From: "Anthony Beaman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> How's the best way to get the most out of studying and studying source
> code? I'm always reading that looking at source code (and coding in
> general) is the best way to learn to program.
You should not just look at the code. You should play with it.
- "Hey, what's this? How's that working?"
- "Let's add some prints into it so that I can see how it changes
the data and where it goes through."
- "Let's see what will it do if I change this or that."
- "Aha, so I can do this ... could I also do that?"
> I'm taking stuff of the
> net and going through it and trying to make sure I can "read" it and
> trying to see what it does. Is this the correct method?
Don't only try to see WHAT it does. Dissect the pieces that look
unfamiliar to you, try that concept in other contexts, try to see
WHY it does what it does.
> Right now, I'm reading and doing the exercises from Learning
> Perl for Win32. Then, I review what I've learned in the past by
> writing practice exercises which make use of whatever I'm focusing on
> (ex., control statements, arrays, etc.). These are similar to
> technical exercises that a musician does and I'm doing because I'm in
> the learning stages of the language.
Oh how I hated technical exercises when I played the flute as a
boy.
But they are needed in programming as well as in music :-(
Though here I would recommend you to add some improvisation.
Do not only implement exactly what you were told to. Try to add
features, try to change the task description a little and see how
does that affect the implementations. And always ... do not take
that as a work. You are playing a game, the best game there is.
(But don't get addicted. You wouldn't want to end up like me, would
you? ;-)
> I then try to study code but it's
> usually beyond me. I feel frustrated at times because I'm putting in
> the time (2-3 hours daily) but I feel like I'm inefficient and that
> others would get more out of my sessions than me. Any advice? Thanks!
I can assure you everybody felt that way. For me it was not that
much with Perl since I knew other languages before so most of the
features of Perl were old friends in different dress, but I assure you I
DID feel that way.
After some time the things will start to fall into place.
Jenda
=========== [EMAIL PROTECTED] == http://Jenda.Krynicky.cz ==========
There is a reason for living. There must be. I've seen it somewhere.
It's just that in the mess on my table ... and in my brain
I can't find it.
--- me
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