Questions on self-guided improvement. Because no one cares as much about you as you do.
68
votes
17answers
5k views
How would you know if you've written readable and easily maintainable code?
How would one know if the code he created is easily maintainable and readable? Of course in your point of view (the one who written the code) your code is readable and maintainable, but we should be ...
8
votes
6answers
724 views
Should I focus on being deep or broad
I have been a professional developer for just over half a year and have been amazed at how big the world really is out of college. I have continued to learn in my free time but I am wondering where ...
39
votes
25answers
12k views
How can I improve my problem-solving ability?
Everyone says the same thing: "a real programmer knows how to handle real problems." But they forget how they learned this ability or where: it's not taught in schools.
What can I do to improve my ...
40
votes
12answers
5k views
Is there a canonical book on mathematics for programmers? [closed]
I'm a self-taught programmer. I am honestly not good in math. What advice you can give to improve my Mathematical skills so that I will not be so insecure around my fellow programmers? What are the ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
What to plan before starting development on a project?
Say I've received the specs for a project from a client, and now its time to start developing it. Normally, I just start with the first module (usually user registration) and then go from one module ...
31
votes
11answers
2k views
Active steps to prevent a burn-out?
What steps are you taking to actively prevent a burn-out? Is it really working?
113
votes
27answers
8k views
Is constantly looking for code examples a sign of a bad developer?
I am a CS student with several years of experience in C and C++, and for the last few years I've been constantly working with Java/Objective C doing app development and now I have switched to web ...
38
votes
24answers
5k views
How do you know when you are tired of programming in your life? [closed]
Have you ever felt that you have had enough of programming and you want to do something else in your life which hopefully doesn't include staying in front of the computer all day?
Also, while ...
27
votes
4answers
1k views
What personal milestones can you use to measure growth in your programming abilities?
How can you determine objectively, over time, that you are getting any better at producing code? For example, I may sit here and feel that "I know <language> now, and I use <technique> ...
38
votes
11answers
15k views
How do I learn algorithms and data structures? [closed]
This is in continuation to my previous question where I asked is it necessary to learn algorithms and data structures. I feel yes it is.
Now I work in an environment where I won't ever get the chance ...
58
votes
34answers
5k views
When would someone be considered a bad programmer? [closed]
How would you consider that a programmer is bad at what he or she is doing?
If possible... How should he/she improve?
16
votes
11answers
2k views
Is it a really required skill to program without API documentation?
I barely passed my Java programming exam today. I had to answer some general questions about threading which I did well and to write a little threaded program which was worse. I had to connect my ...
53
votes
34answers
4k views
What non-programming books should a programmer read to help develop programming/thinking skills? [closed]
There are a lot of questions about what programming books should be on the programmer's bookshelf. How about non-programming related books that can help you become a better programmer or developer? It ...
22
votes
9answers
4k views
What do you do to improve your logical programming skills? [duplicate]
Do you think that only the programming pratice will help you to improve your logical programming skill or do you train your brain with puzzle games, trying imagine how universe works, playing ...
22
votes
5answers
2k views
Is there such a thing as Programmer's block?
Is it possible for a programmer to suffer the equivalent of writer's block? What strategies are there to overcome it?
72
votes
38answers
6k views
What programming skills have provided you the best return on investment? [closed]
What are the things that took you only a little time to learn, but had a big payoff? And how long did it take to learn enough before the they began to pay off?
For instance, I’m not a master of ...
81
votes
17answers
8k views
I no longer want to be a developer [closed]
I think like many other people here, I work on a meaningless pursuit: I develop high performance algorithmic trading software for an investment company.
Year over the year, I no longer care about ...
40
votes
7answers
2k views
What should junior developer expect from their senior team lead
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my employer.
I work for a small company, in which few people are developers, others are QA/Test and 1 is ...
20
votes
8answers
5k views
How to improve programming skills as a Junior without Senior
At the moment I'm 23 and working as a junior programmer at a software service provider. While I'm really happy with my job and my colleagues, I sometimes would love to have someone who could tell me ...
22
votes
17answers
2k views
Am I copy/paste programmer?
When ever I am stuck with a particular problem, I search for a solution in Google.
And then I try to understand the code and tweak it according to my requirement.
For example recently I had asked a ...
15
votes
6answers
931 views
Importance of learning to google efficiently for a programmer?
This is not a debate on usage of Google being good or bad for programmers.
Kindly refrain from doing so in your answers.
Most people (a vast majority of who use the Internet) use Google these days. ...
-5
votes
2answers
1k views
training plan for asp.net and c#
I would like to create a self-taught training plan for C# / ASP.NET. Assume that I have the basics in place.(I know how to use VS2010, understand HTML/CSS etc)
How would you structure this training ...
32
votes
39answers
2k views
What are some things you have read that inspired and guided you as a programmer? [closed]
For example, being a beginner, I find a lot of inspiration and direction from reading this post by Bryan Woods.
85
votes
18answers
26k views
Is LISP still useful in today's world? Which version is most used?
I try to teach myself a new programming language in regular intervals of time. Recently, I've read how Lisp and its dialects are at the complete opposite end of the spectrum from languages like C/C++, ...
51
votes
16answers
3k views
Does Scrum turn active developers into passive developers?
I'm a web developer working in a team of three developers and one designer. It's now about five months that we've implemented the agile scrum software development methodology. But I have a weird ...
22
votes
12answers
2k views
Techniques for getting off the ground in any language
When I start learning a new language, I have a couple of simple implementations that I like to complete to familiarise myself with the language. Currently, I write:
Fibonacci and/or factorial to get ...
