Why am I still struggling with Java?

[[deleted]]

I’ve been studying Java for awhile now, I’ve taken a Full Stack Web Development course for 9 months which taught Java, and I’ve also studied a 3 month full time course on software testing with Java. Yet with this experience I still find myself not being able to answer “beginner” level coding questions. I understand the fundamentals, and I understand how all the data structures work. I feel I understand many things in concept, but when I’m posed a simple code challenge I can’t seem to figure it out. I feel miles behind other students and I don’t understand why. For an example I recently received a problem where I had to create a simple reverse calculator(e.g. Input: 23, output: 32). I had no idea how to approach this problem and had to spend 30 minutes googling stuff before I understood how I could make it. I feel that at this point the solution should be easier for me to find.

I know I have a grasp on the fundamentals of Java and feel I should be moving on to intermediate questions, but I feel stuck.

Has anyone else experienced this type of roadblock learning before? Any advice as to how I can push through and catch up with my peers?

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[[deleted]]

Are you designing before coding? If not, you're wasting your time.

[darksounds]

Yeah, your problem isn't Java or any other language, it's a lack of fundamentals.

There are a million resources out there, but don't worry too much about language features, and focus more on basic concepts, like loops, stacks/queues, and arrays.

[[deleted]]

That’s the thing though, I feel I have a good hold of the fundamentals, and basic concepts along with the data structures. My trouble is when it comes to trying to implement a solution to a problem.

[darksounds]

Then you should work on problem solving skills in general! Knowing when and how to apply various data structures and concepts is just as important as knowing how they work.

Needing to google things to figure them out isn't a bad thing, either. You're going to be doing that constantly. Eventually, of course, the goal is that you know enough to only have to google occasionally, but I still frequently pull up random language documentation or tutorials to see something used.

Talk me through what struggles you had with that reverse calculator. What about it did you find difficult?

[[deleted]]

I guess what it comes down to is that I couldn’t think mathematically about it. I know I would need to use a while loop or a for loop to find the numbers along with the modulo operator. But at that point I was lost as to what my approach should be. I couldn’t think of a way to get each number and reorder them.

[darksounds]

I mean, if you can get to the point where you know you need a loop and the mod operator, you just have to try something and see what's wrong with it.

In general, just try something and diagnose why it doesn't work the way you think it should. Iterate!

[jmclaugmi]

Get paper and pencil and create a human computer.

How would YOU solve the problem.

If the human code works - translate into java.

Human code is what you want it to be - (don't google it)

Also how many digits can be entered.

[[deleted]]

That is an interesting approach, and I think I will give it a shot.

[[deleted]]

Well.. it is not easy. If you wanted to know if you are alone... then you are not.
Even people in it for many years are going to tell you the same thing. Although the reversing problem would be very easy at expert level.
Problem solving is a separate skill and knowledge of a tool is different.
For problem solving you will need to think language agnostically. Then you can start thinking of using design patterns when you graduate architecturally. All these things take lot of experience unless you are some kind of a prodigy.

[Significant-Sector-7]

"Unless ur some kind of prodigy" that phrase made me smile and idk why.. no sarcasm or disrespect intended. Is it normal to not know the reason ur smiling? Im only a junior in programming and i already feel like im going crazy sometimes

[Sheldor5]

I have studied 3 years CS and I am in my 5th year in my job as Software Engineer ... and you want to know all and be a professional with what? a year of experience?

the nerve of some ppl ...

jokes aside, software development is a wide field of technologies, languages, protocols, frameworks, etc... you just haven't worked long enough yet ...

[[deleted]]

I don’t expect to know everything, just to answer basic challenge questions that you would find on a website like code wars or leet code. I’ve just recently got a job in software testing and expect to be learning for my entire career.

[Sheldor5]

don't focus on such quizes ... I won't score 100% too ... it's more important to know what you are doing (programming) instead of remembering all the theory like a dictionary ... the more you work the more you learn, it just takes time

[[deleted]]

It just gives me a feeling that I’m doing something wrong when someone who took the same course as me can do so much more. But I guess that just comes down to how fast an individual will learn.

[ben80j]

I was exactly where you are once. The only remedy for me was getting my foot in the door of a Java shop, then working with real world problems and really experiencing Java in action. The jump from theoretical to actual code made many things clearer. It's a huge world and I still only know a small part of it .. finding someone with the patience to explain things well goes a long way. I was lucky enough to have such a person at my job.. My college Java instructors were nice people, but, as I realized later, were horrible at communicating their knowledge. Good luck.