10 Tips For Software Developers To Use Google Like A Pro
When you first start to code you might feel embarrassed about having to use Google to help with every line you write— even for simple things.
But trust me. After years of experience, you’ll realize that Google is a great tool for a skilled software developer’s toolbox. Memorizing code syntax, data structure techniques and algorithms is a huge waste of time.
It’s just easier to Google the information you need when you need it.
In how many languages do you know iterate over array?
Less than three? But you know how a iteration works, right?
Here’s 10 tips how to search faster and get better results with Google!
1. Exact Match
One easy way to refine your search for specific results is to wrap it in quotes to tell Google to search for an exact match. This technique helps to search for particular error messages, ignoring synonyms and related terms results.
2. Specific site result
Enter the site URL, followed by your search term for research on a particular website. It is helpful to use on sites that have bad internal searches or to find official documentation from a particular reference. It also helps you track down information when you know the source but can’t find it easily.
3. Eliminate unnecessary terms
To exclude an irrelevant word, simply add a minus in front of it. This is valuable to eliminate unnecessary terms like unused libraries, frameworks, modules, or your own custom class names from an error message.
4. Partial search
Partial searches can help when you are unsure which words to put in a search query. Use wildcards as placeholders to replace any word or phrase you don't want to define.
5. File type
This search operator will narrow down Google search results to only specified file types. This is useful for finding documents or to stipulate an image type.
6. Last version
To access the latest version of a website put the site address in front of the "cache" operator. Cached links show you what a web page looked like the last time Google visited it.
7. After/Before published time results
Use the "before" operator to return only results before a given date, or the "after" operator to return results that were published after a specific date. This is excellent to filter by recent results, or to maintain a legacy project, in which case you only want results before a certain date. TO use these operators you must provide only a year or year-month-day dates.
8. Range of numbers
It’s possible to search a range of any numbers or dates for that matter by putting two dots in between them. It can be useful to find old announcements or releases that you are not too sure when they actually came out.
9. Combine queries
The "OR" operator is used to get results related to one of the search terms. This is convenient when you are comparing frameworks like "React x Vue". The "AND" operator has the same usage, but in this case, it will return only results related to both terms. You can also wrap it in parentheses to group it and then apply another search term along with it.
The pipe "|" operator is identical to "OR".
Useful when non-developers is side to you. You are in another tier!
10. Be a watchful reader (bonus)
The answers to our questions are often in the first links returned, and we end up reading it carelessly and miss the answer. This is a common mistake for developers, particularly for those starting out. Always read with focus and attention. The time you spent reading carefully is less than the time you spent doing a speed reading in a batch of resources.
Are you interested in becoming a better developer and applying these search tips to solve real technology problems? At ArcTouch we build lovable apps and digital products that forge meaningful connections with customers.
Join us! Take a look at our career opportunities.
