For those who like to read ahead 1. Using Bad (abbreviated-non-obvious) Variable Names = Confusing/Cryptic/Less Readable 2. Not Backing up Code/not using Source Version Control/ and not pushing to a Remote Repository = Losing your Work 3. Inconsistent Formatting ("Curly Bracket on the same line convention" in one section combined w/"Curly Bracket on the next line" in another) = Confusing 4. Adding Code You "Might Need" Later but definitely not right Now = Confusing/It'll be treated as sacred & immutable by others even when still not needed 5. Getting Stuck in Tutorial H**L = You'll be Entering into an Infinite Loop while Gaining Zero Hands on Experience 6. Not testing Code Often/Periodically = Can't Find where the logical errors are located 7. Hard-coding Magic Numbers or Strings(literals) = Less Readable/can get Buggy/Hard to keep track if same value is used in multiple places 8. Commenting Out Large Blocks of Code = similar to #4 && adds clutter plus if you follow #2, you'll be able to look up what you need
My suggestion would be to invest time into setting up your IDE, learning shortcuts, customize preferences, save actions etc. Can save you a lot of time and improve quality of life and code. On the other hand, it can be a pain to set it up after a wipe.
The mistake I see happening often: Not using already existing libraries to do tasks. Writing your own library with exact functionality can be very useful, but if you're writing mundane functions like Logging, requests, io etc then these tasks are almost certainly available in a library that someone else has already written
This is so true. I remember as a young engineer, I had this obsession with proving myself to my peers and superior, and one of the ways I did that was trying to "reinvent the wheel". Stuff that I could do with a library, I preferred writing them myself so they could see how "awesome" I was. Man... Well, I'm all grown now!
Mistake i'm currently doing and that goes into your "backing-up your code" : Not commiting enough. Commit a lot. Even if your team has some standards about commits (Squash exists), makes a lot of small commits. And when you deliver your feature, squash them into some meaningful commits. Commits should tell a story.
In the past I didn't use source control, but instead copied the entire folder every day I worked. Needless to say, it was a disaster. I couldn't check what's changed at all and it takes more space. Especially when using some large third party folder full of megabytes of stuff since my own website code is only a few dozen kb. I ended up using git to commit all of those changes later on. It was day by day based instead of issue by issue, so I either did multiple things a day or some got spread out between days. Very messy. I definitely learned from that and used git from day 1 with other projects.
One thing EVERY beginning developer does wrong is overestimate their future. They will be like "Oh I'mma make a competitor to Minecraft!" Then end up quitting after they try to listen to a 3 hour video of how to learn Java, C#, C++, C, but end up sleeping or something, or "Oh I'mma make this rad website, then quit after trying to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. My advice is to choose what language you want to learn first, and then learn it to a point where you feel comfortable without using tutorials all the time. (Excluding intermittent google searches,) and then learn another language, and repeat the cycle.
I'm going back to school for CS. As a beginner, I know right off the bat I caught myself trying to learn multiple languages after really only understanding the fundamentals of a single language. Example, I grasped the concepts of Python really well, and tried to jumping straight into Java right after that; EVEN knowing damn well that I still had a lot of learning and questions bc I have not mastered or written much code with Python. With that said, understanding the syntax is very different from the implementation of the language in problem solving or creating projects in code.
Funny. I did java and then python. Python was so easy that I blew through writing a basic program for it since it has a lot less syntax nuance. I have mastered nothing, but it does feel satisfying to have made a functional GUI program faster with python.
As a current 1st year student, the only thing I'm stuck on is I understand the logic behind the topic theoretically but have no idea of how how to implement it in code or write code that follows the logic. And the language I'm learning right now is JAVA
I feel like a big one was missed: Copy / pasting code blocks all over the place instead of converting into a function and calling the function.... I did that one a painful amount in my early coding days =/
One of the mistake I see is to trying to learn syntax more than logic. It's ok to forgot syntax, there is stack overflow. But logic is the most important thing ever, master it in the first place
Sometimes I get these really long variable names because I don't know what to call it or because it looks similar to different variables. Like $users meaning the amount of users or an array with users. Luckily in that case, naming is simple and you can just add "amount" or "number" or "sum" to it and "list" or "array" to the other variable.
