MD Sarfaraj for This is Learning

Posted on May 13, 2022 • Edited on Aug 19, 2022

How to become a good developer?

#webdev #programming #beginners #career

Introduction

Hi guys, today I am going to share with you some tips on how to become a good developer. So before going to make any delay let’s start.

To become a good developer, we need to follow some steps, which are:

The habit of source code reading
Practice
Follow the structure
Communication
Documentation
Community
Eager to learn

The habit of source code reading

A famous quote says that if you want to become a good speaker, you have to listen first; You can’t become a good speaker without becoming a good listener. If you want to write good code, you should read other developers' code as well. By reading the other developer's code, you will understand their logic and see their point of view on solving the same problem.

However, most developers don't like to read source code because they find it boring. But reading other developers' code gives us the opportunity to criticize the mistakes they made when writing that code. By identifying the mistakes other software developers have made in their code, you will be able to avoid them.

It is important to read source code as a first step toward becoming a good developer.

Your habits will determine your future

Practice

When you were a child, Learning to ride a bicycle, you fell down, and you got a little injured, but you still wanted to ride it. One day came and you finally could ride the bicycle.

Similarly, programming work requires the same approach. You will become a good programmer by writing code and practicing. Being a good developer requires practice.

Practice makes you perfect

Follow the structure

In most cases, you will be asked to add some new features to the existing application.

If you get this kind of work, I recommend you don't write the code first. Rather, take some time to understand the coding structure. Discover the application's behavior and the structure it follows. Once you understand these things, you can start writing code.

Continue on the existing path

Communication

My communication skills were poor when I joined my first company, but I was good at acquiring new skills. Due to my lack of communication skills, I didn't get the opportunity to become a team leader.

After the COVID-19 situation, communication skill is very important because managing and communicating virtually requires good communication skills.

You cannot grow more if you have good developing skills and no communication skills. The opposite is true in your team, if someone has good communication skills, but not enough skills in development, then there might be opportunities for him/her to grow. Effective communication will help you to achieve your goals.

Be careful with your words once spoken they cannot be taken back

Documentation

Make personal documentation for every project you work on. Note down all the important points about the project. Whenever you forget something, you can easily access the documentation.

Whenever I make documentation for a project, I store links to external resources, login credentials, etc.

Documentation isn't about what we do, but what we search for

Community

Whenever you are stuck on a coding problem, search on Google for a solution. If you didn't get the correct answer, post your question on StackOverflow or another community platform.

When you are stuck, community support is crucial. Contributing to the community is also important.

Alone, we can do so little; together, we can accomplish so much

Eager to learn

Traditionally, we learn from books, but nowadays, we learn from the internet. However, development is such a field where we learn a lot from one another. There are developers who feel shy in asking about their doubts and are not grateful for others' help, so the next time they ask they do not receive a response.

Therefore, if you are not sure of something, simply ask your colleagues. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Never stop learning because life never stops teaching

Conclusion

I always try to follow the above principle as a developer. I am sure that following these principles will help you to become a good developer if you are a fresher.

I hope you like this article.
The article is sponsored by: UniqueApps

Top comments (16)

Ermal Shuli • Jul 6 '22

I'm just a hobbyest for now, the few times I tried to read code I felt lost. I think everyone will agree that trying to understand how your chosen framework does thing is pretty important, but everytime I tried to read the source code for react or vue I felt lost.

I'd really like to be able to read other people's code. Now that I think about it I should start by reading tutorial sourse code (reading the uploaded end result before the actual tutorial)

Communication

I have cerebral palsy and my speech is extremely bad. A small part of the reason why I haven't started applying for jobs is communication.

Can one break into this industry and advance without verbal communication?

MD Sarfaraj • Jul 6 '22

The goal of reading the code is to understand the logic behind it, as well as how the other developer intends to implement it. There is one thing you can do. You can ask an experienced developer to review your code.

Nowadays, most of the communication is done through chat messages since the world is changing towards the Work From Home (WFH) model.

Beethoven was deaf, but he became one of the greatest musicians in history.

In order to become stronger by converting your weakness into strength.

It would be helpful for you to read a book called "The Power of Subconscious Mind."

Ermal Shuli • Jul 6 '22

You can ask an experienced developer to review your code.

I understand that senior devs help juniors by reviewing their code but I never thought of picking a dev through twitter or github and just contact them: "you don't know me but can you review my code". I've been looking to find forums/message-bords where code reviews were in offer but no luck so far.