I’m a beginner in programming, and I found out I cannot even reproduce a simple number guessing program I have earlier copied from a book.

Is it a beginner issue, or there is more than just continuing to learn to be able to code without hints?

  • hdsrob@lemmy.worldEnglish
    40·
    10 hours ago

    Repetition is key here. And solving problems.

    I started many years ago with a “for beginners” book, and didn’t fully understand a lot of it by the end.

    So I started trying to build something, and searched for answers to the things I couldn’t figure out (and went back to the book numerous times). I don’t think I ever finished that project, but by persisting through it, and figuring out how to solve the problems that I ran into, I learned how to build something, and it stuck.

    • Kissaki@programming.devEnglish
      6·
      9 hours ago

      Yeah. Building something and solving your gaps yourself is much better for learning than following a walkthrough.

      A walkthrough can be effective onboarding if you’re already familiar with the concepts. Otherwise, it takes the right kind of learning mindset to effectively take away results; not just following along, but internalizing the concepts and constructs.

      For beginners, both the language and the concepts are new. Repetition/Multiple occasions help with internalizing.