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It is interesting that one of the way Zed advocates for learning is to type, (instead of copy and paste), the code into the computer. That reminds me when I was

It is interesting that one of the way Zed advocates for learning is to type, (instead of copy and paste), the code into the computer. That reminds me when I was cutting my teeth at my introduction to computers. I would get computer magazines like Compute! and type in the 100s of lines of code that comes with it. Especially the arcade games listing. I think this method also improve my debugging skills as I was tracking down the error (usually I did not type in the code properly or there was a misprint in the magazine).

jussij 12y ago
> Zed advocates for learning is to type, (instead of copy and paste) The copy an paste option is always attractive, as it gives the impression of writing lots code quickly. But I agree with Zed in that it leads to a false premiss of being productive. Coding is all about typing in code, not copy and pasting code. It's actually quite hard to type in lots of code without generating compiler errors. But it is quite easy to just copy and paste code without error. So the copy an paste option leads to a false sense of coding ability.
- tragic 12y ago
  I think the bigger issue is that coding is about knowing what the hell you're doing. Copying a snippet manually forces you, as a side effect, to read the code, and read it more slowly than you otherwise would. You notice the limits of your understanding more quickly, and can try to fill them in. I didn't learn with Zed's books, but I did (and do) avoid copying and pasting anything I didn't (don't) understand, and would recommend that approach to any newbie.
enobrev 12y ago
Typing it out definitely helps with muscle memory. Every time I start trying to learn a new language, I make sure to type out all the examples I hunt down while trying to implement something. Whether it's whitespace, or semi-colons, or brackets. After a couple days of typing everything out, they become second nature and I don't have to worry as much about syntax as I do about thinking in whatever way the language seems to flow.

jussij 12y ago

> Zed advocates for learning is to type, (instead of copy and paste) The copy an paste option is always attractive, as it gives the impression of writing lots code quickly. But I agree with Zed in that it leads to a false premiss of being productive. Coding is all about typing in code, not copy and pasting code. It's actually quite hard to type in lots of code without generating compiler errors. But it is quite easy to just copy and paste code without error. So the copy an paste option leads to a false sense of coding ability.

tragic 12y ago
I think the bigger issue is that coding is about knowing what the hell you're doing. Copying a snippet manually forces you, as a side effect, to read the code, and read it more slowly than you otherwise would. You notice the limits of your understanding more quickly, and can try to fill them in. I didn't learn with Zed's books, but I did (and do) avoid copying and pasting anything I didn't (don't) understand, and would recommend that approach to any newbie.

enobrev 12y ago

Typing it out definitely helps with muscle memory. Every time I start trying to learn a new language, I make sure to type out all the examples I hunt down while trying to implement something. Whether it's whitespace, or semi-colons, or brackets. After a couple days of typing everything out, they become second nature and I don't have to worry as much about syntax as I do about thinking in whatever way the language seems to flow.