12 Rules to learn to code (Part 4 )

Welcome back, fellow code enthusiasts, to the grand finale of our four-part coding mastery series!

Rule 11: The Art of Chunking.

Ever had a brilliant idea that felt light-years ahead of your current skill set? Enter the Chunking Express, your ticket to tackling even the most complex programming challenges.

Chunking promotes systematic problem decomposition, enabling a more organized and effective approach to software development and coding tasks.

Imagine you're on a mission to create a robot that can expertly butter toast – a seemingly straightforward task that requires intricate brain circuitry. But as skilled programmers, we employ the power of chunking to simplify.
Programming such a robot doesn't require it to understand the subtleties of toast, the intricacies of butter, or the nuances of knife usage. We're not attempting to create an all-knowing artificial intelligence like Skynet from science fiction. Instead, we employ the technique of chunking.

Chunking in this context means breaking down the overall task into manageable components. We identify the practical aspects: first, positioning the toast correctly, then handling the butter effectively, and finally ensuring smooth and even butter coverage. By isolating these specific actions, we can focus our coding efforts on solving one piece of the puzzle at a time. This systematic approach simplifies the problem, making it more manageable and allowing us to build a functioning robot step by step, without needing to tackle the entire challenge all at once.

So, when you're working on that ambitious project, whether it's the next Snapchat-Evernote hybrid or a toast-buttering robot, remember the magic of chunking – it transforms the seemingly insurmountable into achievable milestones.

Rule 12: Reverse Engineer and Contribute – Your GitHub Adventure.

One of the pivotal steps on your journey from a novice coder to a seasoned programmer is learning how to seek and utilize help effectively. Every programmer, regardless of their experience level, occasionally needs assistance. However, the way you leverage that help can determine the pace of your progress.

Platforms like StackOverflow offer a treasure trove of code solutions. While it's tempting to copy and paste a solution, this approach fosters code reliance rather than comprehension. The golden rule in programming is "never copy-paste code that you don't understand."
So, what should you do when you encounter a code snippet that seems to solve your problem, but it's a maze of mystery to you?

Break it down systematically:

1. Copy and paste the code into your program.

2. Ensure your program functions as expected with the added code.

3. Begin deleting the copied code line by line, analyzing the impact on your program after each deletion.

4. Challenge your assumptions; even if you think you understand a line, delete it to test your knowledge.

5. Experiment with rearranging lines to understand the significance of their order.

To understand this better, Let's use a simple Python code snippet as an example to illustrate the steps mentioned and their results.

Step 1 - Copy and Paste the Code:

# Step 1 - Copy and Paste the Code
def calculate_sum(a, b):
    result = a + b
    return result

# Sample Usage
sum_result = calculate_sum(5, 3)
print(sum_result)

Step 2 - Ensure the Program Functions as Expected:
After adding the code, run the program, and it should produce the following output:

8

Step 3 - Delete the Code Line by Line:

# Step 3 - Delete Line 5
def calculate_sum(a, b):
    result = a + b
    return result

Result: The program will still run, but it won't display the sum_result

• Delete Line 4 (return result) and run the program:

# Step 3 - Delete Line 4
def calculate_sum(a, b):
    result = a + b

Result: The program will run without any errors, but it won't return the result.

• Delete Line 3 (result = a + b) and run the program:

# Step 3 - Delete Line 3
def calculate_sum(a, b):

Result: The program will still be valid, but it won't perform any calculations.

• Delete Line 2 (def calculate_sum(a, b)) and run the program:

# Step 3 - Delete Line 2

Result: The program will produce a syntax error since there's no function definition.

Step 4 - Deleting Lines and Checking for Impact:
By deleting lines one by one, you can see how each deletion affects the program's functionality and understand the role of each line.

Step 5 - Testing Assumptions:
Even if you think you understand a line, like the addition (result = a + b), deleting it helps test your assumptions about its necessity.

Step 6 - Rearranging Lines:
Experiment with swapping the order of lines to observe how it impacts the program's behaviour.

Once you've aced the whole code-dissecting thing on StackOverflow, it's time to check out GitHub, where the real coding magic happens. GitHub isn't just about collaboration; it's a treasure trove of open-source code waiting for you to dig in.

Imagine you're dreaming of building your own Instagram-like app, but you're not exactly sure where to start. Well, GitHub is your go-to spot. Simply type in "Instagram" or "photo app" in the search bar, and voila! You'll find projects in your favourite programming language that you can download and tinker with.
Now, here's where the real fun begins. Take a good look at their program structure-classes, constants, and how they all dance together. Get your hands dirty, make some changes, and see what happens. If things break (and they probably will), don't sweat it. Ask yourself questions and learn through that cool Socratic method thing. It's like having a coding mentor without the coffee runs.

Now that you're getting pretty good at this whole GitHub exploration thing, it's time to take it up a notch with some reverse engineering. Why not check out some cool projects on GitHub from some experienced programmers or organizations? Download one and just dive in like you're a kid in a candy store. Have fun exploring! Play around, see what makes it tick, and give it your special twist.
But here's the kicker – once you've tinkered enough, try building something similar from scratch. It's like a friendly competition with yourself. Compare your code with the original masterpiece. Look for ways to make it smoother and uncover solutions to those puzzling challenges you once faced.

And here's the secret sauce: As you dive deeper into this journey, you'll unlock the realm of advanced programming. You'll start seeing opportunities to contribute to these projects on GitHub, making your mark in the open-source community. It's a win-win – you learn, you grow, and you give back to the coding universe.

"Move fast and break things." - Mark Zuckerberg