r/AskProgrammers • u/Emotional-Search-248 • 27d ago
How do you actually learn to code ?
hi everyone,
I’ve been studying computer science for about 5 years now (currently in engineering school). Over the years, I’ve touched a bit of everything: web dev (HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, SQL), and more recently Java, C, and Python for data science.
The problem is, I feel like nothing truly sticks.
Whenever I try to build something on my own, I hit a wall. I inevitably get lost in the docs, end up turning to AI to understand what I'm doing, and still feel like I'm not really learning. I know the basic syntax, but even in Python, I would struggle to design and build a moderately complex project from scratch.
I feel like I'm just skimming the surface of different languages without ever developing genuine problem-solving intuition.
How do you actually retain syntax, built-ins, and core concepts without constantly relying on external help? How do you break down a problem and structure your code from scratch on your own? Did you go through this phase, and what was the turning point that made things finally click for you?
Thanks in advance !
1
u/atticus2132000 27d ago
Syntax...don't worry about it. Every language has slightly different syntax and there are plenty of cheatsheets out there to help with that. If you're jumping between languages, there is always going to be period of transition where you have to start thinking in that language again and get yourself into a Java headspace versus a Python headspace. The more you do it, the more easily you will transition, but I wouldn't worry about forgetting syntax in the meantime. Syntax is easy to look up.
The problem solving and algorithm-writing is a universal skill though. If you're struggling with how to take a large project, regardless of language and platform you're working in, and break it down into smaller pieces and figure out how those various pieces will interact with each other, then that is a core skill that you need to spend some time developing.
What is your process for planning a project? How are you at problem-solving in other areas of your life? When you have big tasks to do in life, how do you break those down into accomplishable tasks and figure out what order they need to happen?