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Ask HN: How do I become a good coder?

4 points by exicer ↗ HN
I am not a good coder. I recently graduated from an Msc (in CS), having previously studied Physics. Though I learned a lot during the Msc, none was related to actually creating good code. I can get small things to work in python (and a bit in java), and in general can understand what a given program does. I've even made a few small applications for Android. Having said that I am no software engineer - mostly I just piece it together. I enjoy the algorithmic side of things, and I enjoy getting an idea to actually work - but on larger projects I just don't know where to begin. Given this background, I have a number of questions!

- I want to work in programming, at some level. Ideally I would find a job that allows me to do something interesting, and learn (with the emphasis being on learning). Where should I be looking in the UK?

- Most importantly, how do I become a better at creating good code?

Thanks in advance!

4 comments

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ajsharp
1. Read code on github.

2. Write lots of code.

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2.

Happy coding!

exicer
I can see that this is a good thing to do (though I will need to spend some time working out how to find interesting things on github). However, will this be enough to learn things like - design patterns, and when to use them? How to properly test code? I suppose these things are not so much of a problem; I have heard of them, so I can find out about them. I am more worried by finding out about things that I am thus far unaware of!
groby_b
Read about CS. As much as you can get your hands on.

Find a mentor who can help you when you have hard questions.

Contribute to OSS projects - you _will_ get feedback on your code ;)

glimcat
Pair programming. Lots of practice. Always be learning.