Perhaps you have asked yourself what it means to think like a programmer? In fact, it is about a more efficient way of solving tasks. Problem-solving is an essential skill. We solve problems all the time. They are both big and tiny. How do we do it? If you do not have a systematic approach, you probably solve problems in the following way:
- you’re trying out a solution
- if it doesn’t work, you try another one.
- if you fail, you repeat point two until you win.
You may be lucky, but this is the worst way! And it can take a very long time. At some point, you can give up and ask some service like https://assignmentshark.com/do-my-java-homework.html to do this task for you. But can you learn to program this way?
The best way to solve the task and improve your skills is to have a systematic approach and apply it in practice. So, what to do when you face a new task?
Understanding
Figure out precisely what you need to do. Most tasks are tricky because you don’t understand them (which is why this is the first step). How do you know that you have understood the task? Try to explain it in simple language. Remember a case when you are focused on a task and started explaining it to yourself. At this moment, there are logical errors that you have not seen before. That’s why you should describe your task, draw a diagram or tell someone about it (even if it’s a teddy bear or a smaller brother who doesn’t understand a thing).
Planning
Do not start solving a task without a plan, hoping not to get confused in it. Plan your solution! You don’t go straight ahead in programming. Give your brain time to analyze and process information. In order to get a good plan, answer yourself a simple question: “By entering X, what steps do you have to take to get Y at the output”?
Decomposition
This is the most important step. Be careful! Don’t try to solve one big problem. Instead, divide it into subtasks. It’ll be much easier to solve them. Solve the subtasks, starting with the simplest ones. When a task seems simple, it means that you know the answer (or are close to it). Solve each subtask regardless of the others and combine the results after the solution. Combining all the small tasks will give you the answer to the initial one.
Are you stuck?
Now you’re probably sitting there thinking, “Hey, that’ s cool, but what if I can’t do it?” First of all, take a deep breath. Don’t worry about it. This is happening to everyone! The only difference is that the best programmers have fixed bugs and solved problems with interest, not annoyance. Actually, here are three things you should try to do when you face difficulties:
- Debugging. Check step by step where you may have made a mistake in your decision. Programmers call it debugging.
- Change of approach. Go back one step at a time. Look at the task from a different angle. Is it possible to abstract from the implementation and apply a more general approach?
- Research. It’s time for the good old Google. No matter what task you have, someone has probably solved it before you. Find this person or a solution. Do it even if you’ve figured it out for yourself. You can learn a lot from other people.
Practice
Don’t expect to be a professional in a week. In order to solve the problems well, you have to solve many problems! Practice. Practice. And once again, practice. Only later, you can say: “This task can be easily solved with the help of <put your solution here>.” How can you practice? There are some interesting options! The chess puzzles, mathematical problems, Sudoku, Monopoly, and video games can become fascinating options you can review.
Do not give up
Many people start learning programming and quit halfway through with the explanation, “I guess this is not for me.” Actually, you have to be a complete artist in order not to be able to learn at least one programming language. The main thing here is to understand why you need it.
Not everyone can indeed become a professional developer simply because it is far from interesting to sit at your computer “up to your ears in code” every day. Someone lacks perseverance for this kind of work; someone finds himself in another sphere for many reasons.
If you learn a programming language to become a programmer, you really should think three times during your studies or before: do you really want to do it? Without the love of programming, you are unlikely to become a good developer.
But almost everyone can learn a programming language for themselves. The most important thing you need to understand for quick and effective learning a programming language is why you need it. If you have the motivation, everything else will be applied. And to speed up the process, do not forget the basic principles of any training: the system, regularity, timely rest, and consistent movement towards the goal.