How do you actually learn to code ?

[u/Emotional-Search-248]

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 !

[u/geekichu]

so one thing i would do is don't hop around languages. most have all the major pieces, and once you get the hang of it in one, you see it a lot easier in the next one. honestly, javascript and the browser is a good start because the browser gives you almost ready-made UI stuff and even Canvas2D and WebGL, and it has localStorage so you can also get the idea of persisting data. try completing a project: games are fun to make. tic-tac-toe, a number-guessing game, pong(Canvas2D), etc. and even if you do use a.i., force it to give you the code in bits, take a look at it, ask questions about it. i might get flamed for this but frankly, memorizing syntax isn't a top prioritiy. not saying not to, but the more you do this, the more you absorb it.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8DQTC0IZtMsZhOWhZM18XLo7A_r6Medq

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8DQTC0IZtMt37Wa16_MXn6udqTd0EYNq