So I LOVE to make bread!! I have become known for my awesome pretzel rolls and make them whenever I have time or when requested by family or friends. I find the process therapeutic and relaxing, MOST of the time.
The one thing that really aggravates me is when things just don’t work right.
It’s the same with coding for me. I am really enjoying it, especially now that I am in Object-Oriented Ruby. I love the idea of creating something through coding that mimics objects in life. (I love analogies so, hence my love of OO Programming is a no-brainer.)
But with coding and bread-making, things can go wrong. It’s all about the ingredients and the processes.
** It’s all about the ingredients and the processes.**
The quality of your ingredients are vital when you’re baking bread, as is measuring each ingredient. You can’t really wing it! Adding certain ingredients at the right time is critical to the success of the bread. You definitely can’t rush the process!
I have found the same thing to be true in coding! And I have to constantly remind myself:
DON’T RUSH THE PROCESS!!
When I first started coding, I NEVER wanted to ask for help. Then I remembered that when I first started making bread, I had to ask for LOTS of help. From reading blog posts, Googling recipes, asking those who are good at making bread, and many times of trial and error, I have finally “perfected” my recipe.
Learning to code is no different!!**
Now I ask for help a few times a day. I Google terms and methods and read blog posts about coding DAILY!! I want to perfect the recipe but I know it’s going to take time.
When you rush the process of bread-making, you end up with a tough, ugly bunch of bread that really doesn’t taste all that great!!
When I rush the process of coding, I end up frustrated, aggravated and left with a bunch of ugly code that doesn’t do what I want. I end up with an unsatisfactory product!!
SO TAKE A BREATH!!
Recently, after years of making bread, I was stressed and tired, but I decided to make some rolls anyway. I rushed the process, and in doing so, the whole experience took twice as long as normal. I didn’t take a breath and really focus on what I was doing.
In this process of learning to code, I often have to take a breath!! I have to refocus myself to the task at hand and sometimes, I have to start from scratch!! Sometimes, I walk away from the problem and when I return, my focus is sharp and the solution is evident to me.
Use Occam’s Razor
My bread recipe is simple. It has just the right ingredients to make a perfect dough and then bake into a beautiful bread. No extra stuff to confuse the flavors, no unneeded ingredients. Each ingredient has its purpose and does its job.
One of the first things I learned about coding is to use the simplest solution. Keep it DRY!!
**Don’t
Repeat
Yourself**
One of the most important statements in coding!! Just keep it simple, elegant and concise (unlike my blog posts)!!!
As I am learning more and more about coding, I am learning to trust my intuition. Even if there are new ingredients to add, there are always going to be some of the same ingredients.
If I was going to try a new bread recipe, I would need to follow my intuition gained from my trials and errors in my journey of making bread. If I saw a recipe that called for 1 cup of yeast and 6 tablespoons of flour, my intuition would tell me something was wrong with that recipe.
Sometimes when I read a blog post or a Q&A forum where the answer to a coding problem doesn’t look just right, or is way too complicated, I go searching for other sources. My intuition tells me that there might be something more that I need to research.
I am loving this journey into the world of software engineering. It’s not a journey with a real destination because I know, just like making bread, there’s always something more to learn.