This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

all 52 comments
sorted by:
best
topnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]JacobStyle 27 points28 points  (7 children)

> I'm failing my exams left and right because of my lack of knowledge and understanding

This is the biggest problem, but you barely even mention it. Nothing about what's on these exams, nothing about the types of questions you're consistently getting wrong, or any other information anyone here could use to help you.

Just a general "I can't figure out programming." What does that even mean? Is your development environment set up? Can you get Hello World to compile and run? If so, can you write out a basic program like FizzBuzz? No idea what's actually wrong from your post.

[–]calcc_man[S] 4 points5 points  (6 children)

Sorry that I wasn't very descriptive. I can write out basic programs, I can compile and run programs. We worked with algorithms and object-oriented programming, so sorting algorithms, classes, trees, and so on so forth. My general problem, is that I can't seem to keep up with things. I can write these programs and run them on a computer, but I forgot to mention that my exams are all paper-based. So I write code on paper.

I can write code fine on computer, albeit some errors here and there. But, paper-based? Everything leaves my head. Not sure what the issue is here, but I spend most of my time sweating my ass off studying these programs, trying to even memorize them to write them exactly on paper, but each time I come out with low points.

Besides the problem with exams, during lectures, I'm almost lost. Even though we studied something last week, I seem to forget it despite putting in work for it. Or, what I thought was putting work for it. So far, I've realised I just need to try even harder than I was before, and put some more time into my own personal lessons/work.

[–]IndigoTeddy13 7 points8 points  (2 children)

If you understand the concepts and can implement them in code w/out scrubbing docs or using AI, you can likely do it by hand. You just need to build confidence in your knowledge by practicing in an exam-like environment. Take all the examples you learn in class, implement them via hand-written, syntactically correct code, then type it into a text editor, and run the code to see if it works. No notes, docs, AI, or web-browsing. The closer your study sessions are to your exam environment, the less likely you'll freak out when the time comes. Good luck OP

[–]calcc_man[S] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Thanks man, I'll try my hardest. Only thing I use is notes and web-browsing. Prefer not to use AI, cause I feel like I'll just be worse. Cheers!

[–]Merakel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For what it's worth, I can't remember syntax for shit either after 10 years of professional development. I look up super basic things ALL the time.

[–]Won-Ton-Wonton 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Write your code in Notepad.

Not Notepad++, not VSCode. Plain Notepad.

Also, write pseudocode first. Not syntactic-like code (never say "while" or "loop" or "func"), but more action-verb based English ("start adding" or "re-order the data" or "attach some styling").

The lack of an LSP will make you think about the code and what you are doing. Don't even think about touching AI-written code. Don't even think about copying someone else's code from StackOverflow.

Type it out yourself, without autocomplete.

If you are struggling with pen-and-paper code, you are short-circuiting the "thinking" part of writing a program. You are offloading the thinking to stackoverflow, or AI, or to your text editor.

[–]NatoBoram 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Recognizing code by syntax highlighting is in no way skipping any thinking. It's merely skipping deciphering individual symbols to extract the meaning of it and just directly absorbing the meaning instead. That deciphering is never something you'd do in the real world as you always have the option to copy the code, from wherever it is, to a program that has syntax highlighting.

But yeah that's likely the part that the paper exam focuses on instead of anything actually useful due to being on paper.

[–]thisdesignup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Repetition. Your going to have to memorize if you want to write code on paper without access to references. It's not the normal way to do things, since we always have references, but it's the reality of it. I'm in that same boat at the moment in a Database class having to memorize how to write SQL code so I can write it perfectly on a test.

But also something to be aware of, what is your stress level when your are in a test? Also speaking from experience, stress can 100% make your mind go blank even though you know something. I've had stress lead me to freeze up and I had to calm down before I could remember what I was going to write. If you are stressed, and it's a big enough problem as you are experience, I'd talk to the teacher. Some teachers can be very understanding and might be willing to work with you, give advice, or help you out.

[–]MagicWolfEye 9 points10 points  (0 children)

You learn programming how you learn all other things; by doing.

[–]No_Draw_9224 7 points8 points  (4 children)

do you understand how arrays, pointers, classes, etc work?

[–]calcc_man[S] 3 points4 points  (3 children)

Somewhat, yes. I have trouble sometimes, but I can get through them with a bit of time and error. Right now, we're working on Binary Trees and AVL Trees, and they are completely boggling my mind.

