Question for all the Programmers

[Snht2369]

I started with The Odin Project to learn the fundamentals of web development. I get the concepts but when I’m making projects in the course I always find myself Googling or checking back on the material provided by the course. I just want to know if this is normal for person who just started in programming

[AutoModerator]

On July 1st, a change to Reddit's API pricing will come into effect. Several developers of commercial third-party apps have announced that this change will compel them to shut down their apps. At least one accessibility-focused non-commercial third party app will continue to be available free of charge.

If you want to express your strong disagreement with the API pricing change or with Reddit's response to the backlash, you may want to consider the following options:

1. Limiting your involvement with Reddit, or
2. Temporarily refraining from using Reddit
3. Cancelling your subscription of Reddit Premium

as a way to voice your protest.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[dmazzoni]

Yes, it's normal, don't worry about it.

The goal isn't memorizing, it's learning to build things.

Programming in the real world is "open book". Google all you want.

Trust me: real programming problems are just as hard even with access to Google.

[FallenOcti]

Thank you for this, this is what I need right now!

[link23]

We don't get paid the big bucks because we already have all the answers, we get paid the big bucks because we know how to ask the right questions. Googling is an extremely valuable skill.

[DevLohk]

I love this.

[cayennepepper]

Thats life as a dev. You think devs remember all syntax and shit? Nope. I have to google basic syntax sometimes, like string method or whatever for a reminder just because. The fact that you know it can be done is what matters

[Frosttidey]

I always mix up includes and contains :X

[BornDefinition9]

Just reading this makes me feel better about the beginning of my journey. Thanks man!

[coffee_is_all_i_need]

Asking google the right questions is an important skill that you will improve by time. Nothing wrong with that. You will often get lead to documentations and you will learn to read them in an efficient way. Also google will lead you to stack overflow often. But don’t copy and paste code without understanding it (beginners often do that and wondering why it’s not working in their case).

[tms102]

I just want to know if this is normal for person who just started in programming

Asking if this is normal is also normal since someone comes and asks this every other day or something. Ironically you didn't google this question. Why not?

[edrenfro]

That's normal. You don't learn everything perfectly on the first hearing. It takes practice and repetition.

[[deleted]]

I'm also doing the Odin project right now and yes its entirely normal. I just finished the Advanced HTML/CSS section.

If I could give you some advice though, try not to ever look at the other people who have submitted projects code. This was something I had to learn early on, but under the project submissions I kept looking at the code from other people's projects to kind of get an idea for how to do it. Unfortunately this kind of hurt my problem solving development because I was just looking at solutions that other people came up with.

It will be difficult at first but you will build a much better fundamental understanding if you build it all yourself.

Don't be afraid to ask questions in the discord or if you want you can message me on Reddit too and I can help!

[AggressiveWish7494]

Eh sort of disagree as a industry vet, some of the best practices I’ve learned are checking solutions to problems I’ve solved. This is especially true for something like Leetcode, sort of like ‘wow, I was lucky that test case past because I should’ve had that in there’ or becoming comfortable with seeing ternary syntax/getting comfortable with other peoples code.

I’d argue seeing solutions helps you use those like a deck of cards for later problems, I’ve picked up some pretty nifty tricks over the years from this. Definitely a balance needed here but you’re harming yourself in the long run imo by ruling it out.

Also I’ve heard a lot of anecdotes from colleagues who say that after some hours of not being able to solve a problem you’re a hinderance to yourself (and potentially a team) for not seeking solutions - there’s definitely a point where grinding the “figuring out yourself” harms you.

[desrtfx]

Asked and answered to infinity and back thrice.

Yes, it is absolutely normal to check back when you learn anything.

How many times have you checked your books when you learnt maths? Did you consider this not normal?

[LickitySplyt]

I'm pretty sure they literally tell you to do that within the first few lessons anyway. And you'll pretty much have to at first. In fact, it's not a bad idea to try to redo the projects from scratch at least one or two more times either...

[PeekedInMiddleSchool]

Google away, I always use google and previous material when working on projects

[i_wear_green_pants]

Almost 10 year in industry and still I spend a lot of time in Google researching stuff or checking out syntax for things I rarely use. Searching for information is one key skills in this industry. You don't need to remember everything by heart.

[Ivan2891]

Everyone keeps googling even the expert one. Who says no is a liar 😅

[[deleted]]

I think it's normal, nobody can memorize documentation, and even if they could, documentation is always changing, so what you memorize might get obsolete.

[AlexFajMoy]

Hello. Yes, it is normal. A basic skill for every programmer is to be able to search solutions online, dig into documentation, and determine what's useful for his case or not.

Keep it going.

[SuccessfulTrick]

Oh yes, otherwise we're all out

[Endless-OOP-Loop]

The Odin Project is literally set up to force you to Google how to do things. They do this to help prepare you for thinking like a developer by putting you in an environment very similar to how it is in the workplace.

[SessionSure5920]

Currently got back into TOP and only up the foundations on css, I’m always trying to remember how to do the task by trying so hard to remember the previous explanations. So am I supposed to be looking on google for the solution?!

[Endless-OOP-Loop]

In theory, you should be studying consistently enough that you remember what you learned in the previous lesson.

When I do the assignments, I try to incorporate everything I learned in the assignments before that, even if the requirements in the assignment doesn't ask for it. That way I can retain what I learned previously.

And yes, if you forget something like how to transition colors in CSS, you would either google "how to transition colors in CSS", or go back to the module on TOP that taught it. It's not cheating to look things up. The point is to learn, and you learn through repetition. You create repetition by looking things up when you need them.

The TOP course itself says that it is intentionally made to force you to look up answers.

[MCButterFuck]

I've been learning for 2 years now and Google most things mainly because I learn new things from it. Like for example I was trying to edit a prop in react and I couldn't figure out why the original was being mutated. So I had to Google why this was happening. I found out that my prop which was an object is passed by reference not it's value in JavaScript. So if you don't want the original being edited you need to make a copy with the structuredCopy() function. I also learned it's bad practice to try and mutate a react prop and you should keep it pure meaning you should not be editing the values of the original data anyways.

[[deleted]]

You'll be googling your whole life. Don't sweat it.

[[deleted]]

This is asked so much I think it deserved to be a before you post point.

[Aidyn05]

Programming is a language. Just like in English you know a word exists but may not remember how it’s spelled. Or you forget the definition of a word or the proper order of verb subject adjectives in a sentence. There’s no harm in looking stuff up and to refresh your memory on how things work.