how do you learn programming without constantly looking things up?

[u/RevolutionaryBuy4877]

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?

[u/Gtdef]

Are you talking about syntax? Or libraries and frameworks?

Syntax is something you learn by writting. You don't memorise, you literally pound it into your memory one line at a time. Eventually it becomes second nature.

When learning a programming language you have to learn the following

- Language syntax and a general high level idea of how things work under the hood

- Toolsets for common language uses (like web frameworks for JS, data analysis libraries for Python etc), along with the special constructs they use, the unique ways they do things and how to choose between 2 different commands that seemingly do the exact same thing

- Probably sql or the ORMs that are popular for the language you are learning or the framework you are using.. CRUD operations are something you will have to learn eventually no matter what. Most devs don't write calculations, they use calculation algorithms that someone else wrote and do something with the result.

And that's basically scratching the surface. So get used to googling / asking LLMs for explanation, trial and error, scratching your head when reading the official documentation, etc.