What direction should I take to improve my programming skills?

Question

I’ve been trying to learn programming (in C #) for several years now. The problem I am facing is that I know what I want to do (or what I want the program to execute), but I don’t know how to implement it. Therefore, I often wonder what I am missing. Is the programmer’s way of thinking different and haven’t decided on this type of thinking yet, or do I just need to learn more about the syntax and what they do?

Of course, this is compounded by the fact that I do not have the means to practice at the moment.

So, trial and error, a way to become a better programmer, or are there any significant parts that I currently lack?

In addition, my goal is to end up in the Game Industry, and I don’t know if this will affect anything at the moment.

Answer 1

Today, the best way to improve your skills is practice, practice, practice, and then practice a little more. Just as an athlete recovers and hones his skills and natural abilities, the more you code, the better you will get. Your best resources are books, and Internet blogs, articles, sites like SO are incredible sources of information. Google is your friend, learn how to use it effectively.

Find the problem you want to solve, and then find two or three ways to solve it. Being able to approach the problem from different angles can be an invaluable skill.

I also recommend finding an open source project that you can participate in. A lot of them.

Answer 2

Yes, this is largely a trial and error.

Or, more precisely, research, trial version, mistake, scream, correction, mistake, research, success!

All I want to do (this is new) I usually find by doing various searches, or I accidentally participate in forums like this, and then I was lucky to remember when it becomes necessary.

Just devote yourself to researching and trying “different things,” and then you will become better at it. You just need to admit that at first it will be difficult, and it is quite acceptable and appropriate.

You will get it. As long as you are motivated, you will achieve what you want.

Answer 3

I think the most valuable thing at the moment is to see the working code in action. Get your hands on many working full-source sample applications that interest you. Look at the source, find out what and what, and start changing it!

Then try writing your own applications using similar constructs and you will find it much easier.

Answer 4

I like the silky second sentence. I agree. Just hang there.

Find the project (small project) that you want to do, and then find out how to do it. Any project ... how to build a calculator or something else. If you have a goal, it will make it much easier ... and it will make it easier for people to help when you post questions so that they can have a frame of reference.

Lots of google searches and stackoverflow search;)

Answer 5

Another way you can start is to look at the standard examples (and I'm sure you can find a lot of them for C #), try to run them, understand what they are doing, and then start modifying and playing them, Get your questions from this messing around, answering the question about restarting the network, etc. Increase the difficulty and you will be on the way at that time.

Answer 6

Find the open source C # project you are interested in. Most projects will provide any help you can give. This will allow you to practice your skills in a controlled environment.

Answer 7

You have the funds to take courses at the moment. There are whole courses , complete with free tutorials , available online. And this is just one quick example.

Answer 8

I recommend that you work through a couple of books on coding and design, learning the syntax of a language or 2. Code Complete is a great place to start. As far as you should start programming, strive for simple things that will solve the problem that you have. While lifting the language, I did things such as writing a program that would automatically organize my media library, starting processes based on the things I tweet from my mobile phone, quickly adding shortcuts to my favorite application to launch, or organizing and archiving everything my saved school work at the end of the semester. Also, look at other people's code. It can be difficult to do better until you look at the best code.

Using this approach, you will create your abstract skills, such as design and preliminary training, practical skills, such as file access and network communication, as well as common elements of a programmer’s toolkit, such as regular expressions and reflection.

Answer 9

Another interesting thing is Code Kata . How to become a great musician or learn to ski or speak a foreign language? Practice. Practice. Practice.

Answer 10

Google for Bruce Eckel's “Thinking at ...” books, they are free and very good

Answer 11

Take a look at functional programming - this will expand your mind and, therefore, will change (and probably improve) the way you look at the code and the problem.