The Joy of Understanding One Line of Code

#programming #learning #career #softwaredevelopment

In your software development career, you’ve probably experienced the joy of truly understanding a line of code, right?

On the other hand, there’s that feeling of not fully grasping the code, whether it’s something you wrote or code written by others. Let’s dive into the value I want to share through out this blog post.

I used to copy and paste code, this is a common practice in software development. It’s a pattern and part of our daily work in this field. But even when the copied code worked, I often felt like I was missing something, or maybe something like psychological dissatisfaction.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for reinventing the wheel. If you can leverage existing code snippets, scripts, or libraries, do it without hesitation. It’s actually a sign of seniority and experience. You’re bringing value to the project by applying knowledge efficiently, saving time and effort.

Let me give you an example of when coding becomes a joyful experience. Imagine you find a solution on StackOverflow or from one of the popular AI tools today. Instead of simply copying and running it, you take the time to read, understand, and adapt the code to your specific use case. You might add or remove lines, making it more adaptable to your project. This process can sometimes be harder than writing the code from scratch, but it’s satisfying because you’ve not only saved time but also bring value to your work/team.

Here’s another example: You take a simple SQL query, spend time fully understanding it, and then integrate it into your codebase. You feel accomplished because you didn’t just use a copied SQL statement or an auto-generated ORM query. You truly understood what you were doing.

In general, the message I want to pass in this post is to take advantage of existing code to move your project forward. It’s perfectly fine not to understand every single detail in your codebase, and it’s okay to use this approach to save time and money. But whenever you have the chance to deeply understand a line of code, EMBRACE IT. It’s a rewarding feeling.

Keep learning…

Originally posted on my blog: https://mohcinbounouara.com/the-joy-of-understanding-one-line-of-code/