How To Finish Programming Projects

Hey guys, I love you. Too tired for a description rn.

music

[abdisamadkhalif]

SUMMARY:

How To Finish Programming Projects

1. Hava a well-defined scope
- Projects exist not because of the outcome, but because of the process (understand how something is built).
- The theory is very far from practice
- Look at the projects from the perspective of what you will learn, not what you will build.
- Before you start your project, use your readme as an outline, and list out each functional aspect of the project as a sort of a first draft of an MVP (minimum viable product).
- One way to discover the requirements is to write User Stories (small chunks of work that a user can interact with).
- Create engineering stories (things the users can't see or feel, but are equally as important - (i.e. unit tests and DRY patterns).
- Fundamentally all that matters is that your goals are small, well-defined, and focused.

[______yawn]

this man always arrives when i need him most

[kjubik]

This used to be my biggest obstacle when trying to code. I'd always get hung up on trying to create the perfect project that would scale into some next great breakthrough. In large part, thanks to your videos, I've broken out of that mindset. I now look back on old, archived repos with a sense of nostalgia. Even though they most likely look like absolute crap to everybody else, I appreciate them for what I learned while making them.

I greatly appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos, and it's awesome to see that your channel has grown this far already. Keep up the great work!

[ManchesterAndroid]

I thought I had finished my project. But after showing my friend who is in the industry he told me I was away off from presenting it to employers. He looked at the methods I was using the achieve my functionality and my practices and told me these would be the factors employers would look at first thing to know if they would hire me or not.

Honestly so glad I had this conversation with him. My code with the project at the moment is fine for getting used to the framework I'm working with (Android, Kotlin), and counts as a project to put on my resume. But my mentors feedback gives me more to work on for the future. I do want that moment where I can say it's finished!

[rismosch]

You are speaking from my heart man. I am making a game engine. It looks like shit, but it's easily the coolest and most fun thing I've ever worked on. I don't know if it will ever be used for something, but being able to say "yeah, I did that", instead of just clicking 3 buttons in a commercial game engine, brings me so much joy.

[GeekTousif]

why you are always to the point and relatable af mmaaaan !!!
I will cry

[gold]

This advice is SO important. It's actually how I got my internship, and then full-time job at the same company!

Coincidentally, I made a "weather application" as well, using Python. It would use a weather API to get some data, and then store that data in a local MySQL database. I never even did anything UI-wise. Once the data was stored in a database, it could be displayed in the terminal. It was a command prompt-only application, nothing fancy. :P I never got farther than this, though. I should've. But college life be busy like that. :/

During the interview, I was able to explain my thought processes and design decisions very well (well duh, I wrote it!). But I was able to put good confidence into my answers because of this. I explained how APIs worked, how I was using MySQL, etc. The interviewers ate it up.

Personal projects will set you apart from other coders. It shows initiative, true problem solving skills, and a solution-oriented mindset, and more. All are important to getting that first job.

So, for those struggling here, just hit the grind, and do your best. You got this. :D

[exodia]

this video opened my eyes, i was struggling a lot with my improvement as a game developer, i was trying to make "good games" but it was a waste of time, i will start a project, then leave it there because i feelt like it was not good enough. Now i see that is not about the game being "good " or "bad" is about learning HOW to actually code and use the tools, i had the feeling that game dev wasnt for me, because coding feelt so hard, now that i can focus on just building things and learn while doing is way more "easy" and chill. Learning now is FUN AGAIN, thank you for this video!

[el]

I just watched this video because it answered the question of the title in the first second of the video. Thank you for not making us waste our times

[somerandomguy]

classic bigbox providing high value and actually implementable content <3
i also love how you expressed and sounded more lively in this video

[cody_codes_youtube]

This is really good. With the clear MVP you also give yourself a goal where you can fight through the problems because the goal is digestible! The learning comes through the fighting, and if the battles seem doable, then you can do it!

[AyoLaww]

You really opened my eyes here, I think the reason I haven't been completing projects is cause I approach it as a monolith instead of breaking it down into those manageable functional aspects. I'm gonna start doing this. Thanks Bro.

[AdrianMark]

I am succeeding, because of you. Thanks man. Ps. I'm absolutely serious. It's Saturday 2pm where I'm at, and I'm 7 hours into coding up my app, taking breaks every hour for about 5 mins.

[Hiratecs]

I love the way your videos get straight to the point literally giving the answer in the first few seconds

[samtismeify]

I hate that people say not to watch YouTube videos for motivation with coding but videos like these are helpful, I never even considered using a readme as a contextual pseudo code wireframe if you will, but now I’m going to try. Good ideas are the currency of the 21st century

[raminadjibsaadat]

Wow, this one hit me right in the feels. That internal voice of "why bother?" and "I already know this" is my constant nemesis when it comes to finishing projects. You cut through the fluff and tackled that head-on with actionable advice. This isn't just helpful, it's a game-changer for me. Thank you, BigBox, for seeing right through the B.S. and giving me the kick in the pants I needed.
✌

[Snollygoster-]

"Cocky assumption that I know how to build something because I could theoretically do it"

I can't exemplify how accurate that statement was with me.
There's a mountain of real world complexity to deal with typically when you start trying to apply your bullshit theory. And I have realized on numerous occasions that I'm definitely not as smart as I... theoretically am.

[AnshuPatelz]

Thx a lot! I really need that. Every time I think about project, my primary focus is always on building the best app, but then I end up stressing about the final product instead of enjoying the process and learning. It's like, I finish a project, and it's never as lit as I imagined, kinda messing up each time.

[ellalogx]

I'm currently majoring in Systems Development in Brazil and the amount of people saying that what college teaches will never be applicable in real life coding scares me. I literally recognize all the stuff you mentioned in this video because I learnt it at college (and am learning) and have already used it on my projects. I really love my college and major. Your videos are always helpful too, thanks! ❤

[damymetzke]

Personally I've made it a habit to first build my tools as simple scripts which take some input file/folder and produce some output, usually for productivity tools. I've found that this leads to me making much simpler tools due to the constraints. Now I'm looking to recreate the behavior from some of tools using the technology stack I want to use. Having a simple reference helps me limit the scope much better, and additionally I've already proven that the tool is useful to me.