How to Think like A GENIUS Programmer
Summary
TLDRThe video script emphasizes the distinction between coders and programmers, advocating for a programming mindset over mere coding skills. It introduces the 'black box' approach for modular and scalable code development, stressing the importance of collaboration, code readability, and the judicious use of existing libraries to enhance efficiency. The script also encourages learning from failures and thinking in terms of processes rather than specific languages, promoting adaptability and continuous improvement as key to becoming a proficient programmer.
Takeaways
- 🤔 A good coder is not necessarily a good programmer; coding is about writing sentences, while programming is about crafting a complete narrative.
- 🔍 The 'blackbox method' encourages focusing on the inputs and outputs of a program without initially worrying about the internal workings.
- 📝 Good programmers prioritize testing and scalability, considering how their code will be used in larger systems and how it will interact with other components.
- 🧩 Modularizing code through the blackbox approach allows for easier updates and optimizations without affecting the entire system.
- 🤝 Collaboration is key in programming; writing clean, well-documented, and understandable code is crucial for successful teamwork.
- 🔧 It's important to consider the long-term maintainability of your code, thinking about how future changes might impact the team.
- 🛠️ A good programmer knows when to leverage existing libraries and frameworks to save time and improve reliability, rather than reinventing the wheel.
- 💡 Using pre-built tools is not a shortcut but a smart practice that exposes programmers to industry standards and efficient ways of solving problems.
- 🌐 Thinking in terms of processes rather than specific programming languages allows for adaptability and the ability to learn new technologies quickly.
- 🔄 Embracing failure as a learning opportunity is essential for growth; bugs and errors provide valuable feedback for improving code and problem-solving skills.
Q & A
What is the difference between a good coder and a good programmer according to the transcript?
-A good coder is someone who can write code, while a good programmer is someone who can think at a higher level, focusing on the bigger picture, testing, and scalability of the code.
What is the blackbox method mentioned in the transcript?
-The blackbox method is an approach where programmers focus on the inputs and outputs of their code without worrying about the internal workings at first. This helps in focusing on the bigger picture and testing the code effectively.
Why is it important to create test cases with edge scenarios when programming?
-Creating test cases with edge scenarios ensures that the code works reliably under various conditions, including empty lists, lists with only one item, or lists with repeating elements.
How does thinking in terms of black boxes help in modularizing and scaling code?
-Thinking in terms of black boxes allows programmers to break down a system into independent parts that interact with each other. This makes it easier to focus on relationships and design, and also simplifies updates or optimizations without affecting the rest of the system.
Why is collaboration considered a core skill for programmers?
-Collaboration is a core skill because programmers often work in teams and need to write code that is understandable and maintainable by other team members. It also involves considering how code will fit into the existing system and interact with other components.
What does the transcript suggest about using existing code or libraries in programming?
-The transcript suggests that using existing code or libraries is a smart practice, as it allows programmers to leverage well-tested solutions and focus their time and energy on unique aspects of the project that require their expertise.
How should programmers approach learning and using new programming languages?
-Programmers should think in terms of processes rather than specific languages. They should understand underlying concepts and methodologies that are applicable across different languages and technologies.
What is the importance of failure in programming according to the transcript?
-Failure in programming is seen as an inevitable and valuable part of learning. Every bug or error is an opportunity to understand the code better and improve it, which is essential for continuous growth as a programmer.
Why is it important for programmers to make their code clean, well-documented, and easy to understand?
-Making code clean, well-documented, and easy to understand ensures that teammates can pick up the code and understand it without needing a deep dive into the original thought process. This is crucial for collaboration and maintaining the code in the long run.
What does the transcript suggest about the mindset programmers should have towards failure?
-The transcript suggests that programmers should view failure as feedback rather than a setback. They should continuously learn from their mistakes and improve their code, embracing the problem-solving nature of programming.
Outlines
💡 Thinking Like a Programmer: The Blackbox Method and Collaboration
This paragraph emphasizes the distinction between coding and programming, highlighting that being a good coder doesn't necessarily equate to being a good programmer. The key to programming is thinking like a programmer, which involves the use of the blackbox method. This method involves focusing on the inputs and outputs of a piece of code without initially worrying about its internal workings. This approach is crucial for creating test cases, including edge cases, and for modularizing and scaling code. The paragraph also stresses the importance of collaboration, suggesting that writing code is not just for oneself but for the entire team. It's essential to write clean, well-documented, and understandable code to facilitate team collaboration. The blackbox method is a form of abstraction that helps manage complexity by breaking down problems into smaller, manageable pieces.
