Here’s Why You Fucking Hate Coding

Ignis
Ignis
Sep 9, 2018 · 4 min read

Another bugs to fix?! For f**k’s sake!, you thought with a pretentious calm demeanor. There’s no doubt that you begged Stack Overflow for help. You copied the solution from there, then nailed it to where the hell it belongs. And just when you run the program, bam! — 10 times the previous error flashes in front of your pathetic face. Congratulations, you just made it worse!

Image by Peter Alfred Hess

Feeling helpless now? Let’s make it more depressing for you. Everyday you’ll be sitting in one place, gazing at the same screen, and solving “a lot” of difficult problems. And for how long? Yes, for 8 hours a work day, 5 days a week, 4 weeks a month…and do I have to keep this going?

Here’s my point. Coding is terrifyingly stressful. I think most programmers can agree with that, and if you don’t, HONEY YOU HAVE TO CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR LIKE ASAP. No wonder why many students give up and shift courses. It’s not until they realize that shifting involves grave sacrifices — significant amount of time, effort, and money that they spent. THAT is a big deal! Nevertheless, it turns out that it’s more complicated than that because doing something you don’t love or enjoy for a big chunk of your lifetime is a big deal too. And so here you are, in the middle of this excruciating tug of war.

I don’t have all the answers. But if you have to deal with this programming in a less stressful way. Well, you just came to the right place!

Image by Asier Romero

Take a moment to think about the root of the problem. You say, “I hate programming”. Now think about the why. You may have your personal reasons but if you’re not on crack, you’d figure out the main reason— complexity. You see, common programs like a calculator seem very simple to make. But deep inside its infrastructure lies god-knows-what intricate algorithms that made efficient computation a reality. Yes numbnuts, looks can be deceiving.

You ask, “How should I deal with this complexity then?” The solution is so simple that I only have to sum it up into two steps.

STEP 1: Understand each part.

STEP 2: Know how each part interacts with one another.

In that way, you’ll have a sufficient grasp of the whole system. It gives you the high of “Hey, everything makes sense now!”. Let me give you a very basic example on how this fix is implemented. Do you see the traumatic image below? Yeah, that’s a simple java code that displays the sentence, “hello, world!” Familiar? Yeah, that’s the same code you sucked at in the first place.

STEP 1: UNDERSTAND EACH PART

#include <stdio.h> —enables the program to use the codes in stdio.h

int main(){} — contains the main processes of the program

printf(“hello, world!”) ;— displays “hello, world!”

return 0; — returns the number, 0

Image by jitter jam.com

STEP 2: KNOW HOW EACH PART INTERACTS WITH ONE ANOTHER

Experiment 1: If you place “hi” inside the printf() code, the program displays “hi“

Experiment 2: If you remove #include<stdio.h>, an error is displayed and the program doesn’t display the words.

Eventually, you’ll find out two insights. First, whatever placed in the printf() code is displayed. Second, you can’t use the printf() code without #include<stdio.h>.

Voila! You just handled the complexity in 2 easy steps! Well, technically it wasn’t a complex program. But what’s important is that you know how to understand a program in a surgical level.

Image by Petshopbox

Before I end this drama, I just wanted you to know that I sympathize the hell of stress you’re feeling right now. I’ve experienced the same “tragedy”, I dare say. For an extrovert like me, programming is a torture because it demands intense solitary focus on logical concepts. For those troubled programmers out there, you are not alone! I hope I helped you in any way. And if I did, I’m very glad to be of help. You’re very much welcome! Thank you!

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