From Beginner to Pro: Supercharge Your Coding Journey By Reading Code
Hello to all friends, colleagues, and all the weekend developers!
Last week, I talked about the pre-coding checklist that will take you from procrastination to productivity If you have missed that, here’s the article:
Do you feel although you are able to write code, you are not sure if your coding style matches the standards of an experienced developer?
Are you a beginner programmer who thinks that you might be doing something in an old-fashioned way?
Do you think, if an experienced developer reads and provides input to you, then you can improve your coding style?
One of the best ways to improve your programming skills is to read other people's code. When you read other people's code, you can see how other programmers solve problems and write code.
Now, if you don’t believe me, here are five ways in which it can help you become a better programmer
Learning new techniques and approaches
By reading code written by experienced programmers, you expose yourself to different coding styles, patterns, and techniques.
This exposure can broaden your understanding of how to solve problems efficiently and elegantly. You may discover new libraries, frameworks, or design patterns that you were unaware of, which can enhance your own coding skills.
Understanding best practices
Experienced programmers often follow established best practices in their code, such as proper code organization, naming conventions, and documentation.
Reading such code helps you develop good coding habits from the beginning, making your code more maintainable and readable.
Gaining insight into complex systems
Many real-world software projects are large and complex, involving multiple modules, components, and dependencies.
Reading code from such projects gives you a glimpse into how these systems are structured and how they interact.
This can help you develop the ability to reason about and work with complex codebases, a crucial skill for professional software development.
Identifying and fixing bugs
Reading code can be a great way to learn about common programming mistakes and how to fix them. When you encounter code that contains bugs or errors, you can analyze the code to understand what went wrong and how it was resolved.
This process improves your debugging skills and teaches you to avoid similar mistakes in your own code.
Collaborating and building upon existing code
In many programming projects, you may need to work with code that has been written by others. Reading and understanding existing code allows you to collaborate effectively with other developers.
You can contribute to open-source projects, extend functionalities, or refactor existing code. This collaborative experience helps you develop important skills like code comprehension, communication, and teamwork.
Learning to read code helps when on the job where you will most likely be working on a large codebase. Exercising this muscle early in your learning will help you prepare for all the code reading you have to do on the job.
Accelerate your growth
By immersing yourself in the code crafted by experienced programmers, you embark on a journey of accelerated growth.
While reading other people's code is a powerful tool, it is crucial to supplement it with hands-on coding practice, experimentation, and seeking feedback.
Embrace the opportunity to learn from others' expertise, and watch your programming skills flourish.
Weekend Reads
Improving Performance with HTTP Streaming: Improve website loading time from the Airbnb tech blog
A Very Gentle Introduction to Large Language Models without the Hype: Fantastic Introduction on Large Language Model
How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably: Brilliant article on how only consistent is what you need to be great
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