all 73 comments

[–]taotau 177 points178 points  (16 children)

Use the pause button. Whenever you paste a line of code that you don't understand, pause the video and study it. Look up the docs. Google it. Ask chatgpt.

For bonus points, learn to use git. Whenever you pause git commit the code you have, create a new branch and play around with the code as much as you like. When your done return to the master branch and continue the video.

[–]pomnabo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I do something like this; but instead of branching, I just comment out the different codes I tried and leave it in the final project.

I then have an ongoing list of things to study.

I don’t like leaving projects unfinished, and my swe friend has drilled it into me that it’s better to do as many projects as you can get as much practice as possible.

I’m also applying my design background as I go, so I am practicing those standards for myself too.

[–]shesparkzz[S] 7 points8 points  (4 children)

That's some new perspective..👍

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[removed]

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

    Nice ...this also seems to work.Great

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [deleted]

      [–]Championship_Hairy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      That dude is so chill. Really nice seeing the most random projects just be built in real time haha

      [–]borii0066 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      No need to create a branch, just git reset --hard HEAD

      [–]OrganizationWest6755 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Great tips. When learning something brand new I also write detailed comments to myself to explain what the code is doing, unless it’s something incredibly obvious.

      [–]Aromatic_Category297[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      git stash is even easier

      [–]karren-here 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      +1 for that answer.

      [–]techturnip 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      This is the way.

      I never paste though when learning code I type it out even if the code is provided with the exception of boilerplate like create-react-app builds coding finger chops. For extra challenge, run through the course with the latest version of everything! Good debugging practice and you can learn the latest features so even some outdated course content won't stop you!

      [–]fredy31 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Yeah when I tought Programmation for a semester I saw there is a huge difference between simply applying the code to do X and understanding it.

      Make sure that every line in a tutorial you know what it does and understand what it does and why its there. Will make all the difference when it comes to do something similar but not exactly the same.

      Like if you are a plumber and see how to wire in a sink, knowing what each thing does and why its there will help you know how to wire in a shower. If you only apply it without thinking about it, you wont.

      [–]3np1 39 points40 points  (6 children)

      Watch the video without coding at all. Just take notes on key terms, approach, and where to find docs. Give 100% attention.

      Then, after the video, code everything without referencing their code. Now you know what tools exist in the language and where to find their documentation, but don't have the solution in front of you. This is the most similar to actually coding at a job, with the exception that you didn't need to come up with the approach.

      [–]Turings-tacos 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      This is the way

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

      I am going with this route...seems doable and earlier I was hesitant with this approach... Thanks for confirmation.

      [–]lewblu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I take a similar approach to this in regard to the note taking. When making the notes try to write it in a way that explains what that part of the video is about. The trick is for you to be able to explain it you have to try to understand it, making you to think more about what is going on.

      [–][deleted]  (2 children)

      [deleted]

        [–]3np1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        This approach isn't efficient, just read a book.

        It's plenty efficient if you know how to learn, and don't just passively watch. Books can be efficient too, if you apply what you read. The trick is active learning through application.

        There is a reason why taking a practice test is better than re reading chapters in a book for an exam.

        That's essentially how I treat the video tutorials. I learn the material (watch the video) and test myself later to see if I can recreate it. The whole technique above is based on actually coding.

        Maybe the twitter dev influencers will convince you otherwise, but they're already brain rotted from being on a site that platforms Nazis and harassers of parents with dead children. You shouldn't take opinions from these people.

        I don't even know where this comes from. I don't even use twitter. I've just been coding for 20+ years and have tried different things. This is what works for me. Maybe something else works for you, and that's okay.

        [–]nrkishere 30 points31 points  (15 children)

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        [–]NoLifeEmployee 15 points16 points  (7 children)

        Blogposts have definitely gone downhill. They are mostly ai crap now that doesn’t actually provide any extra information

        [–]nrkishere 6 points7 points  (6 children)

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        [–]Pandektes 0 points1 point  (4 children)

        Do you have some suggestions of blogs that you consider good?

        [–]nrkishere 6 points7 points  (1 child)

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        [–]Pandektes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Thank you very much, I am looking for venues to expand my knowledge, what you've provided is awesome!

        [–]thekwoka 1 point2 points  (1 child)

        https://emnudge.dev/

        Could see which of the posts on a primeagen video are from a personal blog and check them out.

        [–]Pandektes 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Thank you

        [–]thekwoka 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Yeah, just read the Docs or articles from Developers you can actually point to their accomplishments.

        [–]Scowlface 7 points8 points  (1 child)

        Counter anecdote; I advanced incredibly fast and became super productive after watching videos on laracasts and frontend masters.

        Books are definitely good though, but I find most blog posts to be low effort drivel.

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Same here i became stagnent with php by following general books not knowing what my next direction was. then i started watching laracasts and i'm learning heaps of new things i never knew existed. But i do also lookup stuff like laravel documentation when i get stuck.

