Everyone here is saying by coding. I largely agree. However, there is probably 10% of my time where I talk to others who are way better than me, know about topics I want to learn about and then go learn. A lot of times you can save a bunch of time by getting knowledge from the best vs a random guide online.
Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
21–30 of 73 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#221. Eating crow when customers find my bugs.
2. Rewriting, rewriting, rewriting
3. Trying new languages for fun (I ported a LAMP website to Node to learn about node+express)
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#23Spread your knowledge around, read on oop, read on functional programming, learn what google and Facebook do in a situation, learn to get good enough to criticize with confidence. If you can't criticize a situation with confidence then learn more about it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#24Spread your knowledge around, read on oop, read on functional programming, learn what google and Facebook do in a situation, learn to get good enough to criticize with confidence. If you can't criticize a situation with confidence then learn more about it.
Definitely agree - IME the best programmers can usually give a long list of informed complaints about their favorite tools, as well as reasonably discussing alternatives.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#25I get better at coding by coding. No, really. You can read all the books, blog posts, open source code samples you want, but nothing will substitute writing code. I maintain a handful of side projects as well as write code daily for my job. Plus, I love it. Also, my side projects usually encompass something I have no idea how to do, which quickly elevates my skill level. I love learning, so it works for me.
Code reviews help a lot with that. At my current company we don't review so I've found myself getting complacent
I've found this too - I work much better when I know someone I respect will read my code.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#26As everybody else is saying, practice practice practice.
I'll add one extra on top of that: it's important to practice on real, complete, non-trivial programs that actually do something. Ideally it'll be a large project because that will give you practice in working with other people, API design, refactoring, testing, debugging, and reverse-engineering.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#27See what others are doing wrong, notice what I think and realize that I never want someone to feel like this when reading my code -> IMPROVE.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#28Coding.
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#29Be aware of the three paradigms (http://wiki.c2.com/?ThereAreExactlyThreeParadigms). Get proficient in at least one language for each of them. It will get you a host of transferrable knowledge.
Tinker a lot and don't be afraid to make your own mistakes (and learn from them once you've recognized them).
Re: Ask HN: How do you get better at coding?
#301. Write code for side projects
2. Read others code for similar projects in same language.
On #2, for example, if you are working on a todo list backend in python, try to find existing solutions for todo list backend in python. Then you can see what others using in their solutions and try to bring them into yours.
I understand, this approach is not applicable for everything but I have found lots of gems this way.