Stop Taking Programming Notes

Hi guys, this is something I learned early on and really wanted to share.

I love u all so much.

music

#codingmotivation

[fixiple]

that's why making projects to learn a new language or concept is the best method to learn, in my opinion

[sounaksaha]

For fundamentals it's ok, but for learning a new language or framework... Active learning is what we need

[VagabondSoftware]

"I was writing down, highlighting, and memorizing recipes. But, I just wasn't getting better at cooking. Then, everything changed once I started cooking!"

[Md-slsy]

This is a great tip
I have a slight tweak tho, instead of copy-pasting, I type it down myself. You will probably notice something you didn't notice before if you type every character yourself

[tomeknaj]

I reduced my notes to a "What have I learned?" list that I keep handy with every project. It will sometimes contain fundamental concepts if I didn't know them already, and sometimes only items specific to that project.

[xtrappin]

honestly this is something I've been telling so many people for such a long time
it's not about memorizing how something works, it's about understanding how it works, you just gotta "connect the dots" for your brain

[ugib]

The notes I do take, I take with obsidian. Can screenshot and drag and drop charts in, can write sample code with double tab. Markdown support. It is 20x faster than hand writing/drawing stuff. Not to mention the link system to navigate is handy af. Free to use, would recommend.

For pure learning though, yeah. Actually coding is the way. Can watch tutorials all day and still not grasp jack.

[bartosztobiasz]

This one-minute video can transform how you learn drastically and in a fundamental way. A big thank you to you for this.

[zkx]

This guy is what every programming content creator should look up to. No bs, no waste of time, no bluh bluh bluh, just straight up to the point.

[shadowslayer]

1 minute videos that give advice that can save you hours!! bigbox never disappoints!

[lorenzonicotera]

In my opinion taking notes is good if you need to keep an eye of something important when you're doing a big project, like remembering how a part of someone's else code work. Or like creating a visual and more concrete graphic rf something, that you could not try to change in a big code project without doing damage to all the logic behind. But a the end of the day active code is one of the best option to understand how something works

[viethoangtruong]

I think it is still a good idea to take note.
I take notes in order to revisit it at a latter date in case I forget something. But I mainly take notes to use as way to memorize things and realize what I still don't understand.
My way of studying is as follow:
- Watch a tutorial session, try to apply what you have just learnt into coding (just mess around with it until you understand).
- Try to teach yourself again about the concept you have just learned.
- Take a note, try to write it as simple as possible in your own understanding.
- If you don't understand something, experiment with the code again, try to reach your own conclusions before watch the video again.
- Rinse and repeat.

[annoorange]

I agree and disagree at the same time. If notes are just for "memorizing" then yea, it's worthless. But I code AND take notes (or save some unedited scripts into a note) so I can use search.
The same way people make videos, blogs or conference presentations, writing something down in a way that that you can explain easily to somebody - it can be very useful. It elevates how much you know because you have to dig deeper in order to be able to put the words down. For me this is "deliberate practice" feedback loop that drives learning and this way motivation is still high after so many years. I can track my progress and I don't have a problem that you mention about not knowing how to code

[sherwinbangs]

Great tip for beginners. As a strong middle, I find notes very helpful for both work and personal stuff

[Neomaaur]

bro this short video really changed my mind im stressing myself about taking notes digitally or physically and i now i know what to do, great video straight to the point

[Myfriendkristin]

It's still vital to be able to know when and how to take notes as a SWE. When story-pointing or dissecting a ticket, it's use case-specific. What also works for one does not always work for another

[emperorpingusmathchannel]

It's useful to take notes to refresh on stuff you'll eventually forget and need to refresh on. Applying niche concepts without note taking is suboptimal.

[mariaxii]

Currently I’m learning python and I totally agree that you should test out code whenever you are learning a new concept but it is also nice to keep track of what you learn so you can look back to it. I would take little snippets of past code I’ve done so I don’t forget simple obvious things like how to set up a try… except function. Lol

[jswlprtk]

I prefer having some sort of notes that contain code snippets, especially in my early days, where having the intuition written down step by step below a code snippet was reassuring to me so that I could visit it back and be sure that i could understand it with significantly less effort. Although I didn't refer to it extensively, it gave me the fearless attitude i needed to move ahead on to more advanced topics without worrying about refining my memory of its prerequisite concepts.

I did default to code first before taking down the notes with the code snippet in it

[hovhadovah]

To be fair, I think it depends where you are in your programming learning path. Early on, in AP CS and some of my undergrad CS courses, I would take copious (sometimes silly) notes on things like you mentioned—what X means in Y language or how it's used. This was mainly as a form of self-teaching by trying to internalize those concepts and understand them as someone who was only just beginning to study CS. Now that I've been working as a dev for ~4 years, I learn mostly by reading and coding/trial and error.