Questions on self-guided improvement. Because no one cares as much about you as you do.
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 ...
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 ...
97
votes
16answers
6k views
How to avoid “DO YOU HAZ TEH CODEZ” situations?
I have a strange situation at work, where a colleague of mine often asks me and other co-workers for working code.
I would like to help him, but this constant request of trivial snippets interrupts ...
86
votes
17answers
6k views
Being stupid to get better productivity?
I've spent a lot of time reading different books about "good design", "design patterns", etc. I'm a big fan of the SOLID approach and every time I need to write a simple piece of code, I think about ...
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++, ...
83
votes
11answers
10k views
How to prepare for a programming competition? Graphs, Stacks, Trees, oh my! [closed]
Last semester I attended ACM's (Association for Computing Machinery) bi-annual programming competition at a local University. My University sent 2 teams of 3 people and we competed amongst other ...
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 ...
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 ...
72
votes
17answers
4k views
How important is self-teaching in the programming field? [closed]
I'm 16. I started programming about a year ago when I was about to start high-school. I'm going for a career in programming, and I'm doing my best to learn as much as I can. When I first started, I ...
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 ...
68
votes
13answers
3k views
Do you spend your working hours on learning?
Do you spend your working hours learning new stuff, reading tech blogs, books on programming etc.? What's your opinion on it? Can an employer have benefits allowing developers to spend about 1-1.5 hrs ...
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?
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 ...
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 ...
47
votes
20answers
4k views
What's the best place for a high school programmer to get his work noticed?
I'm a 16 year old high school student, with a passion for computer programming.
I'm in grade 11, and I've been learning it as part of the school syllabus for about 8 months.
I've gone beyond what's ...
47
votes
12answers
2k views
Releasing an open source project without getting embarrassed
I've been working by myself on a fairly large open source project for quite a while and it's nearing the point where I'd like to release it. However, I'm self-taught and I don't really know anyone who ...
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 ...
42
votes
12answers
13k views
Good Practice Projects to Improve Programming Skills [closed]
What are the best toy projects to improve generalised programming skills? I'm talking small programs that you build from scratch and play with yourself to develop skills in a given area or areas. For ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
38
votes
20answers
3k views
How do you stay motivated for hobby projects? [closed]
I started seriously programming as a hobbiest, student and then intern about 4 years ago and I've always done small projects on the side as a learning exercise. Schools over now though, and I spend ...
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 ...
36
votes
9answers
2k views
Could spending time on Programmers.SE or Stack Overflow be substitute of good programming books for a non-beginner?
Could spending time (and actively participating) on Programmers.SE and Stack Overflow help me improve my programming skills any close to what spending time on reading a book like Code Complete 2 ...
35
votes
14answers
2k views
Do most companies not know how to write software?
If you're an active reader here, try to think about how many times you've heard (and even agreed) when someone here has told someone else to start looking for a new job. Personally, I've seen it a lot ...
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 ...
34
votes
16answers
1k views
How do I deal with analysis paralysis?
Very frequently, I am stuck when choosing the best design decision. Even for small details, such as function definitions, control flow, and variable names, I spend unusually long periods perusing the ...
34
votes
6answers
4k views
Audiobooks for programmers? [closed]
I'm a programmer with a two-hour round trip commute to work each day. I'd like to fill some of that time with audiobooks about software development. Any audiobooks that would help me become a better ...
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.
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?
31
votes
8answers
838 views
What are the best ways to professionally increase your online presence?
I've been hunting around the job market for a little bit now and I've been shocked by some of the things I'm seeing. Software developers who make themselves more "known" online are getting far more ...
30
votes
10answers
840 views
Ship Early, Ship Never [closed]
This started as a "Note to Self," so please excuse me if the frustration is all too evident and the writing is less than stellar...
Three major subjects I've had at the forefront of my mind lately:
...
30
votes
7answers
961 views
At what point does “constructive” criticism of your code become unhelpful?
I recently started as a junior developer. As well as being one of the least experienced people on the team, I'm also a woman, which comes with all sorts of its own challenges working in a ...
29
votes
14answers
2k views
Any tips to learn how to program with severe ADHD?
I have a difficult time trying to learn how to program from straight text-books. Video training seems to work well for me in my past experiences with PHP. I am trying my hardest to stay focussed and ...
28
votes
11answers
1k views
Should a developer be forced to memorize details?
Many times I forget things about my application. I don't memorize the table names or what a query did and I search to get what I want. My team leader told me I'm supposed to memorize the table names ...
28
votes
8answers
2k views
What are the three most important questions you should ask your team about your performance as their team leader?
I'm approaching the 1 year mark as a leader of a small development team (4 members, including myself) inside of a small software company. I'd like to give my team the opportunity to evaluate how I am ...
28
votes
6answers
672 views
How do I demonstrate what I've learned outside of the workplace?
I consider myself a well-rounded developer. I read books, delve into technologies at home, go to developer meet-ups, frequent Stack Overflow, and so forth.
But how do I show this to the prospective ...
27
votes
4answers
2k views
Which algorithms/data structures should I “recognize” and know by name? [closed]
I'd like to consider myself a fairly experienced programmer. I've been programming for over 5 years now. My weak point though is terminology. I'm self-taught, so while I know how to program, I don't ...
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> ...
26
votes
7answers
728 views
What do you do if you've had a series of bad employers? [closed]
So I've had a series of really bad experiences and am wondering what I'm doing wrong.
I started out as a part time programmer at a major university. I developed a problem with my wrist and asked ...
25
votes
11answers
1k views
How do you cope with the dynamic nature of high-level software development?
I consider myself a high level software developer. I enjoy reading a lot, and it's helped me over the course of my career. I think I am doing well.
Right now, I spend a lot of time learning new ...
25
votes
11answers
702 views
Why is it you never get as much done as you'd planned? [closed]
I always start the day thinking "I'll easily get this done by the end of the day" and set what looks like a realistic target.
So why do I never hit it? The task always ends up taking 3x longer due to ...
24
votes
6answers
1k views
What does Dijkstra mean when he recommends an exceptionally good mastery of one's native tongue?
Dijkstra writes here:
Besides a mathematical inclination, an
exceptionally good mastery of one's
native tongue is the most vital asset
of a competent programmer.
I do not understand the ...
23
votes
11answers
2k views
Random number generation algorithm for human brains?
Are you aware of, or have you devised, any practical, simple-to-learn "in-head" algorithms that let humans generate (somewhat "true") random numbers? By "in-head" I mean.. preferrably without any ...
23
votes
13answers
913 views
What are your suggestions on learning how to think?
First of all, this is not the generic 'make me a better programmer' question, even though the outcome of asking this question might seem similar to it. On programmers.SE, I've read and seen these get ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
