So, when learning to programme
via an online programming course of our book,
is it important for you to type in all the examples
and to actually go through and finish the coding exercises
or challenges that are in that book or video course?
Let's talk about that in today's video.
(upbeat music)
Welcome back.
My name is Tim Buchalka with another programming tip
of the day.
And we're talking about going through a book
or an online programming course.
Is it worthwhile, is it vital in fact
for you to type in all the code?
Type in the code as you see it in the book
or video course but also go through
the programming exercises and challenges
because let's face it, it's quite easy to skip ahead.
And it's probably a want to skip ahead.
You're probably looking to finish that video course
or book as quickly as possible.
I think it's vital that you type in all the code
in the book or video course.
Type it in as you see it in the book
or as the video is being shown to you.
Type along with that code.
So, in other words, don't just attempt the coding exercises,
which we'll talk about shortly,
all the codes you see in that book or video course,
my opinion, you should be typing that in yourself
just to make sure that you really understand the material
because that's what you'll find with programming,
you learn by doing.
We all learn obviously to a certain degree
by reading the screen and looking at a book
or watching a video but until you start coding
and immersing yourself in code,
you're not going to really become a great programmer
or a good programmer who really understands the material.
So, if you're struggling with programming,
it may well be because you're skipping ahead
or you're not actually typing in all the code
or you're assuming that you understand a particular thing,
and you may find, in my opinion, you'll usually find,
if you start typing in code
where you previously haven't been doing that,
it'll become a lot more, a lot easier for you to understand.
So, certainly do that.
And in terms of coding exercises or challenges,
these are little exercises for you to typically type in
and solve that are usually in most programming books
and certainly in a lot of online video courses.
The idea of that is to help you solidify what you've learnt.
You do that by actually solving a particular problem.
That's another great way to really understand the concepts
that have been taught in that previous section
or up until that stage of the book or the video course.
I think it's essential for you to at least attempt
those coding exercises or challenges.
And the reason why is firstly as I said
'cause you're immersing yourself in code.
The more coding you do, the better at programming
you're going to be.
Basically the more the understanding will seep
into your consciousness because you're actually doing it,
you're actually coding.
That's really important.
But secondly just the process of going through that
is going to make you a more productive programmer
because you're actually having to think,
you're actually having to formulate
and come up with solutions
and of course that's what you're gonna be doing
when you're a full-time programmer.
You're gonna be doing that for a living basically each day.
So, I think it's essential.
And look, don't get too discouraged
if you don't finish a coding exercise or challenge
but certainly attempt it.
And if you don't finish it or you can't finish it
or you feel it's completely out of your depth,
that's probably a sign for you to go back
and review the previous material perhaps in that section
of the e-book or of the physical book
or the online programming course.
Go back and review those concepts,
rewatch the videos, reread, et cetera,
and then maybe attempt it again.
But even if you can't get part
of the coding exercise complete,
that's going to be a good thing
that will steadily improve your skills
because again you're thinking of this,
you're trying to formulate solutions to problems,
and that's what programmers do.
So, in general, my advice is to type in everything
that you see in a book, a book about programming,
or a video course.
Type it in as you see the information
and certainly go through and try and complete
all the coding exercises and challenges.
All right.
So, I hope that helped.
If you've got any questions, feel free to leave a comment
and I'll get back to you.
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