I keep capitalizing “if” in my if statements. I was trying to do “Return Early Pattern for Functions” in Basic Javascript (yes, BASIC!) and when I looked at the hint, I realized I capitalized the “if.” I’m never going to be able to do this, which is bad, since I just got accepted into a coding bootcamp. HA!HA!, it’s sad, not funny. How stupid do I have to be to keep doing this?
Well … just learn not to do it. I would guess that you’re doing it because you are thinking of it as a sentence and just doing it out of habit.
We all have little spelling things. I can never remember which method is slice and which is splice. For some reason, when ever I type “hello world” it always comes out “hellow orld” I have other ones that just aren’t coming to mind. They drive me crazy.
It will diminish with time. Don’t worry about it.
Anyone can make small errors, there are actually vast amounts of software, or “tooling” that can be used to help prevent this.
Something as simple as a linter and spell check can help prevent a swath of typos like this in a professional setting.
However, programming is just as much about learning to find out what you do wrong and learning from it, rather than trying to be perfect. Simply put, typos, and bugs happen. Its not your job to never make bugs, that’s impossible, it is your job to find bugs, fix them and learn from them later.
Just do what you can, keep doing it, and keep learning from it. Its a process and a journey, best to enjoy it as much as you can 
I write lots of bugs. It comes with the job.
Try not to get down about it. We’re human, we make mistakes. I’m sure you make mistakes when typing in your own language. I know I do. Learning to code is like learning a foreign language. It takes time, patience and humility. I’ve been coding more years than I care to remember and I still make mistakes.
I’m worried I’m never going to be able to do this. Maybe I’m not smart enough, maybe I’m not putting enough time in it. I’m having a hard time staying motivated. Maybe I just don’t care enough, or it’s frustration at not knowing wtf I’m doing. It seems like I do a lesson, and I forget it instantly. How stupid do you have to be to not remember what you just did five minutes ago? I wonder if maybe the lessons go too fast. I remember in school, we’d go over a topic for a week in math. Here, it’s like, “oh, you stumbled onto the answer? Now we’re moving on!” I try to go back and redo some of the lessons again, but I’ve done that for this most recent lesson several times, and it still isn’t sticking. When you do have to accept you’re not smart enough? I really want to understand this, I hate not understanding something.
I have stopped capitalizing “if” though
It sounds like you should take a little time and think about what you want.
How stupid do you have to be to not remember what you just did five minutes ago?
I don’t know, that happens to me all the time. My wife and I are moving to Barcelona and I am learning Spanish and Catalan. I routinely forget things I learned 5 minutes ago. But the more I keep going back over them, the more that sticks.
And with programming, you don’t have to memorize it all, you have to memorize some of it and be good at looking up the details.
I wonder if maybe the lessons go too fast.
Perhaps. But the opposite can be bad too. Some people focus on perfection and never move on.
Maybe take a little time and just write goofy little programs that use what you’ve learned. Maybe take a look at other tutorials that will help reinforce those ideas better.
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This stuff does take time, and it does take commitment. Not being able to remember does not make you stupid. It is not possible to memorize every single thing, so don’t try to. You will only end up stressing yourself out even more. Trust me, until recently I thought I wouldn’t make it if I couldn’t memorize it. Even professionals have to look basic things up, so don’t let it get you flustered. Maybe, take a day or two and clear your head and think if this is something you really want to do. If it is, you have to make sure to not give up on it, set some time each day to work on it, and if you have questions then ask us on here. This forum is full of people who would love to see you succeed
All … the … time! On a good day, I only have to google a dozen things.
I always say, learn what is available, and learn how to google the details.
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I’ll be honest. I don’t know if I’m any good at this, or if I should really pursue it, but you’re not bad at making me feel less stupid. So thanks for that, I suppose. To be honest, I’m not very consistent at practicing. I do work full time, I’ve also got a class at Franklin University (which I’m paying for, so it’s more of a priority), so it’s not like I’m spending all day on it. I think if I spent even just an hour a night, two nights a week, that would help. Right now it’s a bit sporadic, so that may not be the best for learning. It’s hard to stay motivated when I can’t seem to remember things. I probably should just do the same lesson a couple times to try to remember it, take time to try to understand what is happening, and go back if I need to. It’s exciting to get past a task, but I do think some of them I just tripped into the answer. This past task, I’ve tried to look at the answer they gave, and understand what they did.