🔧 Embracing Reusability and Learning from Failure in Programming
The second paragraph discusses the importance of reusability in programming, suggesting that a good programmer knows when to leverage existing code and libraries to solve problems efficiently. It argues against the notion of reinventing the wheel and encourages the use of well-tested libraries and frameworks to save time and effort. The paragraph also touches on the importance of understanding the tools being used, rather than just copying and pasting code without comprehension. Furthermore, it stresses the value of learning from failure, viewing bugs and errors as opportunities for learning and improvement. The mindset of embracing failure as feedback is highlighted as crucial for continuous growth and development in programming.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Coding
💡Programmer
💡Blackbox Method
💡Modularize
💡Collaboration
💡Abstraction
💡Algorithm
💡Documentation
💡Refactoring
💡Libraries and Frameworks
💡Processes
💡Failure
Highlights
Most coders aspire to work in big tech but the reality is that not all will succeed due to the difference between coding and programming.
Coding is like writing sentences, while programming is akin to crafting an entire storyline.
The blackbox method is introduced as a way to think like a programmer by focusing on inputs and outputs without initial concern for internal code workings.
Focusing on the bigger picture through blackboxing helps in creating test cases and modularizing code for scalability.
Collaboration is not just a soft skill but a core skill for programmers, emphasizing the importance of working with others in tech jobs.
Writing code is not just for oneself but for the team, requiring clean, well-documented, and understandable code.
The importance of considering long-term maintainability and the impact of coding decisions on the team is discussed.
Using existing code and libraries is encouraged as a smart practice, not laziness, to save time and effort on well-solved problems.
Understanding the tools and libraries used is crucial, even when leveraging pre-built code.
Learning from pre-built tools exposes programmers to industry standards and new ways of thinking.
Thinking in terms of processes rather than specific programming languages is key to adapting to different technologies.
Understanding underlying concepts and methodologies is more important than knowing syntax for specific languages.
The ability to iterate on ideas and adapt approaches is essential for a programmer's growth.
Failure in programming is inevitable and should be seen as valuable feedback for improvement.
Bugs and errors are opportunities to understand and improve code, rather than setbacks.
Continuous improvement on failures is a hallmark of a good programmer.
Transcripts
most coders want to work in big Tech but
most coders won't most coders want to
become good programmers but the reality
is most coders won't and the reason why
is because a good coder does not equal a
good programmer think of coding like
writing sentences and think of
programming like writing an entire
storyline and if you can't think like a
programmer well how do you expect to do
that so this is how to think like a
programmer the blackbox method let's say
you need to develop some code that takes
in two lists and outputs the merged
results of these two lists a good
programmer will immediately think of two
things how to test this code and how to
scale and notice how we haven't actually
implemented any code yet this is what
the blackbox method is essentially we
know the inputs and outputs of our code
but we deliberately don't worry about
the internal workings just yet now why
is this important well first it forces
you to focus on the bigger picture by
treating your code as a black box you
have clear expectations for what the
code should do for example if I give it
two lists one containing 135 and the
other 2 46 the output should be 1
through six how the code achieves this
isn't important at this stage but what
matters is that it takes these inputs
and reliably produces the correct output
for one this allows you to create test
cases with Edge scenarios like empty
lists list with only one items or
repeating elements and two this method
is essential to help modularize and
scale your code because let's say you
have a much bigger project with several
components by thinking in terms of black
boxes you naturally break your system
into several independent parts that
interact with each other this allows you
to focus on relationships and a clear
goal driven design when coding this also
means that if one of these boxes needs
to be updated or optimized you can do so
without affecting the rest of the system
so basically the black box method is
just a cooler term for abstraction and
as you can tell abstraction allows you
to manage complexity by breaking down a
problem into much smaller pieces without
getting bogged down in the details too
early which is an essential mindset for
a programmer collaboration isn't just a
soft skill it's a core skill for any
successful program if you're not good at
collaborating with others how do you
expect to ever land a tech job for
example let's say you need to come up
with an algorithm that's going to be
reused in other parts of the codebase
this isn't something you can just whip
up in isolation and call it a day you
need to think about things like how this
algorithm will fit into the existing
system how it'll interact with other
components and how other team members
will use it so basically you need to
realize you're not just writing code for
