Learn Concepts Instead of Cramming Code: 6 Foundational Concepts Every Beginner Programmer Should Learn

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June 7, 2021 Career, Programming

As a student learning code or a beginner programmer, you may think that you need to memorize every line of code that has been written before on the subject or cram the text and syntax as you would before an exam. Programming, especially work-related programming, requires practicum and knowledge of key concepts beyond learning theories and syntax related to a particular programming language.

As a beginner, you should focus on the process and the foundation behind the code, not the code itself. You may always be worried about how to implement things, learning all the algorithms, design patterns, or features of the programming language itself.

You might face problems with this approach because regardless of the knowledge of the features of the language, you might not have the proper foundations and the knowledge of how to achieve certain objectives. Coding is a learning path and a learning curve; you retain information better if you understand the concepts well.

If you understand the concept well and have defined a path to achieve your objectives, regardless of the complexity of the project, you’ll learn code much faster and retain the knowledge of those key concepts. The syntax comes after the practicum knowledge of applying concepts.

Any good programming course simplifies all concepts and techniques that are required to achieve these objectives. You could try to learn all these concepts yourself or try to rewrite code-sets for different problems, but this method is just not effective. An online tutor or a service that can assist you in doing such tasks, for example, a letter of recommendation service, is the best way to move quickly and learn skills such as programming on the code.

Key Programming Concepts You Should Remember as a Beginner Programmer

One of the most important tips to get your coding student life up and running is to identify the key components to perform in the right order. This enables you as a coder to make the most out of your time. Another tip to remember is that different tasks have different utilities. Learning key concepts will help you work across the divide with different languages and deploy different utilities across tasks.

Remember the following even as you begin working independently on projects:

The Language Types

Different types of languages are deployed for different purposes. These include markup languages (HTML), styling languages (CSS), and full-fledged programming languages (C++, C#, Python, Java, etc.) The type of task you want to do may require different tools; for example, you may choose to use a compiled language.

Run-time versus Write-Time

Still, on languages, there is always a balance to be struck between the speed of the language when the compiler runs versus the amount of time it takes to create the syntax for the code. For example, C++ is much slower to write than Python but has a faster run-time.

Code Reuse and Coupling

One of the key concepts to remember as you program is the fact that you want to reuse as much of the code as possible since it saves both time and errors.

Coupling is part of Object-Oriented Programming, where different chunks of code can be reused within the entire code set and still operate independently from one another.

The Coding Infrastructure

Most of the programming is going agile and moving into the cloud. Therefore it is important to learn about server-side versus client-side infrastructure. Mechanisms of the internet should also be a consideration concerning how communication protocols work and how files are sent over the internet.

Programming Design Patterns

Programmatic design patterns refer to ways of organizing code, an important part of coding in a team. Programmers can communicate with each other about how they feel certain aspects of a code should be designed, deployed, or operated. Good examples of this are the Model View Controller (MVC), filtered design pattern, or dependency injection

The Developer Workflow

This refers to how you structure the software building process. Most people think about developer workflows in terms of the code structure, the infrastructure around the code, and how that code is going to be deployed using Repos, development cycles, etc. However, not everyone factors the interactions with the client and how this will affect the workflow, since, in the real world, clients will be coming back with inputs, request changes, and provide other feedback over the entire DevOps cycle. This has to be considered for efficiency’s sake, considering the long-term trajectory of the software regarding the business model and development model.

Conclusion

Don’t just pick one language and learn all the features and design patterns about it. Programming languages are simply a tool that allows you to achieve certain objectives. Define your problem and find the right tools to solve it. As you grow, you’ll find that it isn’t so much about coding anymore as it is about finding the easiest and simplest way to solve a problem.