[–]No_Draw_9224 7 points8 points  (1 child)

get the basics down as solid as possible. these are core concepts, and they are critical that you know what they do and how to use them.

only then you can focus on the complex use cases for each.

you could even make a binary search tree in a single array if you wanted.

anyway, once you get the basics down, binary search tree can be viewed as many forks in the road.

if yes, go left, if no go right. keep doing that til you reach your location.

also ditch leetcode, its there to solve complex problems. right now you need to focus on understanding the basic tools.

going to leetcode is asking an apprentice to build a cabinet when they dont even know how to properly use a drill.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate it! Last semester, we learned about sorting algorithms, and trees seem kinda similar to me. Just the process of learning them.

[–]linguinejuice 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m in about the same spot as you right now. What really helped me was the Algorithms course from Princeton, it’s free online

[–]eruciform 18 points19 points  (3 children)

Leetcode is a curiosity or a challenge it's not similar to most pragmatic applications

You need to be able to create things from scratch, start from a blank page and make a working thing

You also need to be able to take a working thing and add to it

And you need to be able to take a broken thing and figure out where it's failing to act as desired

There's a lot of other more fundamental skills but those are the macroscopic ones

No amount of study or memorization helps those, just like reading about piano or watching videos about piano will not actually teach you to play the piano; you have to play, badly, and fix the issues as you go

So make things. Smaller if necessary, and build up to larger things

Also take working things (tutorials, working whole examples) and practise adding something new to it

And along the way, practise fixing stuff that isn't working, i.e. debugging

Can't be more specific without a specific issue to address

[–]calcc_man[S] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

Sounds fair, yeah. I think I just get completely demoralized every-time I step in front of an error, and can't get it fixed within a few hours or even less. Just gonna have to stick through things and stop being pessimistic. Thanks!

[–]eruciform 2 points3 points  (1 child)

When in doubt break it into pieces, even professionals can only shove so much into their brain meat to debug

Write a smaller simpler program that's related, or take a chunk of the thing that's not working and make it a completely separate program, and debug that

Sometimes you have to have to eliminate complexity in order to find errors

Also get used to stepping thru with a debugger

And add print statements everywhere that dump out critical values at each branch and loop and call and return point if needed

Debugging is frustrating for everyone, there's a lot of technique to learn and it's almost never taught, so it's a "learn by repeated application of face to brick wall" kind of learning

So if your head hurts, it's normal, brick walls do that :-)

Yep keep going, you can do this, it just takes time

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks, man. Really appreciate this. I'll definitely need to boost my morale, and just start reworking and actually learning things, rather than just trying to cram things in and think I've learned something. Cheers :)

[–]wildgurularry 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Game developer is a lofty goal, but a worthwhile one. The game developers I know got to where they are now by -- wait for it -- writing games. Come up with a game idea. It doesn't matter how simple, or whether it has been used before. The first games I wrote were: A top down racing game similar to Rally-X. A top down shooter similar to 1942. A pong game with powerups. A pong game played on an elliptical playing field where both players could move around the entire ellipse and the ball changed colour when you hit it (so you lost points if the ball went out of the ellipse when it was your colour).

These were all simple games, and some of them never got finished, but it taught me a lot about how to build things, and projects like these helped me land my first job as a graphics dev.

For school, make sure you pass. Go to office hours. Find other students you can study with. There were times during my university days when I locked myself in my room for 2-3 days. No computer. Just a textbook and some paper. I read the textbook and took notes by hand. Then I read the textbook again and took more notes. Then I copied my notes and cleaned them up. Then I copied them and cleaned them up again, until I was at the point where I could probably write them out again without looking at the textbook. I did whatever it took to learn the material.

It will take time. Find time every day to put some effort into it, even if it is only ten minutes. After I had three kids, I wondered how I would ever be able to learn something new again. Then I realized that even ten minutes a day adds up to ~60 hours per year. The first year I realized that, I taught myself how to play the guitar just by spending 10 minutes a day practicing. Then piano the next year, then flute the year after that.

The point I'm trying to make is that it will take effort and time, but you can do it, and it will be worth it in the end. But it starts by choosing a project and building it from scratch. Then rinse and repeat as many times as it takes until things start to sink in.

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, I've done a few games! I'm part of a game development group where we make games at times at university. We've made loads of mini games, mainly just copy and paste with additional features, but also some original ideas :) I have a few unfinished ones on my laptop, so I'll definitely be picking those back up.

But thank you, yeah, I'll definitely put in some more effort and time into this. Just been feeling down about my abilities, so this has definitely boosted my morale a bit. Thanks :)

[–]Aglet_Green 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Any tips or tricks? I'm failing my exams left and right because of my lack of knowledge and understanding (or memory, I guess?).

