I’m studying to be a technician (wide array of subjects but not going too deep into any) and one of the courses at my school was about HTML and CSS and that’s what I liked the most, so I want to learn code and “make things”.
I’m totally new to Javascript and that’s where I am at now, at the “Record Collection” challenge, and to be honest, I didn’t even knew where to start and I simply cannot do this challenge without looking at hints, I don’t think I could ever solve it by myself.
Is this a red flag? How hard was that challenge for you all? I want to buy a book and also do some of the CodeAcademy stuff or maybe watch videos, but my problem I guess is that I simply cannot translate what I read on the instructions to code, the “10 hours” Javascript part are turning to be 40+ hours. Any ideas at what should I do from here?
I am quite a newbie, as well. Don’t let Record Collections and (afterwards) Profile Lookup challenge discourage you from learning to code. They seem to be quite difficult for a lot of people. Personally, I didn’t even get what the point of those challenges were until I contacted other fellow campers and looked for help.
One thing is for sure - just keep doing it. Take a small break, then come back. But ALWAYS come back. I also did a lot of videos, books and online courses, but I’ve found that practice is the crucial key. Be persistent, practice as much as you can, and you will succeed.
No this is not a red flag, at least not the extent that you should stop trying to pursue programming. Some of these challenges are tough, but you will learn a ton while researching the solutions. That being said, there are some practical things you can do to help the code > debug process. One thing that is really helpful is using the Chrome Dev Tools, particularly the Console. By using console.log() statements, you can log messages to the dev console. You can display the console by hitting ctrl + shift + i on your keyboard and selecting the “Console” tab. Personally, I have a really tough time debugging code if I can’t step through it logically and see values at different points along the way.
For example, I might use a log statement to see if a certain condition is being met, like this:
> function updateRecords(id, prop, value) {
> if (prop == "tracks" && value !== ''){
> if (collection[id].hasOwnProperty(prop)){
> collection[id][prop].push(value);
> console.log("inside if statement");
> }
Once you get comfortable with the loop of coding and debugging, you’ll be well on your way. Also, utilize the chat room and forum for help, as you have already started doing.
Hopefully that makes sense and helps a little. Good luck!
Don’t put much thought into time frames, learn for the sake of learning and improving, then see your progress after a few months. If you try comparing yourself to others, be very sure that they don’t have any prior experience. They might say they started when you did, but either had MONTHS of prior experience when they were younger or put twice as much time as you, or they just might be a talented anomaly.
That’s why try comparing yourself to multiple random people if you have to.
Learning programming will take a lot of time. What advice I can give you is this: Look at hints, and ask for advice, however run away from already solved solutions. Understanding the solution does not mean you understand how to solve the problem or that you’ll be able to solve it yourself. Always try, even if it takes multiple hours, to solve problems by yourself. Hints and advice on certain algorithms are ok, however complete solutions are counterproductive.
