Roadmap to a better programmer [closed]

Answer 1

One small addition to these good answers. When I work on someone else's code, usually I pick up something new. If you have the opportunity to work with someone else that is of equal or greater skill, noticing their programming style can teach you tons.

For example, in C++ & Javascript I no longer use if() statements without braces. The reason is that it's just too easy to mistakenly put:

while (true) {
    if (a > b)
        print a
        print b
}

This is an obvious typo, but very easy to introduce, especially if you're editing existing code. I just call it defensive programming in my mind, but little tricks like this are valuable at making you better.

So, find a peer or mentor, and work on their code.

Answer 2

I am not sure if the OP was looking for general advice on how to be a good programmer, but rather something more specific.

I know I am reviving this thread, but I found it because I was trying to see if anyone asked this question already.

What I had in mind was, can we come up with a "knowledge-map" of programming concepts similar to the map that Khan Academy uses.

As a programmer, I want to be able to visualize the dependencies and relationships between different ideas, so that I can understand what skill level I am currently at; what I need to know before tackling a challenging subject; and be able to visualize my progress.

Answer 3

It's not true that practice makes perfect.

It's perfect practice that makes perfect.

If all you do is keep repeating the same bad practices again and again, you'll only make it possible to create bad code faster.

By all means keep coding. But at the same time be critical of everything you do. Always have a jaundiced eye that looks for ways to do things better. Read widely to get new ideas. Talk to others about how they do things. Look at other people's code, good and bad.

There's no "sure" way to learn anything that I know of. If there was, anyone could master this.

Answer 4

You can try learning one thing really well and then expanding out to programming areas that are associated with the things that you have learnt, so that you can offer complete solutions to customers.

At the same time, devote part of your time to explore things outside your comfort zone.

Answer 5

Sure, strictly speaking, the more you practice programming, the better you become at solving those sorts of problems. But is that what you really want?

Programming is a human activity more than a technological one, at its heart. It's easy to improve your computer skills, not so hard to improve your interpersonal skills.

Read "Journey of the Software Professional" by Hohmann. One of the concepts the concepts Hohmann describes is the "cognitive library," which includes both programming skills and non-programming skills. Expand your cognitive library, and your programming skill will improve too.

Read a lot of non-programming books too, and observe the world around you. Creating useful metaphors is an essential skill for the successful programmer. Why do restaurants do things how they do? What trade-offs is the garbage department making when they pick up the garbage every few days instead of every day? How does scaling affect how a grocery store does business? Be an inquisitive human to be a better programmer.

Answer 6

I would look at improving roughly in this order, in iterations with each building on the previous one:

• Programming concepts. Understand things like memory management, pointers, stacks, variable scope, etc.
• Languages. Work on mastering several modern languages.
• Design concepts. Learn about design patterns. Practice using them.
• Communication. Often-overlooked. You can only become a highly valued Software Engineer if you can communicate effectively with non-tech people. Learn to listen and understand the needs that people are expressing, translate that into a set of requirements and a technical design, but then explain what you understood (and designed) back to them, in terms they can understand, for validation before you code. This is not an easy one to master, but it is essential.
• Architectural concepts. Learn to understand the big picture of large, complex systems.