5 Resources to Improve your Problem Solving Game

Yahya Tahoune — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 15:43:47 +0000

So you want to develop your problem-solving skills? You’re trying to get to that next level? Or are you a beginner who’s trying to learn how to think like a developer / programmer ?

As Steve Jobs once said, “Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think”.
And I’m 100% onboard with that saying. So even if you don’t end up as a programmer in your next career venture, you will be guaranteed at least better techniques to approach your day-to-day life problems. Sounds enticing enough for you?
Let’s get to the really good stuff then!

First of all, you have to keep in mind that learning how to think like a programmer, is assuming you are one, and secondly, realizing that it’s a lifelong learning process and there is no end line until you decide to stop developing those skills.

In this article, I will be sharing some of my top 5 favourite valuable resources for you to become a better problem solver as a developer.
(Also, keep it mind that these are by no means ranked. It's a matter of tastes and preferences.)

5. CodeChef

This website is getting more and more popular with time, and I can see why. It’s a gem, it’s frequently updated, has a lot of challenges, has its own community forums, and even has its own IDE.

4. Project Euler

This one is pretty straightforward as it provides programming and mathematical problems with a simple and easy-to-understand interface.

3. Python Challenge

PythonChallenge is pretty niche, but the concept is very attractive and fun. And the “hacker vibe” it gives off really did it for me. Definitely underrated.

2. Practice It

“Practice It” provides an extensive list of Java based problems, and the challenges are actually quite friendly for someone who’s just beginning on their journey.

1. CodinGame

This one is probably my favourite of all time so far. It’s been recommended by a close friend of mine and I have been in love ever since I have been introduced to this mine of gold. It gamifies the whole process of problem solving and does a great job at it. I personally enjoy this approach the most and having the option to join the community and compare codes with other programmers is priceless.

With all this being said, there are many more resources out there to help you sharpen your problem-solving skills or just have some fun before starting your projects. I do believe one of the most important things about this whole journey is to get good at this specific skill and it’s for good reasons.

** Some last words: Stay consistent and have fun!****

Concept : Responsive Web Design

Yahya Tahoune — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 11:41:51 +0000

"Responsive Web Design" as its name suggests is the concept of "Responsive Design" adapted to the Web. It is sometimes shortened by the term "RWD" or simply by "Responsive". (People usually ask "is this website responsive?")
And, in ideally, any website that's going live should be responsive as it has gradually become very vital with the rise of mobile devices.

Photo imported from Unsplash

The truth is that Responsive Web Design is only one of the many concepts applied to a website to make it "pleasantly usable" on mobile while knowing that it is not limited to mobile phones and that it is worth just as well for:

► a tablet,
► a phablet (intermediate terminal located between the smartphone and the tablet),
► a computer and all its types of screens,
► a modern television,
► a car dashboard,
► a portable game console, …and pretty much any device capable of viewing a website through a web browser. In addition to the fact that Responsive Web Design therefore does not necessarily mean "mobile version", which opens the door for concepts like "Adaptive Web Design".

Adaptive Web Design

The idea behind this term is that the user interface of a website is different depending on the device that requests the web page. So for example, if I request a map on computer, the page will load a Google Maps frame, but if I were to make the same request on mobile, it might show the map's link instead. This happens for different reasons which are mostly quality of life adjustments.
A mobile doesn't necessarily work the same as a computer, but it also is usually less powerful in terms of specs.

This concept is therefore based on a functional (and therefore visual) design adapted to the user's device. The most extreme case of this concept could be to offer not only adapted functionalities but a complete dedicated site (a computer version site at one address, a mobile version site at another).

Responsive Web Design

The one-size fits all term that is the most popular.

I will start with an example for this one: A 4 large column flex box display on the big screen will boil down to 2 elements on top of the remaining two as a grid display on mobile. It is therefore quite possible that with the same device, depending whether it displays the page in portrait or landscape mode, the rendering is different.

Desktop First

This concept did not have a name before the advent of the concept of "Mobile First" but it simply refers to a site that was created to display on a computer in the first place. It is only then that visual gaps are added for the tablet and mobile versions.

Mobile First

This is the closest approach to the original idea of "Responsive Web Design" allowing Responsive display from small screens to very large screens. This approach involves first thinking of the site and design on a small device like mobiles (hence the name) and then scaling up the design to larger devices.

This approach, in addition to allowing infinite responsiveness, also helps ensure that the smallest devices load the least amount of resources. It is the recommended and more practical way of going about making a website.

DEV Community: Yahya Tahoune