tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7359791525336117032.post2487216994481478471..comments2020-04-24T20:58:07.807-05:00Comments on Castles of Air: Programming thought-stuffAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05324968314168283095noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7359791525336117032.post-64527106906550594242009-02-27T08:38:00.000-06:002009-02-27T08:38:00.000-06:00Hi James,One thing you will gradually see about pr...Hi James,<BR/><BR/>One thing you will gradually see about programming is that even if there is memorization involved, if you do it right it comes naturally. People learn through repetition, and one thing you'll be doing a LOT is repeating the basic commands and structure of your chosen language. After writing and "if-then" construct a few dozen times, it should quickly become second nature. If not, that's what the internet is for.<BR/><BR/>I rarely spend time intentionally memorizing a new concept. If I read about a technique and it sounds important, I make a sample program for practice before doing anything else with it. Then, once you've made your mistakes on the first pass, it becomes easier to get it right when you apply it to your professional application.<BR/><BR/>For example, I occasionally use CSS, but because I don't do it often, I still haven't memorized a lot of command details, like "Do I use 'size' or 'font-size' here? Is it a # symbol or an & symbol before a hex color definition?" But I do have organized online bookmarks (in delicious.com) so I can look up the answer quickly and get on with the actual coding. Since I don't use CSS often, it's not too big a waste of time to look it up, and if I started using CSS all the time then I would remember it.<BR/><BR/>Moral: If you haven't memorized what a language or a command does, it just means you need to practice with it more.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05324968314168283095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7359791525336117032.post-85299034706191444392009-02-27T07:52:00.000-06:002009-02-27T07:52:00.000-06:00Thanks, Kazim. I'm trying to teach myself program...Thanks, Kazim. I'm trying to teach myself programming, partly as a backup skillset for when my IT support job gets farmed off to distant lands (or really smart AI), and partly because people like you seem to enjoy it so much.<BR/><BR/>I'm currently pushing my way through Javascript tutorials, finding out that programming seems to involve a ton of memorization (commands, syntax, etc.) Not my strong suit.<BR/><BR/>Good luck with your projectsJames A. Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12580984579089010427noreply@blogger.com