How to Solve any Programming Problem

A simple guide on how to think like a programmer

As humans, we solve problems all the time and as developers, it is no different. Problem-solving-focused courses are not very popular or common and a lot of developers tend to focus on learning tools, languages, and frameworks rather than learning how to think like a problem solver, or a programmer.

What is Problem Solving?

Problem-solving can mean different things for different people or situations so it is good to clarify what this article means when “problem-solving” is mentioned.

Due to convenience, when you take your broken car to the shop they may decide to fix what is broken, replace the broken part, or offer the option for you to buy a new car altogether. Even though all these options seem like a “solution”, only the first one is actually dealing with the problem. Everything else is avoiding having to deal with the problem.

As developers, there may be times you have to decide to avoid the problem completely and replace it with something new instead of dealing with the problem, but this article is focused on techniques to solve the problem and not replace or avoid it.

You solve a problem when given a set of constraints and having to follow some rules…