not help you at all, it actually gets harder to maintain when adjustments needs to take over.
It is good practice to not repeat yourself. This means that once you finish your code you should look to REFACTOR your code. Look to divide your code into smaller reusable units.
4. Never Stop Being A Student
You are never going to be a teacher in this industry. With new technologies emerging on a daily basis, you will end up doing catch up with a lot of new things. But that is not a bad thing because you will always be learning and you always always be growing knowledge.