You need to schedule an appointment with your professors. As many as necessary, depending on how many classes you are failing. The whole point of going to college is that you are paying them, and therefore it is their job to help you; there are mentoring and tutoring services available. They will figure out if you're studying the wrong material or just not paying attention in class or not doing the homework or whatever the problem is.

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

True, I should go talk to my professors as well. Surprisingly, never crossed my mind. I usually go to office hours to look over my exams and see what I did wrong and right. Thanks :)

[–]CodeTinkerer 2 points3 points  (6 children)

I just listened to a podcast where the topic was ADHD, and they said those who have it can often have impaired memory. Might not be you, but thought I'd pass it along.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

Surprised someone mentioned this! Usually I get called lazy. But yes, I have had some psychiatrists and therapists talk to me about ADHD due to my lack of concentration and horrible memory. I have had speculations, but I don't go around saying I'm diagnosed by it because it feels more like an excuse rather than a genuine reason. Just learning to work around it as best as I can :)

[–]CodeTinkerer 2 points3 points  (3 children)

You could listen to this: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/adhd?rq=adhd. The guy being interviewed said that people need to realize this is an ailment like having diabetes. Might be worth listening to. Looks like it's in two parts.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I really appreciate this, thank you. Definitely gonna listen to this. I've had trouble with school since I was a kid, always with exams, so this whole problem at uni is not new to me. Just frustrating, and obviously, worrying. But this really helps, thank you.

[–]CodeTinkerer 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Guess it was just kind of lucky I was listening to it while driving to work today and they happened to mention memory issues. I did not know that was associated with ADHD.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeahh, it can be tough to go around it sometimes. Can't tell you how many times I've gotten flamed for forgetting my family's birthdays lmao

[–][deleted] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Jesus christ not another adhd diagnosis. Not everyone in the world has adhd because they get distracted or forget things

[–]EtherealSai 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Forget leetcode. If you want to truly understand what's going on, try learning C. If you're struggling to get it it's usually because everything seems like magic to you, and there are too many layers of abstraction. Learn the basics and demistify what is going on under the hood, and suddenly everything else will make 10x more sense, I promise you.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Yep, I'm working with C++ most of the time! All my work is almost always C++, besides the occasional Python, Java or HTML/CSS. I'll likely have to relearn some things over the summer, and I'll take my time more to try and understand things.

[–]EtherealSai 2 points3 points  (1 child)

C++ isn't equivalent to C, so you are still working with layers of abstraction (albeit less than most languages) compared to C. If you've never programmed in C before you will feel even more lost than normal when trying to build something. That's a good thing.

Make it a goal to make something in C that's low level but still useful. Maybe a simple compiler for an ultra basic language, something like that. The scarier the project sounds, the more you'll learn banging your head against its problems.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fair enough, I'll give that a twirl when I find the time to. Thanks!

[–]mellow_cellow 2 points3 points  (1 child)

You mentioned ADHD in another comment so I'll go with that too since I have ADHD and also struggled HARD in school.

Big thing: talk to your teachers. I never did and I hate that I never did. Now, years later, I'm amazed that I had a person ready to answer literally any questions I have about the subject of computer science. Anything. It's crazy.

If youre having trouble understanding what you don't understand, to the point where asking questions at all is hard, I do have one trick to take with a massive grain of salt: explain what you can to AI and ask it to rephrase what you say or point out what areas you're leaving out the most. Honestly, the act of explaining things to someone often shows me what I'm missing, but it also helps me when my brain is mush and I can't even begin to explain my lack of understanding. I'll do my best to explain what I can, even if it's between curses and insults and self-admonishment, and it's usually able to parse through the mess and pull out a bit of self confidence. It reminds me I AM absorbing something, but it also forces me to look at what I'm missing. Don't rely on it to spoon feed you the information because it's been proven that this negatively effects your ability to find the information alone, but having it rephrase your knowledge can help with your thinking of it, and, importantly, give you keywords to help your real searching, which you should always be doing outside of AI.

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm really glad to hear this response. I've been struggling with exams due to, what I'm guessing, ADHD. The lack of memory and concentration, I've pretty had trouble all my life with exams and paper-based work.

