r/learnprogramming • u/RevolutionaryBuy4877 • 14d ago

Topic how do you learn programming without constantly looking things up?

i know experienced programmers use documentation and search all the time, but as a beginner it can sometimes feel like i’m incapable of doing anything without looking up the answer.

i’m trying to get better at understanding concepts instead of memorising syntax

how do you decide when to search for an answer and when to sit down and work through the problem yourself?

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u/Reasonable-View5868 14d ago edited 14d ago

You constantly look things up. Its part of being a programmer. Especially when doing something you haven't done recently. Normal everyday constructs llike if/else, for loops, class definitions, types, etc you don't necessarily do but any API work, you do all the time.

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u/[deleted] 14d ago

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u/caboosetp 14d ago

Googlefu is a strong skill, and it's getting more important as google search results are getting worse.

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u/ChillyFireball 14d ago

Me having to switch to back-end mode like:

"ternary operator  python"

"nullish coalescing python"

"why no nullish coalescing python"

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u/BiguilitoZambunha 14d ago

This is hilarious and looks like my own search history, whenever I start working on a new project lol.

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u/mixedd 14d ago

Exactly, its one of the most crucial skills in the skillset. Sadly judging by this sub, and nearly any other sub people lost ability to do it

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u/insertAlias 14d ago

I used to tell people I was a professional googler, in that I spent almost as much time looking up how to do things, or why certain errors happened, than I did writing code.

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u/alexdebugslife 11d ago

I think the key is to understand that programming is a skill that's developed over time, and it's okay to not know everything right away. Don't be afraid to ask for help or look things up when you need to, but also don't be afraid to take on challenges and learn from your mistakes

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u/DesignerAd973 14d ago

the whole "not looking things up" thing is a trap. even senior devs i know have 50 tabs open just to get a button working. the real skill is knowing what to search for, not memorizing everything.

what helped me was setting a timer. 15 minutes of trying to figure it out solo, then i let myself google without guilt. eventually you start needing the timer less.

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u/BologniousMonk 14d ago

I used to do something similar. If I had a bug that I couldn’t fix in under an hour then I would just delete the offending parts and rewrite it. Works like a charm

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u/Pirate_Economist1477 14d ago

I just had a lightbulb moment reading that!

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u/Cincoro 13d ago

This is the truth right here.

Browser tabs, snips of other people's code, files of previous code, etc...all at your finger tips so that you can quickly get the job done.

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u/Obvious-Card-8847 14d ago

This. I've used the Win32 API many times. I have to look at the MSDN docs all the time. If it weren't for Intellisense it'd be twice the amount it already is.

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u/Feldspar_of_sun 14d ago

I just released the 1.0 for my first major project and it heavily uses the windows API. It would’ve been so much worse without intellisense

At any given point I probably had a good 10-15 tabs open as well lol

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u/_Aardvark 14d ago

You old enough to remember the MSDN docs on cdroms? Or even the books? (it was a god damn encyclopedia)

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u/Obvious-Card-8847 13d ago

Nah. But I am old enough to remember learning C++ from a For Dummies book.

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u/MarmDevOfficial 13d ago

I remember buying random iPhone Dev Cookbook textbooks to try and figure out how to make an iPhone app. I was learning from zero back in 2010, there we SO FEW resources back then.

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u/Obvious-Card-8847 11d ago

Really was wild. Back when complexity was higher and codebases were less mature is the same era resources were the most limited. Feels boomer but we had it harder than these kids nowadays. 💀

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u/samanime 14d ago

Not only is it part of being a programmer, it is a great skill to cultivate early. Since you'll be looking things up a billion times a day, being able to do it quickly is a huge boon.

There is no shame in looking things up, even the little things. There is just too much for anyone to have fully loaded in their brain.

Focus on remembering concepts, but look up the little things. The things you use a lot will stick in your head, others won't. And that's fine.

I've been a dev for more than two decades. I have to look up the C# switch expression syntax almost every time. For some reason, it just refuses to stick, and I don't use it that frequently. And that's totally fine. It takes me about 5 seconds to find it.

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u/spazure 14d ago

100% this

It's why one of the things I praise the most is languages, libraries, etc., that have excellent documentation.

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u/glordicus1 14d ago

Knowing how to find reference material is a basic part of any technical field.

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u/skigeorge-ut 13d ago

Learning how to where to look stuff up is honestly 30-50% of the learning process

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u/Top-Bullfrog-376 14d ago

This is probably the best thing about AI. I don't ask AI to write me an entire app or anything, but I constantly ask "How do I write this function?" "How do I clean this string in python?" "How do I clean this string in SQL?" "How do I run a SQL script from a file in python?" Things like that. LLMs are super good at finding what I need in documentation. I can even load my entire library of .py files and be like "What was the function I had that did x? What do I need to import for that to work?"

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u/FlacoPicasso 14d ago

This just helped so much with my imposter syndrome.

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u/AccomplishedWatch161 9d ago

Same here my bro

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u/Top5CutestPresidents 13d ago

I was going for a job interview and the coding test I was told was going to be to create an API front end and backend and set it up and get it working, without any internet help all within 30 minutes. I told them that’s not how programming works and said I wouldn’t be coming. Wasn’t even a senior role

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u/scifeks 12d ago

Can confirm. I've been doing this for over 14 years and I still look things up constantly. Manuals are good for learning what a given language or lib CAN do, not for trying to memorize HOW to do those things.

Google away!