Anyone have recommendations for how to get a code mentor? Aside from people at work. I work for myself, by myself now.
I want to write better quality code: less fragile, easier to change. Which is something I haven’t really done for one reason or another. Now, to level up my development skills, I just finished reading Philosophy of Software Design, Clean Architecture, and Design Patterns. I guess Stackoverflow is a good place for me to get most questions answered. But I like the idea of an “in-person” mentor who can help me discover things I don’t know I don’t know. Things about the general “art” of being a good developer that seems to encompass much more than just knowledge about what good code is like.
You might already be aware, but I wanted to mention it for anyone else who might be interested in software performance - Casey has a new “performance-aware programming” course [0] where he goes through how to write performant software. It’s a work-in-progress where he’s putting out a video (or a few) each week. It’s pretty great so far. For anyone who’s done a CS degree it seems reminiscent of the architecture class where they taught about the CPU and assembly, except this is covering modern CPUs and SIMD and stuff, and focused on writing for maximum performance.
One avenue that people tend to ignore is to look under the hood of code you already use. I've learned an immense amount from looking at the source code of open source packages I use, and seeing how the internal code is structured, what tradeoffs they make, etc.
It's not a mentor, but it can open up some options beyond books and stack overflow, especially if the projects you look at are full of comments.
here an idea. invent some low-UI personal project, e.g. with Command Line interface. Sorting mp3s, whatever. Think well what u might need as functionality, say 10-15 items, not more, put them as options of the CLI. Code it fast - don't overthink it. Leave it as such and use it for a while, like it's somebody else's closed-code. Everytime u find out some extra need or non-fatal-mistake, fight the urge to fix it, note these down. When collected enough of those (how much is enough? 10? 5? 2? maybe when it gets to your nerves), refactor it, with further/modified vision of what u need. (and now, how u need it coded).
Repeat few times. on 10th-time it might be much easier to change - and less error-prone - that on 1st.
Even easier done if the user is somebody else.
( if i tell u beforehand , that this, this and that should not be the way they are, or should be in some specific way, u may not believe me. "Who in hir right mind will ever use it like that?" ...well... maybe noone. Only when/if u hit/sit the nail on the sharp side, u find out which is what, for yourself )
Learn from some of the best. For example read and do the exercises of SICP followed by "Software Design for Flexibility - How to avoid programming yourself into a Corner". The authors have more than 50y of experience and go through multiple iterations and refactorings of examples, pointing out good and bad aspects of the code.
I don't know... it might be a nice start to test some coding skills but the level is a bit off. Something like 'create a ring buffer' is rated as 'hard'...
Would be curious to hear what you’ve discovered the cause to be, and potential solutions you’ve considered.
In my experience with my own difficulties executing, I’ve found that ineffective action comes from inner struggle. Inner struggle comes from an inaccurate view about how thought works. See my comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34692137#34699010.
With less inner turmoil, inspired, effective action becomes effortless to do and maintain.
Tricking yourself (motivation, discipline, etc.) to do something means you don’t really want to it. This results in a feeling of struggle, and also repression. And thus, ineffective outcomes as you sabotage yourself or fail to “stick with” something.
We all naturally know what it is we really want to do. So stop. Relax. Listen to what that inner voice whisper, right now. Not to what others say you “should” do.
Ask yourself: “what would I love to create?”
Listening to oneself may not come naturally. We are trained by society, our parents, and schools to listen to “authorities”. So thoughts about what we “should” do run rampant in our minds.
But who’s the greatest authority of your life? You.
Once, I truly internalized the above, everything changed. It can happen to you too.
Are you suggesting to ignore friends/family? What if they offer you a car ride, and start bragging about their car? Not just once, but over and over. And they have a Bentley, and you have a second hand Toyota? How are serious mind tricks not necessary here to keep your sanity?
What's the problem? Tell the truth that it is indeed a nice car.
If you have sanity issues because you ain't driving the nicest car in town... Maybe that's the core issue? Why do you place so much importance on having the nicest car? Vast majority of people do not give a damn what others drive/wear/whatever.
And Bugatti would make Bentley a not-so-nice car. But once you go off tarmac for your forest cabin, both cars will suck. You may enjoy your 2nd hand toyota, especially if it’s rav4, much more…
All in all the only way to win this game is to not play.
Same. For me, the creational mindset led to a sense of freedom and excitement that the problem-solving mindset can never get close to.
Problem-solving mindset: what problem do I need to solve? “Problems” will always arise life (due to other people, random events, our brain always wanting novelty, etc.), so this mindset is a reactive one that leads to anxiety and lack of direction.
Creational mindset: what would I love to create? This mindset can seem harder to get at because of all the conditioning we’ve gotten from society and childhood. But all it takes is a simple perspective shift. It leads to more proactivity, and trust that you’ll be able to do whatever you need to do. All the secondary, tertiary, etc. questions about how get answered relatively easily when you’re clear about what you want to create.