yourself you're writing it for your team
and the last thing they want is to look
at your code and not understand it at
all so it's up to you to ensure that
your code is clean well documented and
easy to understand make sure you use
meaningful names follow coding
conventions and use comments basically
try and make your code as easy to
understand as possible you'll know
you're on the the right track when your
teammates can pick up your code and
understand it without needing a deep
dive into your thought process and you
also need to recognize that the
algorithm you write today might be
maintained by someone else tomorrow so
it's important you consider how your
coding decisions can impact the team in
the long run will it be easy to update
if the requirements change have you
built it in a way that makes it easy for
extensions or refactoring and the more
you think about these things the more of
a habit they'll become and trust me if
you can get in the habit of making
readable and adjustable code you'll
already be thinking more like a
programmer than a coder improve the
wheel this one might be controversial
but in my experience a good programmer
knows when to use other code for their
advantage now when I say use other code
I don't just mean use chat gbt to write
your whole project let's say you need to
develop some sort of user authentication
system you could spend weeks or even
months developing this from scratch but
why do that when there's countless well-
tested libraries and Frameworks like
ooth or JWT which have already solved
this problem so basically what I'm
saying is you need again the habit of
using tools like these to solve your
problems for you it's not about being
lazy it's about being smart as a
programmer your time and energy are the
most important things you have and they
should be spent on the parts of the
project that truly require your unique
input but let me be clear using other
code doesn't mean just blindly copying
and pasting without understanding what's
happening under the hood you should
always take the time to learn the tools
you're working with this way you're not
just assembling code you're building a
deep understanding of the systems as
well now some might argue that using
pre-built libraries or Frameworks means
you're not really learning or improving
but that's not true at all in fact by
using tools you're exposing yourself to
the industry standards and new ways of
thinking you're learning how to
integrate different components how to
read and understand other people's code
and how to make informed decisions about
which tools are right for the job which
are all essential skills to think like a
programmer think in terms of processes
if you're a beginner you've probably
spent the majority of your time
mastering one or two programming linku
and this is great because it helps you
build a strong Foundation but what
happens when you need to learn a new
language because let's face it every
company uses different Technologies and
you'll inevitably need to adapt the key
is to think in terms of processes rather
than just code because when you focus
only on the specifics of one or two
languages you limit yourself to that
language's Paradigm but programming is
more than just knowing how to write for
Loops or functions in Python it's about
understanding the underlying Concepts
and methodologies that are used
everywhere so you need to start by
really understanding the different
possible solutions for a problem before
even thinking about the code for example
if you're asked to build a feature that
sorts a list of items instead of
immediately writing code think about the
process what's the most efficient way to
sort this data what are the trade-offs
between different sorting algorithms or
let's say you get asked to create a
class that can insert and remove
elements you need to think about which
data structures will be best fit for
your specific constraints and
specifications these are all examples of
what makes a good programmer knowing
what to use and when to use it and if
you get really good at understanding
these processes figuring out how to
apply it into code will become 100 times
easier because from here all you have to
do is convert your process into the
specifics of whatever language you're
using and it's also important to
understand that your first processes
might not always be the best so it's up
to you to be willing to iterate on your
ideas and adapt your approaches because
overall if you want to think like a
programmer you need to be willing to
adapt to new ideas and change your
existing on let's talk about something
that can make or break a programmer
failure in programming failure is not
just inevitable it's valuable every
error bug and failure to solve a problem
is one step towards your learning you
see pretty much everyone at every level
makes mistakes and it's impossible to
write perfect code all the time which is
why you need to start seeing bugs as an
an opportunity to understand your code
and to better improve it you need to
recognize that failure isn't a setback
it's feedback when something goes wrong
view it as an opportunity to learn from
your mistake this mindset is crucial
because programming is all about problem
solving and real world problems are
often really messy and error Pro so
instead of viewing failure as a
roadblock if you really want to be a
good programmer you need to continuously
improve on your failures and not be
discouraged overall I hope I helped you
gain a better understanding of how to
think like a programmer
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