4 ms·

Ask HN: As a beginner in programming, what is more important?

4 points by hardxxxtarget 13y ago

Is it focusing on the logical part or writing better quality of code?

a3n 13y ago
First ask yourself, which is more important, the turtle upon which you stand, or the turtle upon which your turtle stands?
- hardxxxtarget 13y ago
  Balancing on the turtle would be a priority for me
wilsonfiifi 13y ago
IMHO writing better code comes with time and practice. So what you probably need to focus on is developing your algorithmic thinking https://www.coursera.org/course/algorithmicthink https://www.coursera.org/course/algorithmicthink
- hardxxxtarget 13y ago
  But developing the algorithmic thinking also takes a lot of time and practice. So ideally, what would be the best way to balance them both?
  - SkyMarshal 13y ago
    You're overthinking it. Just program a lot, experiment with algorithms, read well-regarded books on both, and both will come. https://hn.algolia.com/?q=books#!/story/forever/0/books https://hn.algolia.com/?q=books#!/story/forever/0/books
LarryMade2 13y ago
I always like this blog post about quantity vs quality. http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/08/quantity-always-trumps-quality.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/08/quantity-always-tru... Doing a lot of code over the years on bigger and more widely varied projects, you learn to the value of better coding practices and readability, which is on top of a lot of skill doing many different things. The main thing is your a beginner, don't bog yourself down on stuff you shouldn't do, unless you really have to. Work on getting things working the way you want and revisit them on how to make them better.
read 13y ago
It's neither. The most important thing is to produce results in as little time as possible. You don't even know if you're solving the right problem most of the time. So you want to better understand what's the problem you should be solving before you spend more time trying to solve it. The second most important thing might be to become able to recognize when it's the right time to change/rewrite code to be of better quality. Do it too soon and you're wasting time. Do it too late and it takes more time.
phantom_oracle 13y ago
Get the concepts right, then find the perfect language (and maybe framework) and start building real-world projects. Try finding a language that has some employment potential too. Once you feel you've gained adequate exp and you are either using Rails or Django or Laravel, contact me and I will get you working on real-world stuff.

4 points by hardxxxtarget 13y ago

Is it focusing on the logical part or writing better quality of code?

a3n 13y ago

First ask yourself, which is more important, the turtle upon which you stand, or the turtle upon which your turtle stands?

hardxxxtarget 13y ago
Balancing on the turtle would be a priority for me

wilsonfiifi 13y ago

IMHO writing better code comes with time and practice. So what you probably need to focus on is developing your algorithmic thinking https://www.coursera.org/course/algorithmicthink https://www.coursera.org/course/algorithmicthink

hardxxxtarget 13y ago
But developing the algorithmic thinking also takes a lot of time and practice. So ideally, what would be the best way to balance them both?
- SkyMarshal 13y ago
  You're overthinking it. Just program a lot, experiment with algorithms, read well-regarded books on both, and both will come. https://hn.algolia.com/?q=books#!/story/forever/0/books https://hn.algolia.com/?q=books#!/story/forever/0/books

LarryMade2 13y ago

I always like this blog post about quantity vs quality. http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/08/quantity-always-trumps-quality.html http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2008/08/quantity-always-tru... Doing a lot of code over the years on bigger and more widely varied projects, you learn to the value of better coding practices and readability, which is on top of a lot of skill doing many different things. The main thing is your a beginner, don't bog yourself down on stuff you shouldn't do, unless you really have to. Work on getting things working the way you want and revisit them on how to make them better.

read 13y ago

It's neither. The most important thing is to produce results in as little time as possible. You don't even know if you're solving the right problem most of the time. So you want to better understand what's the problem you should be solving before you spend more time trying to solve it. The second most important thing might be to become able to recognize when it's the right time to change/rewrite code to be of better quality. Do it too soon and you're wasting time. Do it too late and it takes more time.

phantom_oracle 13y ago

Get the concepts right, then find the perfect language (and maybe framework) and start building real-world projects. Try finding a language that has some employment potential too. Once you feel you've gained adequate exp and you are either using Rails or Django or Laravel, contact me and I will get you working on real-world stuff.