Love the video, you're one of my motivation to keep on coding, but I still feel like I can't do anything tangible on my own and rely on docs or videos to give me ideas on how to implement anything, is that a bad thing and if so please can you explain how I can overcome it. With love from Nigeria.
This was great! I've watched so many of these "mistakes programmers make" videos but this one is different and specific. I really learned a few things here!
A common mistake I have made was actually when I was doing web design for some company I would always forget to specify the main html file as index.html and yeah let’s just say this was a long term problem and I did not keep the job for long.. Edit; I moved to backend development and I’m working with c++ at the moment and it’s quite enjoyable not going to lie though I wish my company would switch to rust as it can do everything that c++ could do in our use case
Thank you for the helpful vid! Btw Do you work for Disney? If so can you give insight into the interview process? I feel like developers only talk about interviews when it concerns FAANG but not other companies.
Dumb mistakes I've made are making a pull request without properly testing the code, forgetting to keep my list with dependencies needed to install the software up-to-date and forgetting to commit the code when it was still working.
I'd hate to have to do a handwritten code interview. I'm so bad and slow with writing because I barely write anything with pen. Typing is 10 times faster and it's what we all use to code anyway.
I do the whole commenting out blocks of code thing until the final revision (all in arduino), but then save it to a txt file or remove entirely so the code is not so cluttered. Or if it's needed for other functions someone may need because of hardware change, I'll leave it in.
Cheers man - some good points to remember! Documenting my journey on RUclips, just posted my first programme video haha. I’m sure I’ll look back in a year and be embarrassed 😄
So a quick recommendation : change the tone of your voice throughout the video go up on and down this video had a single tone and i found myself looking away at times and not listening
Not sure its mentioned in the comments yet, but at around 7:40 (magic numbers), you could use an enum as well, which will be even better than the public variables you used in your sample code. But, I am sure you knew this, as you are not doing a tutorial :)
I've been programming for about a year and following your channel for most of that time and honestly videos like these are great. I'm in my first software dev role now and small videos outlining basics like this can be nice boosts to know I'm doing some of the small things right. Thanks for all the time you put into this channel, would love to see part 2!
Would you like to see a part 2?
oh yeah...we definitely need part 2
Yes!
yes
Yeah!!
yeah
Love the overall aesthetic of your channel and setup man! Great stuff!
Thank you!
X and Y are for math only, so if you're programming some math equations, you can use them. Otherwise I'm always specific.
For those who like to read ahead
1. Using Bad (abbreviated-non-obvious) Variable Names = Confusing/Cryptic/Less Readable
2. Not Backing up Code/not using Source Version Control/ and not pushing to a Remote Repository = Losing your Work
3. Inconsistent Formatting ("Curly Bracket on the same line convention" in one section combined w/"Curly Bracket on the next line" in another) = Confusing
4. Adding Code You "Might Need" Later but definitely not right Now = Confusing/It'll be treated as sacred & immutable by others even when still not needed
5. Getting Stuck in Tutorial H**L = You'll be Entering into an Infinite Loop while Gaining Zero Hands on Experience
6. Not testing Code Often/Periodically = Can't Find where the logical errors are located
7. Hard-coding Magic Numbers or Strings(literals) = Less Readable/can get Buggy/Hard to keep track if same value is used in multiple places
8. Commenting Out Large Blocks of Code = similar to #4 && adds clutter plus if you follow #2, you'll be able to look up what you need
My suggestion would be to invest time into setting up your IDE, learning shortcuts, customize preferences, save actions etc. Can save you a lot of time and improve quality of life and code. On the other hand, it can be a pain to set it up after a wipe.
More IDEs need a function to export these settings. Just for this reason. One could also share a good setup to friends this way.
