10 ways to improve your programming skills

One of the best ways to learn how to become a better programmer is to do the one thing that everyone says they don't have time to do, namely, DOCUMENT THE CODE!

Let me elaborate.  When you think you have a good solution and spend all night writing your code, you will still make mistakes.  Absolutely no one is perfect.  Why sit down and document the code?  Well, first, it gives you time to remember what you think you did when you wrote the code.  Next, as you are trying to describe the code, you will begin to see where you made some of your mistakes, error catch option 1.

When you get done with the first draft of your documentation, you review the documentation and the code.  At this point, you will find some additional errors, error catch option 2.

Next, you have someone else read the code and the documentation.  This process is usually called a code review.  The person reviewing the code and documentation will find additional errors or suggest coding improvements that will make the code more robust and faster, error catch option 3.

Just by documenting your code after you write it produces three opportunities to find and fix errors at the most cost effective point in the coding life cycle.  Did it slow you down?  Yes, a little, but it results in code that is three times better and completely documented.  This approach saved you three very long debug sessions and a massive task of documenting the code many months after you wrote it.

Trust me, documenting your code as you go is the best thing you will ever do in your programming career.  You will develop working code faster than your peers, with fewer bugs, and it will already be documented, so you will not have to go back to it later.

You my friend have just earned yourself a bonus and most probably a raise!  At the very least, the next time they need a "good" programmer, your name will be at the top of the list.  If you want job security, you want to be on the top of that list, always.

I stayed at the top of the list for 30 years by following this approach.  I was never laid off, and often had managers fighting over who would get me for their next project.

So if you want to improve your programming skills, learn to document your code as soon as you design it.  You will soon become the best known programmer in the office.

Your choice.

DAB

@DAB

Documenting code indeed is a good way to start with.

It seems you are a proffesional, so I wonder, how do you write your document? For example, do you use modelling tools or just text? e.g. for a newcomer, what are the basic steps how you would suggest to start with the document.

You could start with adequate remarks in your code. I too have realized, that i forget even the simplest logic that i may have used while coding,if i go back to the code 2-3 months later. You could scribble crucial points of your code on a text file.

You could start with adequate remarks in your code. I too have realized, that i forget even the simplest logic that i may have used while coding,if i go back to the code 2-3 months later. You could scribble crucial points of your code on a text file.