Every coder has that one day when nothing works and the console turns bright red.
That was me too. I remember sitting in front of my laptop, watching endless error messages appear, wondering if maybe coding just wasn’t for me. But slowly, one bug at a time, I began to understand that those “failures” were actually little teachers hiding behind red text.
Each error shaped how I think, how I stay calm, and how I solve problems. Today, I want to share the first five coding errors that helped me grow into a more confident developer and taught me valuable lessons about patience, logic, and persistence.
1. How a Simple Syntax Error Turned Into My Favorite Lesson
My first coding error was the simplest one, and yet it felt like a disaster.
I had written my first JavaScript function and proudly hit “Run,” only to be greeted with:
Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token
I stared at my code for ages, convinced something mysterious was wrong, only to realize I had forgotten a closing parenthesis. That tiny bracket had caused the chaos.
function greet(name {
console.log("Hello, " + name);
}
The fix was almost funny when I saw it:
function greet(name) {
console.log("Hello, " + name);
}
That was my first lesson in humility. Coding errors are not enemies; they’re mirrors showing exactly where you stopped paying attention. Every syntax mistake reminds me to slow down, breathe, and read what the computer is actually telling me.
2. The Mystery of Undefined That Every Coder Faces
Feeling more confident, I started building a tiny to-do app in JavaScript. Everything seemed fine until one line broke my confidence completely:
TypeError: addTask is not a function
After an hour of confusion, I found the culprit. I had written addtask in one place and addTask in another. That one lowercase letter changed everything. JavaScript didn’t care about my intention; it followed the exact name.
function addtask(task) {
tasks.push(task);
}
addTask("Learn JavaScript");
The corrected version worked instantly:
function addTask(task) {
tasks.push(task);
}
addTask("Learn JavaScript");
That day, I learned that naming consistency is not just good practice, it’s a form of respect for your future self and for anyone reading your code. Many beginners think they have logic issues when in fact, they just have naming errors. Consistency clears more bugs than you’d expect.
3. The React Moment That Finally Made “Undefined” Click
When I started learning React, I moved from simple syntax errors to more mysterious ones.
I remember building a UserCard component that was supposed to display a name:
function UserCard({ user }) {
return <p>{user.name}</p>;
}
<UserCard />
My console flashed with:
TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name')
At first, I thought React had a bug. But no, the problem was mine. I hadn’t passed the user prop at all.
<UserCard user={{ name: "Shubhra" }} />
That fix worked immediately.
It also taught me one of the most important lessons about JavaScript coding errors, never assume data exists until you’ve confirmed it.
Now, I always handle this safely:
function UserCard({ user }) {
return <p>{user?.name || "Anonymous User"}</p>;
}
That little question mark (?.) has saved me from countless crashes since.
4. The Next.js Fetch Coding Error That Tested My Patience
My next big challenge came in a Next.js project where I needed to fetch data from an API. The setup looked perfect, but the console threw a scary red message:
Error: fetch failed
I checked my connection, rechecked my endpoint, and even switched networks. Nothing worked. Finally, after far too long, I saw the real issue, I had typed htp:// instead of https://.
await fetch("htp://api.example.com/data");
It looked right at a glance, but one missing “s” broke everything.
Once corrected, it ran beautifully:
const res = await fetch("https://api.example.com/data");
That bug taught me patience and the power of slowing down.
When you face coding errors like this, it’s not always about fixing, sometimes it’s about observing. Debugging isn’t rushing to solve; it’s tracing your logic calmly, one small step at a time.
5. When a Logic Mistake Made Everything Click
My final lesson came from a bug that didn’t crash my code, it just gave me the wrong answer.
I wrote a small loop to total expenses:
const prices = [100, 200, 300];
let total = 0;
for (let i = 0; i <= prices.length; i++) {
total += prices[i];
}
The result was NaN, and I couldn’t figure out why.
Then I noticed the condition: I had used <= instead of <. That tiny sign caused the loop to access prices[3], which didn’t exist.
Corrected version:
for (let i = 0; i < prices.length; i++) {
total += prices[i];
}
That one small fix changed everything. Logic errors like this are the best teachers. They don’t shout in red text, they whisper. They make you think more deeply and check your assumptions.
What These Coding Errors Taught Me
Looking back, each of these moments shaped me as a developer.
- Syntax errors taught me precision.
- Undefined function errors taught me discipline.
- React property errors taught me data awareness.
- Fetch errors taught me patience.
- Logic errors taught me analytical thinking.
Together, they gave me a mindset: that debugging isn’t punishment, it’s exploration.
Each fix gave me confidence, and each small victory reminded me why I love building things from scratch.
Debugging and Growth Go Hand in Hand
When I began, I thought great developers wrote perfect code. Now I know they write buggy code, but they fix it thoughtfully. Debugging is where confidence, creativity, and calm meet.
Those first five coding errors built the foundation of my developer journey. They taught me to think clearly, to listen to my console without fear, and to enjoy the learning process.
If you are facing your own set of errors, don’t fight them.
Ask your code what it’s trying to teach you.
That’s how confusion turns into confidence and every mistake becomes a milestone.
👉 Read the full story here: My First 5 Coding Errors
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