> As one who has come to programming at the ripe old age of 50, i can say I
> had the same problem until I started learning java recently. And then I
> leanrt all about how to use pseudocode. Made all the difference! Write out
> the logic in English first and then refine the algorithm step by step. Only
> once you've fully defined the logic in pseudocode do you even attempt to
> convert to the programming language. And then it's quite easy.
>
> >From what I understand, the biggest roadblock to writing good code is
> trying to write code too soon before the logic is all mapped out.
That is why a LARGE portion of the American software projects fail.
I've done it many ways. I call it "drawing the boxes", and do it till I
know the structure clearly in my head without the paper. Another way is
to plaster the wall with 3x5 cards, one for each function, set up with the
lowest functions, those that don't call other functions, on the bottom. To
me, after nearly 30 years of programming, the paper is irrelevant. YOU
have to know it inside, or it isn't going to do you much good. If you are
going to paint the floor, paint it first in your mind, see that you will
be caught in the corner, then start over and do it right in your mind,
before you even buy the paint.
All the specifications in the world won't do you any good if you are
stuck, painted into that corner! And half(?) the time, the guy who wrote
the specs never thought to think that you can't walk on wet paint without
messing it all up! Or that paint changes color as it dries... or dozens
of other things that you can see in your mind if you paint it, dry it, and
try to see how people will react to your work for some time to come. "Hey
boss, you know that paint you spec'd?" YEASSS... " Are you going to
repaint it every year, or just let traffic wear it away in about a year
and a half?" OOOPSSS!!!!!! "Linoleum -- five or ten years?" LINOLEUM!!!
(I retire in five!)
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