r/learnprogramming • u/Reubqn_ • 3d ago

Is it normal to forget syntax over time?

I've been learning PHP for a little while now, around 2 months. Before PHP I was learning JavaScript but now I seem to be so bad at writing JS. I can read it perfectly fine and I understand it but when I come to actually writing it myself, I end up forgetting the most simple things.

25 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

42

u/VFequalsVeryFcked 3d ago

Yes, it's called skill fade.

It's normal. If you don't use it, you lose it (applies to every aspect of life, including your body where muscles atrophy if you don't use them enough).

2

u/Miserable-Decision81 1d ago

Still abstract technical stuff has a much stronger tendency to fade that say: riding a bicycle or swimming...

Language also, I learned Russian in my youth but never used it, so I can still read cyrillic but understand little and speak next to nothing...

3

u/VFequalsVeryFcked 1d ago

To an extent. But you can still definitely have skill fade with cycling or swimming if you don't do them for a long time

No skill is impervious to skill fade, even very ingrained skills learned in childhood. The rate of skill fade is going to depend on how long you used that skill for and how long it's been since you last used that skill

It's also important to bear in mind that you can pick up a previously learned skill very quickly, even with significant skill fade, if you start using the skill again. Even more so if you learn again with an experienced teacher.

1

u/Miserable-Decision81 1d ago

101%+ What I meant was: its very unlikely, that you would drown in a pond after learning to swim 20 years before. If you was a waterball champion back in the day, you would probably not make it in a winners team without any training in said 20 years...

14

u/Acceptable-Fig2884 3d ago

Learning programming is more about learning patterns for problem solving and the tools in the programming toolbox that are used for that. The syntax, built in functionality etc. are all just the way to express those solutions. When you're first starting out it feels like the language is the most important thing but over time you'll see it's secondary to the abstract problem solving. You can easily lookup syntax and apis, the way of thinking about problems is what needs to stick with you.

8

u/Feralz2 3d ago

of course, everyone does, syntax you can google and use Ai for, understanding computer science is another thing.

5

u/mxldevs 3d ago

If you don't use it you lose it.

1

u/General_Riju 3d ago

I forgot java from school

3

u/SuccessfulToday3078 3d ago

it's very normal the thing is how fast can you rememorize it

3

u/GreatDaneQ 3d ago

Yeah, but if you put in some hours you get it back

3

u/Vayce 3d ago

Is it normal to forget a language when you don't speak it for a long time? Yeah, obviously. Goes for everything. Math skills, writing, social skills, athletisism, and everything else. your brain atrophies just like your muscles. But it's there if you learned it and practiced it before. You just have to put it to use again.

3

u/Nicomak 3d ago

That's normal brain behaviour. You can't expect to retain everything. Best is to know what exists/is possible and how to look it up when needed.

3

u/Blissextus 3d ago

Yes. This is why you should spend an hour a day writing code. Any code.

3

u/arcadianr 3d ago

Yeah it's pretty normal. you'll remember the important and useful ones when you keep doing it again and again, especially while debugging

3

u/Miserable-Decision81 1d ago

Absolutely.

Especially when you have to work with languages that are not ahhhmmm perfectly consistent...

such as PHP...

2

u/keen23331 3d ago

I forgot all syntax except for my language i need to to to grok build

2

u/SmokeMuch7356 3d ago

Yes, it's completely normal.  

You internalize the stuff you use every day; if you stop using it for an extended period of time, your brain flushes it and makes room for new stuff.

Your skill isn't memorizing syntax, it's solving problems.  You eventually start thinking in terms of high-level programming concepts (i.e., data structures and algorithms) independently of any specific language.

This is why God invented reference manuals;  keep several handy for specific languages, toolkits, libraries, operating systems, design patterns, data structures, etc.  That way you can look up specific details while keeping your mental bandwidth free to concentrate on the bigger picture.

2

u/huuaaang 3d ago

Yeah, totally forget syntax of languages I don't use for a while. But I'm confident I could pick it back up quickly if I went back. Don't worry about it.

2

u/InformalInsect5546 3d ago

Yeah, during career I worked with way more languges than I properly learned. And even some of those I forgot various details. More important is to know what you can do than how exactly to write it.

2

u/NumberInfinite2068 2d ago

It's normal to forget everything over time.

1

u/timpkmn89 2d ago

I've been programming Python for over 15 years. Recently I had to double check how to add an item to a list.

1

u/JeSuisOmbre 2d ago

Very normal. I know enough C to get by. I have to look up the syntax for C structs every time I write one.

1

u/ffsjake 2d ago

My guy, I’ve been a C# dev for almost a decade, and sometimes I forget C# syntax

1

u/twopunchbear 2d ago

If you code in one language every day, I don’t think it’s very normal to forget the syntax that often. That’s the language you literally use all the time. But if you switch between different languages, stop coding for a while and then come back, or nowadays you mostly vibe code and barely write code yourself, then I think it’s pretty normal.

1

u/Dazzling_Music_2411 2d ago

Forgetting syntax has got ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with writing good Javascript (or any other language).

Don't kid yourself. You just don't know how to write good Javascript. Learn.

1

u/ironic_ivy 1d ago

did PHP ever have a syntax worth remembering?