Development Myths and Truths about the programming universe

We are going to present here some myths and truths about the programming universe and draw some important lessons for the programmer’s day-to-day.

Well, you have probably already seen or even experienced some of the questions that we will quote below. The idea of ​​this article is exactly to bring a reflection on certain topics that can even be considered paradigms of the programming universe.

Do I need to be a math expert to program?

This is a very common question for those who are starting or are interested in joining the programming universe. Well, we should clarify right away that math and programming are two different things.

A programmer, in a good part of his routine, uses codes – and this does not require very deep knowledge in mathematics, he uses much more logic than calculations themselves. Of course, you’ll need some algebra skills, but nothing that forces you to be an expert on the subject.

So here’s some news for you who have never been such a fan of mathematics, don’t despair! Programming can still be a viable path for you. 🙂

Bad code, does it work?

Well, this is probably a rather common situation to happen, who has never come across bad code and wondered “this is not possible for this to work”. Well, because I bring you news, yes, a ‘bad’ code can work too.

It can happen in several situations where the programmer develops poorly structured and badly formatted code, and as incoherent as it may seem, these codes can fulfill the role for which they were developed.

However, this ends up creating another situation, in fact, a real snowball can form in the future. With poorly written code, the maintenance process or simply understanding the code itself ends up becoming much more complicated and time-consuming. And as we know, time is an essential element for the delivery of projects.

So it’s always important to structure a code well and keep it clean and organized to avoid future problems.

Once you learn to program, you never forget!

There are people who think programming is like riding a bicycle, but I’m sorry to inform you that this is a myth. Technology needs to be constantly studied and improved, just like learning a new language, if you don’t practice, there’s a high possibility you’ll forget.

Much more than that, exercising constantly refines your problem-solving skills, as well as your mastery of the language or tool. In addition to improving your view of technology.

Technology is always changing, imagine that you learned PHP in its 5.6 version, for example, currently, in 2022 it is already in version 8.1, that is, a lot has changed, and if you don’t update you will be left behind.

Of course, you may even be able to identify many things, but not everything will be familiar to you, and this strangeness can make you waste time studying, testing, and finding yourself again within the language in order to deliver results.

Is it ok to copy a code from the internet?

So myth or truth? Myth! Copying code from others is not a very good alternative, maintenance will probably be a problem, in addition to taking time to understand all its operations and construction.

We mentioned above that bad code can work, that’s ok, that’s a point, but that won’t be the best solution.

This doesn’t exclude the fact that you can use other codes as examples and inspirations, that’s good, but develop your own reasoning and implement it in your own way, the most interesting will always be to do it yourself.

Is theory different from practice?

There is a great truth that he never went through a situation where he thought of a solution, idealized the project and the way to build the code, but when he got to the practical execution phase, he saw that the thing would not be as simple as they thought it would be.

Programming is practical, it is very common to come across several factors that force us to change our ideas and positions, we could cite a huge list of points that can influence this difference between theory and practice, but as each person has their own context, let’s leave this reflection open

Creativity is a useless feature for anyone who wants to program.

A great myth that is established in relation to programming is that, due to the image that is built of the professional having an inflexible, rigid, and repetitive routine, he will not have space to use his creativity. Well, that’s a lie.

He thinks that a programmer needs to deal daily with the need to create solutions to problems of the most diverse natures, to be able to find resolutions, he will need (and a lot) to use creativity to program, in addition, of course, agility, organization, and acumen.

So let’s deconstruct this idea that programming is something monotonous and inflexible, if you have a creative mind, you can do very well in this way, this is because more and more professionals are needed who can have good ideas and can promote technological innovations.

Always try to learn the programming language that is in fashion

Myth! The point here is that there is not exactly one programming language that can be considered the best of all. Of course, we must recognize that some are more popular than others, but the only universal truth that we can take to live is: that all programming languages ​​change, evolve, or can be forgotten.

So my tip is, don’t fall into the temptation to always limit yourself to learning the latest programming languages, have your own technical repertoire, and develop your domain and security in the languages ​​you chose to work with. Also because it is very common for a project to require knowledge of several different tools, so each experience is important in your professional journey.

There are moments that even the senior gets stuck…

Well, there’s another truth. Well, the senior programmer can also end up stuck in some situation, and that’s ok, this can happen to anyone.

Often a junior programmer takes an example and inspiration from a senior and creates the best and truest expectations of him, that he will always deliver good solutions. Well, there’s nothing wrong with that, but you need to understand that even he can make mistakes because regardless of his status, he remains a professional in constant learning and evolution.

Of course, we must recognize that a Senior will certainly have better reasoning for solving problems and will know how to use their experiences to search more assertively and quickly for a solution.

Did you identify with any point? Then share your opinion with us! Also, enjoy and check out other articles from our Scriptcase blog! 😉