Coding is not for the fainthearted..... That's what most people say.
But the question is: "Are you finding coding tough or are you the 'weakling'?"
In the first half of the article here, I took you through the basics of how to overcome essential challenges when coding. Now when I say essential, I mean, these problems are - in most cases - unavoidable.
The basic things you are required to do first (which I highlighted in the first part of the article) can be summarized under three major steps:
READ.
ADOPT A MANUAL PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH.
WRITE PSEUDO CODES.
Now that you have done all that, what is next?
- SEARCH ENGINES
There's a common phrase out there which everyone says or remembers whenever they get totally stuck on something: "Google is your friend". Let me modify it and say: "Search Engines and Forums- Stack Overflow, Stack Exchange, Quora, Edureka, and so on- are your friends!" Please use them wisely.
However, you would notice that I started out by telling you to read first and understand the problem. This is really important because it is only when you know where the problem is coming from that you know where to search and what to search for in the first place.
In exceptional cases, you could just copy the error in the terminal and paste it directly in the search engine, that's not a bad thing (I do this sometimes too). But you need to understand that, employing this approach could take a longer period of time to figure out the answer than when you have a clear cut understanding of what the problem is. According to Suzy Kassem: “In life, most short cuts end up taking longer than taking the longer route.”
- DEBUG
Now that you have made use of the search engines to find a possible solution, it is time to go through your codes once again. Let's apply what we have found and the solutions which other programmers have provided us with!
All you need do is to take another good look and make use of the solution(s) you found. Run your codes again and see what you get! Remember, change one thing at a time and you're almost there.
After all is said and done, you are meant to have a testimony from all that trouble, don't you think?
Well, fellow programmer, life doesn't always work out the way we want it to. In fact, after going through all these steps, you might still be stuck on the same problem (and trust me when I say that I know what you feel if that has ever happened to you because I have uncountable experiences of that myself).
- WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT STILL DOESN'T WORK OUT?!
When this happens, please take a moment to just breathe in, breathe out, and go through your codes again. If you're still not seeing anything wrong, then, you're blind spotting. A blind spot is an area in your range of vision that you cannot see properly but which you really should be able to see. It can also be interpreted as a case where a situation can be interpreted in two or more different ways, but you can only see one of the interpretations. In application to programming, it means that there's a problem with your codes which you cannot see at the time. This is mostly attributable to long hours of sitting and staring at the same thing over and over again. The blur that it can have on your thinking process is unimaginable.
So, because it has come to this, please listen to me and leave that computer alone! THAT'S AN ORDER!! (I'm just joking {winks}). Take a short walk before coming back to the same problem. Trust me, it works every time! Like MAGIC!
This approach is scientifically referred to as the process of Incubation. Incubation is defined as a process of unconscious recombination of thought elements that were stimulated through conscious work at one point in time, resulting in novel ideas at some later point in time. Incubation usually works because it releases "fixation"; that case of being "stuck" which is a sort of mental rut which prevents one from thinking of new answers or methods of solving a problem (blind spotting, like I defined earlier).
If you want to know why this method works even for other programmers, you can check out this article
Remember, you have not come this far just to give up. You need to keep going!!
HUMBLE REQUEST and PENDING SURPRISE
I am participating in the Hashnode Giveaway here and winning this would mean a lot to me.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE..... PUT A THUMBS UP ON THE ARTICLE as this would mean the world to me!
As a sequel to this article, I would be dropping a complimentary article which would help you make more sense of this one. SHH... It's a surprise! You can subscribe here so that you don't miss any updates!
Now, get in there and find that solution! Let me know how this article has impacted you and feel free to indicate additional methods which has helped you to stay on track. Don't forget to add the thumbs up, it'll only take a minute!
Till next time, stay motivated and KEEP CODING!