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Think With A Programmer's Brain

bob.ts on December 20, 2021

So, I recently got a question from an individual participating in #100daysofcode on Twitter. I follow this hashtag to cheer on newer developers and...
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Kunal Keshan

Great article, I'm right now pursuing Electronics in college, and so yea, my interest shifted towards computer science a while back and I've been facinated ever since!

I'll start foucsing on CS Theory. Thanks!

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Usman Abdulhadi Allahnana

Thank you so much for this great article. I enjoyed it.

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Oscar Lancheros

This is an interesting article and I agree with you, CS theory it's pretty important when you write code. I've studied physics and I worked in geophysics for many years and a few years ago I had to write a bunch of Perl programs in order to automatize some tasks that helped me out to deliver on time a project. Since this year I started to study programming and a couple of months back I did realize that those Perl' scripts could be more efficient and have less code if I had implemented a couple functions.

Thanks!

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bob.ts

That’s great information. I remember working with the Engineers while in college using Fortran.

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Naka Dashi

I think this is generally well-put, with a couple of exceptions:
"Understand that more math is needed than just High School level."

If one is developing business applications, this is not true. I have seen very highly-paid technical leads who can barely solve two linear simultaneous equations, which is around 6th grade math in a lot of countries.

"On teams today, forty to sixty percent of my day is in meetings:"
This sounds very excessive. If more than 20% of a programmer's time is spent in meetings, your department needs training on how to conduct more efficient meetings. The majority of meetings drag on for far longer than they need to.

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bob.ts

Nobody is static on a job for 40-years any more, so assuming the math isn’t needed would be a disservice to someone that might need it on the next job.

I should say on the meetings that I included pairing sessions.

I’d love to say you’re right about the meetings, but having worked with several enterprise-level organizations, this is the way things are. Very focused on process … often overriding common sense. But those base premise behind mentioning the meetings, that developers need to communicate stands.

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Naka Dashi • Edited

It sounds like you do a different kind of programming than I do. I normally work with business applications on desktop and web, and I haven't had a need for anything beyond simple arithmetic. I did work at an engineering firm once, and most of the math was already done by the scientists and engineers; we just had to program it in. With the exception of specific fields that demand the math, a fresh graduate is more likely to be hired for their programming skills than their math skills, so I would encourage them to focus on that.

Regarding meetings, there might be a cultural difference between non-technical departments and developer teams that often needs to be addressed. The two communicate differently. I think there are firms that specifically provide training to increase the efficiency of meetings, so the meeting science is there. Just that not many companies are using it.

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raddevus

Those are all great points and this was a great article.

A lot of very good guidance for any developer.

thanks for sharing.

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Neuron123

Great article, thanks for writing

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AJ_Benjamin

Thanks for sharing Bob

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pini85 • Edited

Could you send a link of one incorrect subject on w3 schools, if there are any left?

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bob.ts

I'd be happy to ...

There's plenty of research showing they had this problem in the past. In fact, I stated in the article, "(w3Schools used to actually contain a lot of incorrect information)" ... past tense. I've seen incorrect information over the years and have learned to "shy away from them."

I spent some time researching this subject. Looking into the information they currently present I found the documented issues in the past are fixed. I will honestly say that they have information that is reliable, though I have no interest in using their information.

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pini85 • Edited

Yeah. I'm a bootcamp teacher and I usually recommend w3 schools only for html/css

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Naka Dashi

Sounds like an entire article could be written on dealing with incorrect information on the web when starting out as a developer!

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Ismail Idris Abdullahi

Great article, i don't know how to program but reading your article is like giving me an assignment to go an learn how to do programming

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Turan Kılıç

Great article, thank you !!

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Stanley Broo • Edited

Great article

Knowing when to take breaks have saved me hours of work over the years.
..Go for a swim :-) ..and a much better solution will present it self after the ”break”.

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arcahyadi

Thanks, great article
These few days i lost my intention for programming
Because stress for my final project

This article wake up my spirit again

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bob.ts

Awesome. I’m glad I can help.

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Ibrohim Hanafi

greet article, thanks to sharing