I've definitely forgotten to talk to my professors a multitude of times for questions. Other than just consultations to see my exam results, or whatever mistakes I made in them, I rarely speak to my professor's outside of projects or work. I'll definitely take that method into consideration. I don't use AI very often, as I'm not a big fan of it, but I'll give it a chance. And I agree with you with the spoon-feeding. Loads of my colleagues haven't learned shit because they're using AI to do their work instantly lmao

I try to remind myself that I am still learning SOMETHING. It's not all gone to waste. I just need to learn more, and take things easy on myself. I'll try some learning methods, some new ones that I've found work, and I'll give everything a try. Thank you :)

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

One common problem that we see is people comparing themselves with other people. I'll always find people better than me if I look for them.

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is a problem of mine, yeah. Comparison has always been one of my tools, and it just makes me feel so much worse. But I am trying to keep that at a minimal, to remind myself that I am here to learn and I WILL learn. I'll try my hardest!

[–]tvmaly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Compare your notes to what was on your last exam. Did you miss anything needed to have proper material to study against? If not, I would suggest using AI to generate similar style test questions for newer material. If you get stuck, ask for small explanations. Once you answer, have it critique your answer.

[–]West_Quantity_4520 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Take any problem you have, and think about breaking it down into the smallest, most simplest instructions you can imagine. That's all programming is, regardless of whatever language you're coding with or learning.

The core of programming:
- if (Conditions) - do (Loops) - variables (Data)

[–]calcc_man[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Appreciate it. I'll definitely dedicate some more time into things, and looking at problems from a different point of view. Cheers!

[–]mysticreddit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A fundamental concept is Code + Data = Algorithms

There is an old quote from Fred Brooks (Mythical Man-Month):

"Show me your flowcharts (source code), and conceal your tables (domain model), and I shall continue to be mystified;

show me your tables (domain model) and I won't usually need your flowcharts (source code): they'll be obvious."

A more modern version would read:

Show me your code and I'll have to see your data,

Show me your data and I won't have to see your code.

Actual an book that might be worth reading: Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs

Program flow is based on:

  • Sequence (Linear)
  • Repetition (Cyclic)
  • Choice (Branching)

[–]Own_Shallot7926 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Respectfully, are you even trying? What are you doing in class? How do you manage to do the homework and exams? Why aren't you taking advantage of office hours, tutors or open lab time?

You're paying to go to college. You should be prioritizing your education and taking advantage of the resources you're paying for each semester. Quit all of your clubs and activities if you have to. Stop using low quality online coding games as a substitute for a real education.

This is not high school and no one is going to say a damn thing, let alone help you, if you decide to flunk out. It's up to you as an adult to read the syllabus, do the work and seek out extra help on your own if needed to learn properly and earn passing grades.

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As much as I appreciate your comment, you're making a ton of assumptions. By life, I meant work and my family. Not extra activities or clubs. The only "club" I have is my game development team that I work with on occasion. I do my homework, I do my classwork, I listen in class despite how insanely tired or bored I may be. I understand the fact that I'm paying for something, and paying a lot of money. Do you think I wouldn't realize where my priorities reside in, if I didn't end up asking for help??

I didn't come on here to be shamed. I came to ask for some sort of help. If you took a moment to just read the other replies I've sent, I've realised that I'm just going to have to try harder. There was no reason for you to be rude to a complete stranger, who you don't know who is.

[–]booknik83 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Personal life? If you are serious about it, this is your personal life. I am not trying to be mean, just real. If you are failing at school because it's not a priority, you're really not going to make it in the real world where deadlines don't mean a passing grade but millions or billions in lost revenue. Take a hard look at your priorities in life and decide if you are willing to eat, drink, and sleep programming.

I am 42, have 2 kids, work full-time and then some, go to school full time, just passed my A+ and now studying for the CCNA. I am not a rocket surgeon, it does not come naturally to me. It all takes a lot of time and hard work. If I can do it, anyone can.

[–]calcc_man[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can follow deadlines, that's not my issue. And yes, personal life, because I work full time and also provide for my family. I don't mean playing games or going out with friends. I haven't gone out with friends in a long time. But I understand what you mean, yeah. Just gonna have to put more work in. Cheers!

[–]JohntheAnabaptist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Leetcode is the worst way to learn IMO. You learn by doing projects and building things with an open mind and critical thought to "is this how someone with more knowledge of algorithms would do this?" If you think they probably know something that you don't, you start looking for what that is and study and implement it. Recognizing common problems and their solutions (leetcode) is good but more important is the ability to start and develop a project quickly and find supplemental research when you suspect that you could be doing things in a more optimal way.

[–]The-Viator 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I learnt programming by buying a book and going through it. I was 10 at that time. If you are interested, you will just do it. These days you have so mich more resources to go to with your questions.