Learning to code at(after)40: an update
Tags: 100daysofcode, codenewbie, java, beginners
Published: 2019-12-24 12:44:41

I know the comic above is cut off, but that little segment really fits 😂


It's been awhile since my last update. I'm still plugging away and doing the #100DaysOfCode challenge, I also added in #100DaysOfJava which didn't exist until I started using it, apparently. Someone on twitter said they were going to do a round of #100DaysOfJava with me when their current round of #100DaysOfCode was finished. Woohoo! 

I'm 30 days into learning Java, and I've learned a lot. Now that I found a course with lots of exercises I'm making some real headway. I'm currently working through the Java while loop challenges in Tim Buchalca's Java Masterclass on Udemy. They really work my brain and use a ton of math/numbers, not my strong suit. I've always been a word guy, so I really feel like my brain is getting a work out.

 Essentially I'm writing methods that do something. For instance, the one I did today was: write a method with two int arguments. Limit the numbers between 10 and 99. Compare the numbers against each other. If either of the two numbers share a digit, return true. Otherwise return false. Sounded easy, I thought. Except it took me maybe 5 hours to figure it out. Easy with if else statements, a good bit harder to do it in a while loop.

 The constraint I put on myself is to try not to google the problem. Not that I can't ever use google, but Google will basically give you the whole method if you want. My goal is to learn to write the code myself. Where I will use google is if I need a complicated math problem(complicated for the math challenged, aka me). For instance, I never knew that using something like:

935 % 10

would give the last digit of pretty much any integer. 

What these challenges are making me do is break down problems into small chunks. I find myself puzzling them out loud, which seems to help me wrap my head around an issue. This is not something that happened when I was doing code-alongs or project based courses, and learning how to problem solve is pretty much what every programmer is supposed to do, right?

 There are times when I thought I was going really slow, but part of that I think, is I was used to doing the project based stuff where they kind of breeze through the basics. I think I'm also at a point where the difficulty is starting to increase some, so my head muscle is getting a good work out. Like any good muscle, eventually It will adjust and won't be so hard.

The course is ginormous. 80 hours at least, and I'm 22% through it, currently working my way through section 5.

I've been giving a lot of thought to what I might do next. My plan is to get the core Java covered (sections 3 - 9 of the course) and then start looking at projects/frameworks such as spring and JavaFX. The latter really interests me because I tend to be a visual guy, and I'd love to make really good looking applications. The course covers JavaFX, and a lot of other stuff, so I definitely have a lot more to learn. I'm hoping to be job hunting by late spring/early summer, but no pressure.

If anyone else is doing Tim Buchalca's javascript course, I'd love to hear about your experience with it.