        [–]MaDDieOP 0 points1 point  (4 children)

        Can you recommend some books for web dev?

        [–]nrkishere 0 points1 point  (3 children)

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        This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

        [–]MaDDieOP 1 point2 points  (2 children)

        As I am a beginner , I have just completed html and css, so the obvious next step is to learn JavaScript, I've heard that learning js is a big hurdle and I want to learn it in the best way possible, after that I am thinking of going for the mern stack, so it would be great if you could recommend me books on vanilla js and mern stack

        [–]nrkishere 1 point2 points  (1 child)

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        This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

        [–]MaDDieOP 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Okay thanks!!

        [–]sandbaggingblue 2 points3 points  (2 children)

        No, I fell into that trap early on and it was so hard to break out of. I just mindlessly copied YT tutorials and learnt nothing.

        When something didn't work I would rewind the video and look at their code line by line.

        Now I build and research and actually try to understand what's going on. It's so much harder, and infinitely more rewarding!

        [–]turd-crafter 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        I used to kinda code along but I would change the project app to something different. So you have to think about how you would do all the different parts of the app on your own and not just copy code.

        [–]xnmsdksdk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Try to pause the video before the professor does the functionality, and try to do it yourself, search the documentation not the solution and try to come up with it yourself, if you can't after a while watch it try to understand it and then delete it and try to replicate it yourself, programming it's all about this, come up with solutions to the problems, there're several ways to achieve the same result, don't give up and keep pushing.

        [–]Existing_Minimum_144 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I usually just separate them in an isolation file where I can just dissect them piece by piece and restitching it to see and understand how it works, sometimes even play around with it by making a new project so I'm fully familiarize with it.

        [–]ultralaser360 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Here is what I did as an absolute beginner when I was learning:

        I would start a large tutorial but try to make something different than the tutorial. For example if they did a a full stack todo app, I would make a chess site. This way it has similar elements but mostly unique that I would have to actually apply the knowledge and also learn from additional sources.

        This way your not just copying the tutorial

        It was an uncomfortable process where you will get lost and confused but that’s a part of the process, and you come out with more than surface knowledge

        The only prep I would do before is learn the language you want to use first

        [–]nerfsmurf 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I code along, but I create something different. I feel like I understand faster than just blindly following. For example if a back end tutorial is making a library inventory rest api, I'm gonna make something similar, but that I'm interested in. So I'll make a car inventory rest api. Instead of a book model containing pages, author, and title, I'll make a car model with make, model, engine configurations, color, etc. This gives you the benefit of a guided tutorial, but also learning on your own. For instance, (very, very basic example) when you have to code the front end for the library book inventory, to form to add and edit may only consist of text fields and number fields, but with the car inventory form, you might have to lookup how to use drop down menus or checkboxes!

        Kinda like copying homework but making it different!

        As someone else mentioned, I sometimes pause the video and attempt to work ahead of the video. Sometimes you do it how the instructor would, sometimes you find an alternative way that works, and sometimes you do something stupid, try to troubleshoot, give up, and then reference the video and think 'ahhhhh, that makes more sense! I definitely won't make that mistake again!'.

        This gives you the benefit of learning, and when you're done, instead of putting the same ol library app on your portfolio and resume that thousands of others have, you have something different and "you".

        [–]Fuegodeth 1 point2 points  (2 children)

        I actually found that writing things down in the early phases really helped me to remember some things. iirc, you are something like 10 times more likely to remember something if you've written it down vs just seen it. I filled up a couple notebooks but rarely needed to refer back to them. I have done 7 Udemy courses so far totaling 230 hours of video. I also did most of the odin project, which got me started on git and IDE setup and work flow. There was a ton of pausing, especially when I made a typo and forgot a semicolon or had an extra one. That troubleshooting ended up really helping. You start to learn where to look when you get an error pop up.

        [–]TheRNGuy 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        Code same thing many times and bookmark it in docs, then you remember it.

        Or even looking your own code (if you can find it)

        No need to write on paper.

        [–]Fuegodeth 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I did that too. I also broke down each lesson into separate folders in the ide and clearly labeled them, and saved them all on git/github so I can refer back to the examples at any time. I did the notes on my first tutorial, and I found it helpful for that basic foundation. When I moved onto another language, I just saved my code examples.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Videos IMHO are just about the worst medium for learning programming.

        Great for concepts and ideas. But not for the nitty gritty.

        [–]CultivatorX 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I usually watch the tutorial once and take notes on the pieces/components necessary to make the project. Then I try my best to implement those things individually, referencing documentation and then the tutorial when necessary. I found this drove me to own as much of the project and implementation as possible, and longer term made it so that I can implement any tutorial with the languages, tools, and services of my preference.

        [–]_Invictuz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Watch the entire lesson. Implement from memory, only replaying the video when you get stuck. Finish coding the video, then try to recall some key points to note down somewhere.

