Starting from Scratch: A Guide to Learning and Improving Your Coding Skills
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and resources available when learning to code? Starting from scratch can be challenging, especially if you don’t know where to begin. Here are some tips and strategies for learning to code and improving your coding skills.
Be Good at Coding in General
Rather than learning just a specific framework, it’s important to have a solid foundation in coding. Understanding the basics of your chosen programming language will give you greater flexibility when learning new frameworks or languages. Take the time to learn about the syntax, internal functions, and memory management of your language. Learning data structures and algorithms can also help you better understand programming concepts.
Explore as Much as You Can
Don’t limit yourself to just one framework or one side of software development. Try out multiple aspects of software development and learn at least three or four different frameworks (even if it’s just building something simple with them). This will help you discover what you like and what you’re good at. For example, I started out as a Back-end developer with Django because I was good at Python, but later discovered that I enjoyed front-end development with React JS.
Learn by Doing Projects
Learning by doing is one of the best ways to improve your coding skills. Instead of just following tutorials or reading theory, pick a project and build it from scratch. It can be something as simple as a to-do list, or you can recreate a software that you use regularly. This will not only improve your coding skills, but also your debugging skills in a real-world context.
Take Notes Alongside Your Projects
When you’re starting out, you’ll be learning a lot from multiple resources like tutorials, Stack Overflow posts, and Chat Bot responses. Keep a record of these resources in a note-taking app so you can refer back to them later. Refine your notes as you go along, and you’ll find that they become an invaluable resource over time.
Refactor Your Code After a Week
Once you’ve got something working, don’t rush to refactor it right away. Wait a week and then come back to it with fresh eyes. You’ll be able to see areas where you can optimize the code, improve the code quality, and clean up your code. This will help you learn to read other people’s code and improve your coding skills in general.
Read Articles and Watch Videos, Even If You Don’t Understand
Reading articles and watching videos beyond your area of expertise can help you explore new ideas and give you a better understanding of the bigger picture. Even if you don’t understand everything, you might find inspiration for your next project or feature.
With these tips and strategies, you’ll be well on your way to learning and improving your coding skills. Enjoy the process, take your time, and be patient with yourself.