Write yourself some scripts that help setup your environment! That way you can easily deploy it on multiple machines.
The mistake I see happening often: Not using already existing libraries to do tasks. Writing your own library with exact functionality can be very useful, but if you're writing mundane functions like Logging, requests, io etc then these tasks are almost certainly available in a library that someone else has already written
This is so true. I remember as a young engineer, I had this obsession with proving myself to my peers and superior, and one of the ways I did that was trying to "reinvent the wheel". Stuff that I could do with a library, I preferred writing them myself so they could see how "awesome" I was. Man... Well, I'm all grown now!
My answer would be Leaving a lot of console.logs.
Good one!
Please throw away the Disney shirt, it's trash. Wear Python shirts instead!
It’s great when you notice that you don’t commit these mistakes anymore and you realize that you are evolving
I will rectify my mistakes thank you:)
This guy lowkey looks like Oscar Issac.
Mistake i'm currently doing and that goes into your "backing-up your code" : Not commiting enough.
Commit a lot. Even if your team has some standards about commits (Squash exists), makes a lot of small commits. And when you deliver your feature, squash them into some meaningful commits. Commits should tell a story.
In the past I didn't use source control, but instead copied the entire folder every day I worked. Needless to say, it was a disaster. I couldn't check what's changed at all and it takes more space. Especially when using some large third party folder full of megabytes of stuff since my own website code is only a few dozen kb. I ended up using git to commit all of those changes later on. It was day by day based instead of issue by issue, so I either did multiple things a day or some got spread out between days. Very messy. I definitely learned from that and used git from day 1 with other projects.
I felt attacked when you talked about turtorials, It helps me realised that I need to actually code on my own😅
😂
One thing EVERY beginning developer does wrong is overestimate their future. They will be like "Oh I'mma make a competitor to Minecraft!" Then end up quitting after they try to listen to a 3 hour video of how to learn Java, C#, C++, C, but end up sleeping or something, or "Oh I'mma make this rad website, then quit after trying to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP. My advice is to choose what language you want to learn first, and then learn it to a point where you feel comfortable without using tutorials all the time. (Excluding intermittent google searches,) and then learn another language, and repeat the cycle.
definitely forget to test my code often - have been working on it over the years, but still need to work on testing WAY more often.
I'm going back to school for CS. As a beginner, I know right off the bat I caught myself trying to learn multiple languages after really only understanding the fundamentals of a single language. Example, I grasped the concepts of Python really well, and tried to jumping straight into Java right after that; EVEN knowing damn well that I still had a lot of learning and questions bc I have not mastered or written much code with Python. With that said, understanding the syntax is very different from the implementation of the language in problem solving or creating projects in code.
Funny. I did java and then python. Python was so easy that I blew through writing a basic program for it since it has a lot less syntax nuance. I have mastered nothing, but it does feel satisfying to have made a functional GUI program faster with python.
9th mistake is Disney might copyright strike this video
Spot on! All mistakes I made when I started. And those things seem small but avoiding them makes you such a better developer!
part 2 Please!
As a current 1st year student, the only thing I'm stuck on is I understand the logic behind the topic theoretically but have no idea of how how to implement it in code or write code that follows the logic. And the language I'm learning right now is JAVA
I feel like a big one was missed: Copy / pasting code blocks all over the place instead of converting into a function and calling the function.... I did that one a painful amount in my early coding days =/
You have magic numbers labeling your timestamps in the description.
One of the mistake I see is to trying to learn syntax more than logic. It's ok to forgot syntax, there is stack overflow. But logic is the most important thing ever, master it in the first place
Library hell because I use reactjs and here you can literally install anything so.. avoid it… please
Thank you. This helped with organising my code and avoiding bad habits
Sometimes I get these really long variable names because I don't know what to call it or because it looks similar to different variables. Like $users meaning the amount of users or an array with users. Luckily in that case, naming is simple and you can just add "amount" or "number" or "sum" to it and "list" or "array" to the other variable.