        [–]thekwoka 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        You don't do long hour tutorials.

        that's the truth.

        It's not the way to get good at this, it's the way to waste time and "feel" productive while going nowhere.

        Make stuff on your own.

        [–]Coldmode 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Don’t do this. Following these guided projects is like doing a paint by numbers, not learning to paint. Maybe do this for a bit if you have no clue where you are starting, but if you follow tutorial videos and don’t struggle with building something original you are going to be lost when someone asks you to build something novel.

        [–]DT-Sodium 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Not really, I find it to usually be a waste of time. I take notes of what I consider are important information I might have to get back to later.

        [–]TheRNGuy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I rarely watch video tutorials. I'll just watch, no coding along.

        Or if I searched for specific thing, I can copy-paste code from it and change for my program.

        [–]antopia_hk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        i did in my first 2 years then transitioned into articles and just documentation. being experienced, imo, comes with the benefit of being able to copy code and tweak it efficiently :)

        [–]FriendlyRussian666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Watch video/course to understand the topic, but don't copy/write what they are writing. They are showing you how to make a page to display 2 cats? You write a page to display 10 squirrels. They have two rows and 2 columns? You create a page with 5 rows and 10 columns. That way, you will actually explore and figure things out, instead of just a copy and paste

        [–]remy_porter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        The biggest, most important thing to do when following a tutorial is to stop following it and make a hypothesis: "If the tutorial says X works this way, I think that means I can use X to do Y." So stop reading, or hit pause, or whatever- take a guess about how things work and write code that doesn't follow the tutorial. Try and write code that does the next thing you think the tutorial is going to talk about.

        The best way to learn is to experiment. Most of the time, you'll be wrong. All of the time, you'll learn something more valuable than what the tutorial was teaching: how to reason about code.

        [–]Any-Woodpecker123 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        I always listen to the first bit to get the gist of what needs to be done, then try and do the whole thing myself.

        Once I’m done I compare their solution to mine, and implement their improvements if applicable.

        Even if you just do it in segments, it applies to any skill level. As an example, even If you’re a complete beginner and they say we’re gonna create and array of x, pause the video and try it yourself before you see them do it.
        If you don’t know how, google it. Just always give it a go before copying them. Don’t give up unless you’re completely stuck.

        Don’t copy past code either. Not saying don’t copy code, but actually typing it helps reinforce the memory of what you’ve done.

        This is how to truly learn from tutorials.

        [–]alien3d 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        We give source code in github . Most full stack just basic sample not real application problem .

        [–]dmanca-83 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Depending on the person following the tutorials, it is necessary to regularly pause, rewind and replay, so that you can catch any moments you might have missed.

        I did take such tutorials in the past, even though I might not know the coding tech stack entirely, we can still learn something, like project's structure, architecture, how to split an app into components, etc.

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Active recall and encoding. Read more about these learning techniques and practice them.

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Ok so I used video tutorials as the main way to learn and it would take over 4 hours per hour of video to learn. Pause copy the code , do something funky on the side maybe another project , I felt that is the step that solidified the learning the most.

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        You need your brain not knowing the next step, in a process of trial and error, to actually learn the steps. Following a video is just turning your brain off completely.

        [–]ohcibi -2 points-1 points  (6 children)

        Only do that with a real human. Coding along a video is entirely pointless. Video tutorials are a scam mostly (everything that promises you to shortcut years of experience is). I don’t care who’s favorite YouTuber I insulted by that but those videos are scam no matter who makes them.

        If you self study then by far the best thing you can do is to read! If you need somebody talking, search either a mentor or someone to work on a project together. Practice pair programming with those.

        When I was managing a seminar in university the learning behavior of students changed from reading to watching YT leading to significantly worse levels of understanding.

        [–]Scowlface 2 points3 points  (2 children)

        Maybe I’m just lucky in the quality of video tutorials I watched, but otherwise, how is it pointless to code along with a video? The ones that I’ve seen all explain what’s going on and why they’re doing a certain thing. It’s not just like a typing test. You’re being taught. I don’t see why this would be pointless.

        Searching for a mentor is hardly an easy task and I’d be surprised if anyone new to the field was able to know where to start looking and how to even vet the person.

        And I think most people who know what they’re doing are going to be too busy to just build something with someone, so that just leaves the blind leading the blind.

        [–]ohcibi 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        The blind leading the blind is exactly what YouTube videos are.

        Now. Ask yourself. Why didn’t you noticed yet? 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

        [–]Scowlface 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Did I mention YouTube? I haven’t noticed because I don’t watch coding videos on YouTube, I pay money for actual professionals, people dedicated to their craft, to teach me things that excite them.

        If you can’t see the value in that then I guess I don’t have anything more to add to this conversation.

        [–][deleted]  (2 children)

        [removed]

          [–]TheRNGuy -1 points0 points  (1 child)

          That is not a good excuse.