Feeling disappointed and abnormal in programming
Answered
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caima… posted this in #help-forum
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
Hey guys, I wanted to ask you some questions about programming skills and coding
I get disappointed and feeling sorry when I code, I depend heavily on chatgpt or other AI's
Its not that I don't understand the concepts and what the AI is writing, but I can't code myself (I mean I can't remember all the functions and everything)
Although I can easily understand even the advanced concepts of coding and I can read the code but I can't code it myself unless I copy from somewhere or use an AI
What do you say? Is this Normal? Should I be worried about my future with this? Am I going the wrong way? If yes how should I fix this?
I'd really appreciate you guys giving me advice on this! ❤️
I get disappointed and feeling sorry when I code, I depend heavily on chatgpt or other AI's
Its not that I don't understand the concepts and what the AI is writing, but I can't code myself (I mean I can't remember all the functions and everything)
Although I can easily understand even the advanced concepts of coding and I can read the code but I can't code it myself unless I copy from somewhere or use an AI
What do you say? Is this Normal? Should I be worried about my future with this? Am I going the wrong way? If yes how should I fix this?
I'd really appreciate you guys giving me advice on this! ❤️
Answered by Roseate Spoonbill
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman I can barely remember all the functions/classes/arguments I used and/or wrote myself throughout my career. It's normal. As many pointed out - as long as you understand what is happening, you are good. People used to do it with hours of googling. Now you can achieve the same faster with AI + googling.
I am not gonna say if it's better or not - it depends on how you learn personally. With time you'll absorb most common techniques and be able to recall some of them, sometimes by refreshing your memory in relevant docs.
Just make sure to read and try to understand everything you are copying. In case you don't, simply ask for help. I would be very, very surprised if you would be able to remember all the functions after 5 years.
I am not gonna say if it's better or not - it depends on how you learn personally. With time you'll absorb most common techniques and be able to recall some of them, sometimes by refreshing your memory in relevant docs.
Just make sure to read and try to understand everything you are copying. In case you don't, simply ask for help. I would be very, very surprised if you would be able to remember all the functions after 5 years.
31 Replies
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
By the way I apologize if this is not the place for asking this
I code with Nextjs and actual experienced people can answer this here thats why i'm asking this here
I code with Nextjs and actual experienced people can answer this here thats why i'm asking this here
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman Hey guys, I wanted to ask you some questions about programming skills and coding
I get disappointed and feeling sorry when I code, I depend heavily on chatgpt or other AI's
Its not that I don't understand the concepts and what the AI is writing, but I can't code myself (I mean I can't remember all the functions and everything)
Although I can easily understand even the advanced concepts of coding and I can read the code but I can't code it myself unless I copy from somewhere or use an AI
What do you say? Is this Normal? Should I be worried about my future with this? Am I going the wrong way? If yes how should I fix this?
I'd really appreciate you guys giving me advice on this! ❤️
it's fine to copy and paste code, look at problems, fix problem, read how other do things, ... But you should really learn the basics. Many people say that and you may already know what to do, but it's not about just writing code or doing things. It's about understanding things. If you don't know what you are doing, of course you can only copy stuff from others, but can't code yourself. So try to understand what you are doing and why you are doing this.
In the future these will be the first questions, when you start a new project and when you already have an answer for these question, you also directly know what you need to do ✨ That's Coding ✨ (at least for me)
In the future these will be the first questions, when you start a new project and when you already have an answer for these question, you also directly know what you need to do ✨ That's Coding ✨ (at least for me)
@B33fb0n3 it's fine to copy and paste code, look at problems, fix problem, read how other do things, ... But you should really learn the basics. Many people say that and you may already know what to do, but it's not about just writing code or doing things. It's about *understanding* things. If you don't know what you are doing, of course you can only copy stuff from others, but can't code yourself. So try to understand what you are doing and why you are doing this.
