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Shahid Sani Abdullahi
Shahid Sani Abdullahi

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How to ask for help in programming

Jumping from problems to problems, bugs to bugs, but are some actually bugs or just lack of understanding of concept?

Many have run into problems while coding especially due to misunderstanding of the core concept of a language/tool, libraries or frameworks.

Here I will state some things to do before you actually ask for help. Think of this as a helpful guidepost rather than an iron set of rules.

  1. Understand the concept
    Try as much as possible to understand how things are working, why they are built, how does it really works? what are the scenarios for implementation? what are the loopholes? Will the technology be helpful in my project?

  2. Find a substitute for tools, libraries or frameworks
    This will help you understand more of what you are trying to work with. A lot of people write about technologies, the concepts, the pros and cons, substitute, which technology for what solution.

  3. Implement/test the technology in a small project to understand it better, for example Dependency injection (DI), you will need to implement it in a smaller project to understand its core principle.

  4. Implementing the technology in some part of a bigger project to understand how it will work, implementing it all over might bug your project and leave you with the stress of reverting to previous tools. Thanks to version control systems like git, this should not be an issue.

  5. Ask for help.
    This is vital. Seek help from your immediate community (remote or physical). Has someone gained an understanding about the technology? If they have, have they used it? If they have used it, have they run into your kind of problem? If yes how did they solve it? Sometimes they might find it hard to understand your issue, so you need to explain yourself, your thought process, and what you’ve already tried to solve your problem thus far. Be aware that sometimes the answers especially from experts won't be straight forward, they will explain the fundamental concepts and use example scenarios. In the long run, this will be more helpful to you, even if it’s frustrating in the present.

Here are some takeaways for you:

  1. Know your subject before you ask for help
  2. Don't expect straight forward answers
  3. Present a standing ground for someone to help, make sure your made an effort before asking.
  4. It is completely normal to ask for help
  5. Try been up-to-date with technology
  6. Be as clear as possible

Thanks to @mustaphagarba and @auwalms for looking over this article

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