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Discussion on: The DRUG of online tutorials

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psiho profile image
Mirko Vukušić • Edited

I mostly agree with you but want to be a voice in tutorials defense. A long time ago, when I started, there were no schools for programming, at least not in this region. I even finished high school and college not related to IT. But still, most of my life is around IT. Most of that knowledge was self-thought, via tutorials and other ways. Yes, back then there were also not that many tutorials like today, but there were some.

So, you're correct, but in my opinion, tutorials are not to blame, it's the "instant success" wish so visible in many places today. But shortcuts, speed, copy/paste, etc. hurts you in the long run. The "hands-on" way to go through tutorials is a different story. Immediately implementing it into projects too. Covering the basics before going through the tutorial(s) is also important. Even without covering the basics and hands-on approach, tutorials help to investigate new ways and technologies before diving into them and focus.

So, tutorials are a valuable tool in my opinion. But just one out of many in yout toolset. And like with any other tool, you also need to know how to use it.

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dglsparsons profile image
Douglas Parsons

I agree with you here. Tutorials themselves aren't useless. Like you've said, they definitely lower the barrier to entry and provide valuable resources.

It's absolutely the 'instant success' or image that you can 'learn everything in one place' that is really the damaging thing. Even hands-on following a tutorial you're unlikely to experience the same problems, or getting stuck, like you normally would.

Nothing replaces the actual practice and experience of writing code and hitting issues head-on.