Here is what I do when I learn something new, its only two things but it makes all the difference to me:
- First, I will open a plain javascript file in my code editor, or you could use a word document. I will write down what I learned, so for example if I was just learning the if statements i would write out what a if statement does, and how to use it. Then I will type out the syntax in the same file, so under my description of what an if statement is and does i will write
if(x<y){
Console.log(“hello”);
}
This way I can always look at my notes, and see how an if statement is supposed to be set up.
2). I use code pen to test the code. If you dont have a code pen I would suggest getting one. Its free, and its a neat tool that you can use to test code out. So, I will take that same if statement I wrote down in my file, and use it in code pen. This way it gives me the experience of using an if statement, and at the same time I can see how that code works to better understand it.
Dont try to rush it because then it will be harder to understand. Again, take a day or two and think about what you want. If you want to commit 1-2 hours a day then make sure you stick to that. If you have to get up earlier, or go to bed later then thats what you have to do.
If you decide that your classes are more important then focus on your classes first. Do what you think is right for you
Back in 2017, I tried to complete a CS associates and it started w/ Python, which children can learn because of the ease of readability. Anyway, that set me up to see a few things about myself that (pre COVID mind you) I was not sure of myself. Now, after lockdown, a few friends/family who make good living coding and diligence to learn everyday for at least an hour on something new that I didn’t know the previous day, I want to do this for a living.
I also have ADHD and my short term memory is bad. But my long term is good and (if given the chance, and I like it) the short term learning turns into long term new education and skills. That’s a fact. Having said all that, there I think its best to have some daily goals in mind in a mini goal set. I try to have a scientists mind about it and I’m an artist so I just don’t think like someone who has hard goals. I tell people all the time I’ve been trying to learn coding on and off for years and most say either “What is wrong then?” or “Wow, that’s way too long. Maybe consider another career path at this point” which I hate and think is unfair.
So have some daily goals and honestly, if someone tells you off, or gives an opinion of “maybe this career isn’t for you” just shove them off. You need to decide the best way to learn and have mini daily goals that can keep you happy and interested in coming back to it everyday. If you have those you’ll be fine.
The code highlighting in the editor for If() and if() won’t be the same. If you are using a color theme that you know well enough it should be fairly obvious.
Apparently, I haven’t learned shit. See? https://codepen.io/jonjames1986/pen/GRMEJzo.
How is it possible to be this stupid? It’s astonishing, really. I mean, you’d think I’d have learned something, but no, I have managed to avoid learning a single thing through dozens of lessons. Quite an accomplishment
You learned nothing? You typed “var”, “if”, and “function” randomly? You assigned a value by accident? You used an if/else statement just by random typing?
I would suggest spending less time berating yourself and focus more on figuring out what you need to learn. There is nothing wrong with forgetting something or needing to study it more than once. Just do what it takes. Stop listing your flaws and start listing things you need to learn and start learning them.
When I look at that code in the pen, I think you need to understand how to declare a function and how to return a value. Maybe just focus on that for a bit, until it becomes easy.
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I had to go look that stuff up, and it still isn’t doing anything. I didn’t remember how to do it, I had to go back to the lessons, and it still won’t work. I have no idea how to declare a function or anything. I want to understand this because I don’t want to be stupid, but I’m clearly failing in that endeavor.
One of my rules is that if something is not making sense, then I simplify it.
Can you define a function that returns the number 127? So, if I called:
var answer = myFunction();
console.log(answer);
it will output 127?
Start simple, make sure you understand it, and work your way up.
Like I used to tell my guitar students, the pyramids weren’t built by putting all those stones into place at once. They put down one stone. Then they put down another stone. Then another… 20 years later it was done. On day 283, people didn’t sit around saying, “We’re so stupid, this looks nothing like a pyramid, we’re never going to be able to do it.” They realized it was a process, a long-term one. They knew it would take a while with ups and downs, but if they kept doing it, they would get there eventually.
I agree with Kevin. You’re mind is a powerful thing, and as you tell yourself you cant do it then you will fail. Because you already see yourself as failing anyway, your mind, attitude, and how you approach coding is going to agree with that view. To me it seems like you have learned something. You said you didn’t remember, so you had to go look it up! Thats great, being able to search answers up like that is a part of problem solving. The code didnt work this time, right? Do you think programmers right flawless code, and remember every single thing? Absolutely not! Professional programmers have issues just like you do. This whole adventure is a process, dont think you’re gonna learn everything in a month or two. Its not possible.
No, I can’t. I have no idea how to do that. You’re overestimating my ability.
Have you actually tried to do it? Or did you just decide you cant do it so you didnt bother? If you did, show us the code so we can help you understand it better