The seven stages of learning programming

Phase 1: Opportunity

You are very happy. You have always wanted to learn this new content, such as a certain programming language, whether it is forced by planning or environment. , in short, you finally have this opportunity to learn.

Stage 2: Unfounded optimism

Google search - pick one or two tutorials that interest you, buy materials and books, and then start a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course). The tutorials are fun and there's even an online REPL to let you play around and feel like you're making progress. Of course there are worries - your fingers are not yet skilled, but you persevere, refuse to give up, and get ready to move on to your first project.

Stage 3: The Pit of Despair

You start to extend from "Hello, World". For example, you first try cautiously by changing the content to "Hola, Mundo", and then you get a little bolder and start to act unscrupulously. Oh no! Error messages, stack traces, and random behavior started pouring in. Even if all the error messages are ignored, the code that works normally in the tutorial may turn out to be blank when you try it yourself. You suddenly realize that even some seemingly silly but benign nuances can create a storm, capsize your boat in the gutter, and sink you into a pit of despair. Even the simplest tasks make you miserable, and you start to doubt yourself that you have no talent for programming at all.

Stage 4: Get down

Slowly, through trial and error, and by asking for help from colleagues, StackOverflow, and blogs, you start to accumulate knowledge bit by bit. You begin to understand how to display data, how to communicate with the database, how to create interfaces, and how to override methods. Although you still don't really understand how any of the above works, as you continue to master these magical spells and expand your knowledge, it will gradually become easy to complete some specific and necessary tasks. For some spells, you may use them very smoothly, and even use them mechanically in some problematic situations, thinking that you just need to complete them, even if you know in your heart that you are not doing the right thing. Debugging is an exercise in frustration. Whether it is because they feel that their goals have been achieved and they plan to spend their time elsewhere, or they are timid because it is too difficult, or they think they have mastered professional knowledge and make what they think is a wise choice. In short, many people Stop at this stage.

Stage 5: The Arrival of Dawn

At this stage, because you have accumulated enough pieces of information, you can start to find the connections between them. You start to be able to apply knowledge flexibly instead of just applying it mechanically. You begin to have so-called intuition about some basic rules, and begin to shift from rigidly following them to receiving knowledge. It’s also an uneven process—you may be sympathetic to one aspect while still confused about another—but you have the confidence to take it step by step, and you start to enjoy the process.

Stage 6: Professional

After a period of time, you have completely mastered the basic patterns and begin to feel that programming is as easy and natural as eating. You can already intuitively understand how things work and easily navigate between architecture, coding, and debugging. Generally speaking, you no longer have to think about problems deliberately, just like when you go from home to the store to buy something - you know the way, and if there are some new roads, you can instantly weigh different options and choose the best one. The best route. At this point, the most difficult thing about encountering a problem should be the problem itself, rather than the operating system supporting what you want it to do.

Stage 7: Achievement

You are now an expert with many years of experience. The time and effort you put in will pay off. You write blog posts, contribute to open source projects, and become a recognized expert among your peers. This has become your identity and honor, and it has also become your shackles. What you do needs to match the title of expert. Suddenly one day, something new appeared. You also understand in your heart that this new thing is good and will be very useful. It can help easily solve problems that existing tools are not able to solve. It will be the trend of the future. But at the same time, you clearly know the effort and time it takes to become an expert, you need to feel inadequate and frustrated again, you need to ask others for help, etc., you are no longer willing, you shrink back. You would rather close your eyes, stick to the old routine, and curl yourself up into a ball, like a withered branch slowly dying.

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