In the future these will be the first questions, when you start a new project and when you already have an answer for these question, you also directly know what you need to do ✨ That's Coding ✨ (at least for me)
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
I can understand the code and know how its working as mantioned before
But the problem is should I memorize all of the functions and codes? I mean it seems impossible to memorize everything
But the problem is should I memorize all of the functions and codes? I mean it seems impossible to memorize everything
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman I can understand the code and know how its working as mantioned before
But the problem is should I memorize all of the functions and codes? I mean it seems impossible to memorize everything
no. In coding nearly nothing is about memorizing something. It's more the way how you think, that you need to change. It better to know what's an object is and why you want to use it compared to knowing only, that this is an object:
So as mentioned: understand what and why you are doing things and then the code parts will be there automatically
const a = {}So as mentioned: understand what and why you are doing things and then the code parts will be there automatically
@B33fb0n3 no. In coding nearly nothing is about memorizing something. It's more the way how you think, that you need to change. It better to know what's an object is and why you want to use it compared to knowing only, that this is an object:
const a = {}
So as mentioned: **understand** what and why you are doing things and then the code parts will be there automatically
American Chinchilla
I can agree with this. At time for example I ask chatGPT how do i append a value in drizzle for integer types?
And it shows the answer that I couldnt guess on the spot, but Then i double check the docs and he right, it just it hard to find in docs since no search bar.
Another time i ask AI how do I implmene one time passcode for email verification in express?
It gave the answer which i couldnt have figured out myself but I understand what it saying and how it structure so i can figure it out the next time.
And it shows the answer that I couldnt guess on the spot, but Then i double check the docs and he right, it just it hard to find in docs since no search bar.
Another time i ask AI how do I implmene one time passcode for email verification in express?
It gave the answer which i couldnt have figured out myself but I understand what it saying and how it structure so i can figure it out the next time.
So it good to learn basica and understand problem solving. As a developer you will never know everything
But you should be able to understand the solution and not feel lost
@American Chinchilla But you should be able to understand the solution and not feel lost
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
Yeah exactly
I try to solve the problems myself
But after I figured the way and structure out I describe it to chatgpt and then get the whole code
Is this wrong?
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman Is this wrong?
it's not wrong, but it's also not a good way to learn new stuff
@B33fb0n3 it's not wrong, but it's also not a good way to *learn* new stuff
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
You mean like it is better to find the solution, go search the docs, find a related snipper or example from the docs and read it and then use it accordingly?
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman You mean like it is better to find the solution, go search the docs, find a related snipper or example from the docs and read it and then use it accordingly?
yea, think about this: you approach an issue, googling, finding, understanding, do something and the issue is resolved. Next time you see the issue, you already know what to do as you understood why there is a problem and what you need to do to solve it
Southern rough shrimp
Dont ask chatgpt to write code for you. Ask it to explain certain topics
Or just read the docs.
either way you're leaning too much on AI
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman
I started my career as teenager copy and pasting snippets i found online into Wordpress themes. Today I’m a senior at a big company. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Try to learn as much as you can.
American Chinchilla
Its not wrong to use AI to write code, most YouTubers who are sass owners and seniors actually recommend it but its balance
But if still new ; its good to first learn the basics of how to solve problems and learning to learn before using AI
But being able to use AI is a good skill
@American Chinchilla But if still new ; its good to first learn the basics of how to solve problems and learning to learn before using AI
Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
I've been into programming for like 5 years now
But I really can't remember how I used to code before chatgpt lol
But I really can't remember how I used to code before chatgpt lol
Copy pasting but I had to do full debug myself
long sessions of googling...
Roseate Spoonbill
@Schneider’s Smooth-fronted Caiman I can barely remember all the functions/classes/arguments I used and/or wrote myself throughout my career. It's normal. As many pointed out - as long as you understand what is happening, you are good. People used to do it with hours of googling. Now you can achieve the same faster with AI + googling.
I am not gonna say if it's better or not - it depends on how you learn personally. With time you'll absorb most common techniques and be able to recall some of them, sometimes by refreshing your memory in relevant docs.
Just make sure to read and try to understand everything you are copying. In case you don't, simply ask for help. I would be very, very surprised if you would be able to remember all the functions after 5 years.
I am not gonna say if it's better or not - it depends on how you learn personally. With time you'll absorb most common techniques and be able to recall some of them, sometimes by refreshing your memory in relevant docs.
Just make sure to read and try to understand everything you are copying. In case you don't, simply ask for help. I would be very, very surprised if you would be able to remember all the functions after 5 years.
Answer
Roseate Spoonbill
Oh, and make sure to write/rewrite the code you get from AI. Even as an exercise. It helps a lot to actually go through motion of writing if you need to learn some details and be able to recall them later. But don't think you actually need to remember names and types. That's what the docs are for. As long as you remember that
oh there is a function that does this. unsomething_cacheorwhatever you are golden.Schneider’s Smooth-fronted CaimanOP
Yeah
Ok then
Got it
Thank y'all
Appreciate it!