What makes a good coder-what is the secret of programming ?

**hoboy** · March 31st, 2013

Sorry to bother you guys with this question.
What did you do to learn coding ?
is coding different from problem solving ?
how did you learn to be details focus witch is necesary for programming ?
what was your approche when learning programming ?
When you have learned some OO,and the syntax of a language you want to progamm in what did you do to be good at it ?
The question really is what is the secret of programming ?

**lisati** · March 31st, 2013

As with many other things in life, it's a ~~secret~~ mystery.

There are many possible answers, and you are likely to get several given here. In practical terms, it's often a matter of being able to bring what you know (or can find out or learn) to the problem you wish to solve.

**Bashing-om** · March 31st, 2013

hoboy;

Programming; A logical progression to obtain a desired result.
Different programming languages are developed for particular uses. In my experience, flow charting the process aids greatly; cohesive thoughts from concept to completion.
What can I say, programming is problem resolution, and the only way to gain that knowledge is to program,
Basic programming language -because it is easy to learn - -> assembly language - because then you know what higher level languages are doing -> the 'C" language for it versatility -> python and pearl -directly applicable to ubuntu; by now you are quite adept at bash scripting !

You gotta want to and be willing to put forth the time. Most important, is to bear with the frustration when the code does not work the way you intended !

it's only 0's and 1's ...but look what you can do with them

**QIII** · March 31st, 2013

First and foremost, a programmer/developer is a problem solver. A language is a tool. One must know how to use it well. But that is of little use if the task is not understood.

Programming is problem solving. Problem solving begins with identifying the problem. A spec does not identify a problem. It describes an expected outcome.

The steps to solving a problem are usually given as follows:

1. Defining and Identifying the Problem
2. Analyzing the Problem
3. Identifying Possible Solutions
4. Selecting the Best Solutions
5. Evaluating Solutions
6. Developing an Action Plan
7. Implementing the Solution
8. Evaluating the performance of the solution.
9. Repeating as necessary.

If you can master those and then learn apply a language appropriately, you stand a better than fair chance of becoming a good programmer. Technical mastery of a language is of little value if you cannot solve problems.

I have always said that courses in Classical Logic and the Humanities help to develop good problem solving skills because they provide appreciation for both the logical and artistic (respectively) way problems are solved in general.

Learn to solve problems. The rest will come.

**Habitual** · April 1st, 2013

good coder =

Code:

man bash

good programmer = Avoid Repetitive Tasks.

**slickymaster** · April 2nd, 2013

A good coder writes code that looks like it was easy and straightforward to do.

Keep in mind that good code should be well-organized. Data and operations in classes fit together. There shouldn't be extraneous dependencies between classes. It shouldn't look like "spaghetti."
Good code comments explain why things are done not what is done. The code itself explains what is done. The need for comments should be minimal.
It should use meaningful naming conventions for all but the most transient of objects. the name of something is informative about when and how to use the object and should be well-tested.
Good code is developed in small, easy to read units of computation. These units are reused throughout the code.

**ofnuts** · April 2nd, 2013

What did you do to learn coding ? Writing code. Lots of. And comparing it with others people's.

is coding different from problem solving ? Yes. Coding is just putting ideas in writing.

how did you learn to be details focus witch is necesary for programming ? the details sort of solve themselves out if you program correctly. This is more or less the purpose of high level languages.

what was your approche when learning programming ? Never be satisfied with the result.

When you have learned some OO,and the syntax of a language you want to progamm in what did you do to be good at it ? Writing code. Lots of. And comparing it with others people's.

The question really is what is the secret of programming ? Not coding. It's having very clear ideas on what should be done, which in turns means finding the underlying simplicity of the problem even if it looks complex. In OO, you can judge a good coder at the instruction level, but a good programmer at the class/method level.

**hoboy** · April 2nd, 2013

Tks for the very good answers one can always count on the great answers from this forum.
I did asked the same question in 2008 when I was less experienced programmer.
I still haven't found the satisfactory answers.
Programming, system development, analysis, designs, coding what ever one call it, seemed to be a life long learning process.
So to me experiences counts a lots in software development. UPS programming.
Please keep enlightening me. with more responses

Tks

**Oliver Scantlebury** · April 3rd, 2013

Structured, well commented code. I used to write COBOL that my mother could understand and she wouldn't know if a computer was standing on its side. Also, never write a procedure, function or subroutine where the source won't fit on an eight-by-eleven sheet of paper. This is a pretty good start.