I knew like 30 of them and now I have been coding for a month and a half so I think that's decent
Love the video, you're one of my motivation to keep on coding, but I still feel like I can't do anything tangible on my own and rely on docs or videos to give me ideas on how to implement anything, is that a bad thing and if so please can you explain how I can overcome it. With love from Nigeria.
My mistake which i still kind of do but not that often, is bad commit messages
I have been doing cp for a year, and its really hard, do you think I should continue or no?
I should avoid bad variable name...
We want a part 2!
Im kinda a noob but one I make a lot is not reading documentation.
my advice is: if it works, don't touch it
This was great! I've watched so many of these "mistakes programmers make" videos but this one is different and specific. I really learned a few things here!
6:26 No the way you go about is by writing your tests forts #TDD.
Rookie mistakes, like using java? 😂
We have been missing your videos since a while👀
I like the new camera angle thing. Keep it up Sam!
Help me get out of the tutorial hell. Please.
Keep on making these types of videos brother !
Part 2 love your work and effort ;)
Now this is quality content
A common mistake I have made was actually when I was doing web design for some company I would always forget to specify the main html file as index.html and yeah let’s just say this was a long term problem and I did not keep the job for long..
Edit; I moved to backend development and I’m working with c++ at the moment and it’s quite enjoyable not going to lie though I wish my company would switch to rust as it can do everything that c++ could do in our use case
Great video! Awesome reminders
Best programming channel on RUclips currently. Always a pleasure seeing that notification in my sub box! Keep striving Sam.
Thank you for the helpful vid! Btw Do you work for Disney? If so can you give insight into the interview process? I feel like developers only talk about interviews when it concerns FAANG but not other companies.
I _really_ expected not using a delimiter. I use JS without any semicolons and I get _so many_ errors in other languages involving semicolons.
Dumb mistakes I've made are making a pull request without properly testing the code, forgetting to keep my list with dependencies needed to install the software up-to-date and forgetting to commit the code when it was still working.
I'd hate to have to do a handwritten code interview. I'm so bad and slow with writing because I barely write anything with pen. Typing is 10 times faster and it's what we all use to code anyway.
I do the whole commenting out blocks of code thing until the final revision (all in arduino), but then save it to a txt file or remove entirely so the code is not so cluttered. Or if it's needed for other functions someone may need because of hardware change, I'll leave it in.
number 7 actually helped me get past a mental block i was having, so thank you for that!
Cheers man - some good points to remember! Documenting my journey on RUclips, just posted my first programme video haha. I’m sure I’ll look back in a year and be embarrassed 😄
I always feel like I'm overly verbose with my variable naming. I don't abbreviate a lot of the time either.
So a quick recommendation : change the tone of your voice throughout the video go up on and down this video had a single tone and i found myself looking away at times and not listening
Not sure its mentioned in the comments yet, but at around 7:40 (magic numbers), you could use an enum as well, which will be even better than the public variables you used in your sample code. But, I am sure you knew this, as you are not doing a tutorial :)
excellent video.
what is an efficient way to put my coding skills to practice, in order to get better?
One mistake is watching too many RUclips videos
part 2 please
For my variable names I normally abbreviate what the variable is for.
part 2 !
Do a part two and also common coding mistakes of intermediate coders!
Dude, are you on Twitter?
Not currently.
Good advice. Thanks man
Mistake 1: 0:43
Mistake 2: 2:08
Mistake 3: 2:59
Mistake 4: 3:55
Mistake 5: 4:53
Mistake 6: 6:04
Mistake 7: 6:38
Mistake 8: 7:48
Thank you! I added it to the description.
Nice bro
I've been programming for about a year and following your channel for most of that time and honestly videos like these are great. I'm in my first software dev role now and small videos outlining basics like this can be nice boosts to know I'm doing some of the small things right. Thanks for all the time you put into this channel, would love to see part 2!
I'm weak at codingg and want to improve but don't like spending time learning and solving problems.Boring and Difficult.Help me Out!!!
getting the debugger in my IDE running