46
votes
7answers
3k views
What is the most productive way to handle development-related failures? [closed]
We've all been there:
Your project failed or got cancelled.
The code you spent days working on got rejected by your team.
The design pattern you introduced to the team created chaos.
Everyone ...
21
votes
12answers
4k views
Do I need to understand algorithms and data structures to be called a programmer? [closed]
It has been six years since I have been coding. Coding into all kinds of things like ActionScript, JavaScript, Java, PHP, Ajax, XML HTML, ASP, etc. I have used arrays, maps, linked lists, sets, etc ...
15
votes
5answers
909 views
What does a typical programming journal entry consist of?
I read that a lot of people seem to favor the journal, or diary, form to keep notes on their work related activities.
I've had a more structured approach myself, which involves outlines and ...
22
votes
13answers
2k views
What do you do when you have nothing to do? [closed]
Let's say that you are idling. There is no ongoing project and you are left nothing to do sometimes. Or there are probably some project is running but you can't proceed. So, you have nothing to do and ...
21
votes
5answers
840 views
How do you maximise the knowledge that you gain from a programming book?
Not because I care how long it takes someone to read a book, but more because I'm interested in how people get the knowledge from a book (or I guess other sources) into their brains in the best, most ...
12
votes
7answers
1k views
Mathematics for Computer Science
I am going into university next year. I think maths would be one of the more important aspects of computer science. I recently saw the MIT Introduction to Algorithms video on YouTube and the maths ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
TODO list to play with a new programming language/framework/platform
When a new programming language or framework gets introduced (or I come across it the first time ), I want to play with it to get a handle on how things work in that new way. Can you recommend any ...
6
votes
13answers
2k views
Google is good or bad for programmer? [closed]
Recently I was being interviewed by a company and faced one question. The interviewer asked me a question and at that time I didn't know the answer but if I had been asked about just 4 months ago, I ...
19
votes
11answers
6k views
How necessary is it to learn JavaScript before jQuery? [closed]
In my opinion, when I looked at JavaScript, it looked like not my cup of tea. When I came across jQuery, I loved it. I sat and watched Nettuts+ 15 days of jQuery screencasts, 1 year later and now I'm ...
9
votes
6answers
1k views
Starting as a developer what are the possible career steps? [closed]
I would like to know what kind of jobs/roles one could expect on their career path if they start as a developer.
I also want to know how many years you'll be expected to stay in the same role until ...
4
votes
4answers
378 views
What books or resources would you recommend to learn practical OO design and development concepts? [closed]
I'm a self taught programmer; I understand the foundations of programming and what classes are, but my code tends to be messy with class methods interacting with a half a dozen other classes, and my ...
19
votes
13answers
1k views
What's your favorite productivity tip/hack [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
As a programmer what single discovery has given you the greatest boost in productivity?
I have seen programmers use a variety of techniques to measure and improve their ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
How I do become a better programmer as a junior developer [closed]
I am a junior developer in South Africa. I just graduated from college last year. My current employers hired me as a developer but they do not give me anything to develop and I've been working here ...
22
votes
8answers
770 views
Is it necessary to understand what's happening at the hardware level to be a good programmer?
I'm a self-taught programmer, just in case this question is answered in CS 101. I've learned and used lots of languages, mostly for my own personal use, but occasionally for professional stuff.
It ...
16
votes
9answers
418 views
Balance between “right tool for the job” and familiarity
So when choosing what language to use for a project, in an ideal world the language is chosen because it's the right tool for the job. However, I often prefer to use a language that I am fluent in ...
12
votes
6answers
393 views
What can / should be done with regular expressions?
I've recently learnt regular expressions and I love writing / using them. I'm looking for ideas and more opportunities to use them, however I don't want to overuse them as an all purpose tool, as ...
12
votes
8answers
901 views
Programmers forgetting syntax
Do good programmers need to have syntax at the tip of their tongue when writing code? What do you make of them if they google for simple stuff online? Are they good or bad(maybe they know where to ...
16
votes
11answers
3k views
How many programming languages is a programmer expected to be an expert at? [closed]
Do most programmers specialize on a single stack, leaving other things be, or are they expert at multiple languages at the same time? If it's more than one, how many is standard?
By expert, I mean ...
8
votes
11answers
834 views
How does one become proficient in a language and its idioms?
I'm a recent graduate and there are a few (three generally) languages I switch between based on the requirement. What I've found is I always have to look up syntax whenever I code. I know I'm not ...
4
votes
2answers
373 views
Improving analysis skills
I am a software engineer with a couple of years of experience. However I feel my problem solving skills need to be improved. To put in crude terms given facts A and fact B I have difficulty in ...
2
votes
1answer
482 views
Where should I start learning math with regards to programming
I've created several systems already, a web based menu system, a payroll system and I am currently developing a patient administration system, I know java,C,C++ C#, javascript PHP and other ...
1
vote
8answers
977 views
A job in big company like IBM/Microsoft vs. own small 1-2 people software company? [closed]
I hope all programmers have gone through the stage at I am.
I'm an iPhone and mobile apps developer and currently working in a company which is 1 of the best in my city.
Now I am at a stage where ...
120
votes
22answers
20k views
Stuck due to “knowing too much” [closed]
Note more discussion at http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4037794
I have a relatively simple development task, but every time I try to attack it, I end up spiraling in deep thoughts - how could it ...
35
votes
20answers
3k views
What are the steps in beginning a large project, when all I have is a big idea?
I am computer engineering student. I've been thinking about
how I can handle a big project. What should be my first step to reach my goal in a more efficient and effective way?
When I come up with a ...
