10 Things to Know before start Coding

• Naqeeb Ul Rehman
• February 8, 2017
• 2,419

If you wish to learn coding you must have things to know before start coding because it is not a piece of cake. While there are many forums that motivate people to get into coding claiming that it is not a big deal, it is not really the case. In fact, coding is one of the toughest things to learn and do.

Before you take the plunge, it is essential to have a fair idea about the entire journey into the field of coding appears to be. Only if you have a clear idea of how it all works so that you may make a well informed decision. Here are 10 things to know before start coding and helpful for you.

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1. Build patience

Patience is one quality without which there is no way you can enter the field of coding. This treat basically helps you prepare to face disappointments. It will help you become a better problem-solver, and enhance your understanding of computers. The reason is that computer concepts are highly complex and call for patience, resilience, and tough to understand. Mostly, beginners don’t have the right expectations when they start out and as a result they may want to give up in the early stages of their journey.

2. Get the basics right

The important things to know before start coding are to have the basics right. For this you have to get to know that the core of computer science. You can find a wide variety of online courses that are designed for beginners. It is important to conduct proper research so that you can choose the right program.

3. Set goals

Setting goals is essential for becoming a coder as well. If you are planning to learn PHP, it is essential to set a goal to do a project by the end of the week. As soon as you achieve one goal you need to set another. It means that as an early learner, you can aim for a range of goals such as:

• Build a calculator using CSS and JavaScript
• Make a responsive website with the help of HTML, CSS and JavaScript
• Create a dynamic website using any back-end programming languages

You can opt for any project of your liking as well. But before you set any goals make sure it is achievable. Start out with smaller goals and then you can continue to aim for bigger objectives.

4. Do more projects

It is also important to do more projects as it will help you improve your analytical and problem-solving skills and also get to know what your limitations are. Learning coding is about learning syntax, but it also includes solving problems with the tools that you have. You must also have a creative outlook, and a plan to build something significant. There are many great forums that can help you have new ideas like Livecoding. It is also possible to sign up for GitHub where you can store your code for easy access.

5. Get into social coding

If you are planning to build the next big app without any assistance you are not on the right track. Why? Programming is a group activity, and it is essential to get help from different social platforms that are meant for programmers. There are several things to know before start coding you can check out livecoding, GitHub, StackOverFlow and other similar social coding site so that you can get help from a suitable community.

6. Learning continuously

The road to development in coding is endless. And the continued state of powerlessness is part of being a developer. In addition, the new developments in technology don’t let you relax as well considering you have to upgrade your skills and knowledge continuously.

7. Learning algorithms

Once you have gained some experience in projects, you need to move to algorithms. Algorithms are the heart of computer science. No matter if you are doing web development or game development, you have to use algorithms to achieve the end-result. Algorithmic thinking can help you find work as well as most job interviews are based on algorithms and problem-solving. It is best that you should try to solve at least one algorithm problem a day. You can do online courses for algorithms, or benefit from platforms like HackerRank.

8. Take advantage of code documentation

Code documentations basically helps you learn things to know before start coding and programming language. As a beginner, you can start slowly, and learn how to read code documentation. They can be intimidating sometimes so it is best to depend on Google at such times.

9. Get familiar with tools

Tools help you do small things faster. It doesn’t matter which programming language or framework you learn, making the most of the tools available is the right approach. With the help of tools you can automate most of the manual tasks, and allow you to focus on the primary issue.

10. Look for a mentor

Programming is a time-taking thing if you don’t have a mentor. Having a mentor can help you save time and get value from the experiences your mentor has as well. Your mentor can guide you through various projects, and thus you can emerge as a better programmer.

The Bottom Line

One of the most important things to know before start coding and to focus on is to get into a circle or a social platform where you can find people who are into the same profession or those who are like-minded. As you will gain proficiency in coding you will be able to make money as well. There are a number of online platforms like Upwork and Freelancer from where you may find suitable projects.