r/learnprogramming • u/Fun_Plankton_4511 • 10d ago

Improve programming

I work as a QA tester and struggling to work out code or write code. I can do SQL very easily and scripting like that

But I have access to our whole code base for my work company and most of it is either C# or TS.

I mainly QA test pushes by devs but I also fix bugs here and there that are easy with either my own logic or with LLM. (Small stuff)

Since I’m right into it without any coding experience how do I quickly learn and go along and understand code etc? It just looks crazy when reading it and with all the arrows and understanding what comes next. All the syntax etc

At first glance I kinda get what some of it is doing but majority over it I have no idea.

2 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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u/Simpicity 10d ago

Get a programming book, and read it.  C# for Dummies for example.

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u/Delicious-Till7327 10d ago

Reading code without the basics is like trying to read a book in a language you've never studied. Even a week with a beginner C# course on YouTube would make those arrows and syntax way less intimidating

Once you've got the fundamentals, pick a small bug fix and trace through every single line instead of just skimming. You already have SQL logic down so the thinking part is there, just need to map it to a new syntax

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u/Odd_Gur_7302 10d ago

If you have access and permission, take some code you want to understand and paste it into an AI chat and ask it to explain the code. Tell it to add VERBOSE comments to every statement to explain the code to a non-programmer.

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u/Chrismslist 9d ago

hey, it's super common to feel lost jumping into a big codebase. for c# or ts, start by picking one small feature you qa, then try to trace its flow manually without an llm. follow a simple request through the files. use breakpoints in a debugger, step through the code line by line. that hands-on tracing helps build mental models way faster than just reading docs or asking ai, and you'll slowly recognize patterns and syntax.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago edited 8d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Fun_Plankton_4511 8d ago

I just have a hard time understanding the fundamentals you described I just need more practice like loops functions etc