In recent years, coding has become an advantage if not a necessity in many professions. While some people learn to code very easily, many find it very hard to learn too. In this article, we will discuss if coding is hard to learn or not. We will also discuss how you can learn to code easily by following some principles.
Is Coding Hard to Learn?
Yes, coding is hard to learn if you make it so. Coding isn’t very hard to learn if you are eager to learn new concepts, you have problem-solving skills, you are willing to collaborate with others, and you use logical thinking instead of speculating to solve problems. In the absence of these behavioral skills, you will find coding hard to learn.
- When you learn to code, you essentially learn how to give instructions to the computer. When we write code for the computer to perform some task, we need to specify each and every step to complete the task. If we fail to do so, our program won’t run. Now, this is what makes coding hard.
- If we need to solve a problem with coding, we first need to break the problem into simple smaller parts. Then, we need to find the solution to each part of the problem. Once we find the solutions, we need to implement them using a programming language. If you don’t have good problem-solving skills and you are not able to break a complex problem into smaller tasks, you will find it difficult to write code for the particular problem. Hence, you will find it difficult to learn to code.
- While coding, you will also need to collaborate with others to solve a problem. You cannot always find solutions to all the problems alone. You need to work in a team. You will also need to visit blogs and forums and explain the difficulty you are facing in your code. This will help you get answers from other people all over the world. Thus, if you don’t want to collaborate with others and share your knowledge, coding is going to be hard for you to learn.
Why is Coding Hard And How to Make it Easy?
There are various reasons why coding can be difficult for someone. It can be a personal trait like poor problem-solving skills, inability to remember programming concepts, absence of desire to learn new things, lack of guidance, or the inability to clearly explain any task. Some traits of programming languages like complexity in syntax and unavailability of documentation can also be the reason someone finds coding difficult. Let us discuss these reasons one by one.
- Choice of the Programming Language: Each programming language has a different learning curve. Languages like Python or Golang are comparatively easy to learn. On the other hand, if you start coding with programming languages like C, C++, or Java, you will find it difficult to get going at the start.
- Knowledge of Programming concepts: If you start with an easy programming language like Python, you can learn to code very easily at first. However, you won’t know how many concepts like memory management, variable declarations, and container objects work. This is due to the reason that Python gives you a high-level interface to all the programming tools and you don’t really need to know the implementation details. This can be a problem while coding complex programs as you won’t be able to work on improving the efficiency of the program. On the other hand, if you learn to code with C, C++, or Java, you will get to know the implementation of every data structure, memory management, and other concepts. This will help you implement the programs in the most efficient ways. So, if you choose a slightly harder programming language like C++ or Java at the start, you will benefit from it in the long run.
- Problem-solving skills: Most of the time, you will be solving one or other problems while coding. Hence, if you lack problem-solving skills, you will find it hard to learn to code. While coding, the program also runs into different errors. Finding and fixing errors in code is a time-consuming and challenging process that requires patience and persistence. If you lack problem-solving skills and patience, you will have a hard time learning how to code.
- Logical thinking: While coding, we need to instruct the computer what it should do to complete a given task. For this, we need to think through all the activities that we want to accomplish and develop instructions for them. This requires logical thinking skills, which can be difficult for some people to develop.
- Keeping up with changes: Programming languages are always evolving. Keeping up with new programming languages and frameworks can be challenging. You need to constantly keep learning new concepts and keep an eye on the developments. Hence, if you aren’t someone who is eager to learn new things, you will find it difficult to learn to code.
- Lack of guidance: Initially, you might not get immediate results when you learn to code. You will forget concepts, get wrong answers, and even don’t know what’s wrong with your code. This can be frustrating and make it hard to know whether you are on the right track. Hence, you should always seek guidance from someone who already knows how to code and is good at it. This will make it easier for you to learn to code.
- Collaboration: Along with guidance from experienced coders, you can also collaborate with other developers to know their coding style. If you don’t collaborate with others, you will find it difficult to understand different coding styles and approaches while working on an actual project with 100 or more contributors. Again, this will make coding hard for you. Hence, you should always focus on collaborating with other people who are learning to code or even experienced programmers to gain a better understanding of how coding works.
What Coding Language Should You Learn First?
There are many advantages of being a programmer as you can read in this article on advantages of being a programmer. Coding isn’t very hard to learn and you can easily start with a programming language of your choice. Following are some of the articles to help you identify the best-suited programming language for your needs.
- C# vs Python: This article compares different aspects of C# and Python programming language to help you select the right language for your coding journey,
- Java vs Python: In this article, we have compared different aspects of Java and Python programming languages to help you select the right language for your coding journey,
- C# vs C++: This article compares C# and C++ programming languages.
- C# vs Java: This article compares C# and Java programming languages.
- Should I learn SQL or Python First?:This article compares Python and SQL and advises you to choose a language based on your needs.
- C# and SQL Programming Languages: This article compares C# and different SQL programming languages to discuss their uses.
Conclusion
Coding isn’t hard. If you focus on developing your problem-solving skills and logical thinking, you can easily ace programming concepts. To start with Python programming language, you can try this course on Python programming. It will help you understand all the basics of Python programming easily.
To learn more about programming, you can read this article on the Zen of Python. You might also like this article on Python vs R for data science.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Stay tuned for more informative articles.
Happy Learning!
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.