How long does this take to fully understand how to code?

Wondering how long it takes for yourself to understand code,

As a beginner, I can’t really give an answer. But I’d say… about half a year or so. It all depends on the person, it can be sooner or later.

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You have to be very diceplined in order to learn to code - code every day. If you do that, one-day you will notice that you “just get it”. Then, you can start building whatever you want.

People have different wants and methods for studying so time frames can be different. For me, it took about 7 months to really get a grasp on a new framework and language that I am learning.

Don’t rush yourself and look at time frames because that can really put a lot of pressure on you.

Just relax, code for a few hours everyday, and you will eventually learn.

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I agree, pretty much. It sure does also depend if you know how to handle situations well. For example, if you do encounter something hard to solve, you remain calm and not rage quit.

I’m just 13, and I do have anger issues. But I’m dedicated to programming after seeing someone posting such code and stuff. I was intrigued, so I decided to learn to code too. I just wanna say that FCC is one of a kind site for learning web development. And I recommend it at most times. :smile:

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In my opinion you need to learn syntax and understand concepts, that’s all.

To have a good grasp of programming I would not set a time frame. Don’t target x hours a day study, target one concept to complete and understand.

Learn and practice the way that you can train anybody on that particular concept you learned. Happy coding!

To learn enough to do some fun/useful hacks? A couple of days. Enough to make a few cool personal projects or throw together some simple productivity tools? A couple of months. Enough to get an entry-level job? Usually several more months, though this depends on where you live, intensity of study, and a whole host of other factors. Enough to call yourself an expert? Maybe ten years (though you should never call yourself an “expert” - usually that just means you’re less smart than you think you are and you’ve already stopped learning). Enough to know everything there is to know in the field? Many, many lifetimes.

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It depends on what you mean by “fully understanding”.

It could mean a life-long process, or it could mean a lot shorter timespan.

At my home university Programming I course is calculated to take about 162 hours (of which about half is independent study). By the end of the course, expected learning outcomes are:

“Student can solve easy problems and write a program for the problem in Python language. Student knows the basic programming process. He knows basic programming structures (sequence, selections and loops) and can use simple data structures (set and dictionary). He knows what an object is and can create simple objects. He can make a simple graphical user-interface. He knows when to use each structure and can use them with Python language. He knows how to document programs and can write documentation to his programs. He can understand programs written by others, can change them and test them. He can search, recognize and fix programming errors. He recognizes differences in the syntaxes of different programming languages.”

Of course, Programming I gets you not even close to building something you could deliver to a customer but it is a good start. If you want to be a better programmer, study some computer science (e.g. data structures and algorithms) and keep doing coding exercises. Be sure to comment your code to show you really understand what it does.

You have to remember it’s not just remembering syntax, you can always look that up. You have to think in a different way to code properly.

I’m only a beginner myself, but I would say try to start with pen and paper first. Draw a rough design of what you are building, even if it’s a scribble.

If you are doing more complex things, you can use flowcharts, with your input going in onside and the result at the end. This way you can test some “known” inputs and results. You can then easily convert the flowchart into code.