This article is specific to those engineers who have taken up computer science engineering && (pun intended!) who were genuinely not in love with coding when they started.
Do you remember what it was like to be a beginner in coding?
While coding a difficult problem, there are a series of thoughts which a programmer undergoes and he/she talks a lot to themselves in their heads. Trust me, they are as follows:
Hmmm… did I read the question right?
Let me read it again
* reading question *
Damn!
Hmm…. think now! you can do this!
I’ll break it down and code it one method ( a section of the program ) at a time
* compiling program *
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
It’s okay, calm down. You probably would have made silly errors. You worked out your logic and it is correct! Just concentrate!
* 20 minutes and counting… *
Phew! All done! Let me integrate the individual modules into one whole program
* compiling after integration *
ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! ERROR!
Sigh, Here we go again!
* After a while (We stop looking at the clock. Don’t we?) *
THE BATTLE IN YOUR HEAD:
Determination: Don’t you dare take a break! Finish this and you can relax!
Exhaustion: But I need to pee! I’ve been sitting here for far too long! I may even be hungry! Why won’t you understand ?!
And then comes this!!
* Success: No errors *
Yaayyy!!
And when,
* Executing program *
Program crashed. Segmentation fault: Core dumped.
* KABOOSSHHHH!! Breaks the computer *
Dear hardware,
I’m not a thief. I do not want to take away anything that is yours. I’ve even effectively handled exceptions! Hoping we can effectively work together!
Thanking you.
Yours sincerely,
someone-who-is-just-trying-to-get-the-output!
Then you realise, you’re at fault. So you code in an efficient way.
Fixing an error is like trying to help out your parent with a household chore. A (neverending) list of other chores/errors presents itself out of nowhere!
An integer value and a float value are not compatible with each other. This scenarios is relatable to a couple in love and who wish to marry each other but their families don’t allow them as they do not belong to the same cast (another pun!).
Jokes apart, what really does it do to someone ?
Once you start coding on a problem and if you are really determined, nothing can stop you. It takes you into another world where it is just you. You are the reason for your failure and your success. It teaches you how to tackle a problem and how to avoid it in the future. Every mistake you make is a lesson for the future. Every successful correction you perform is applying your lessons learnt.
Coding is not just a game, Coding is a sport!
Personally, I have been at this point where after I’m successful in finding a solution and despite being mentally exhausted I do not want to sleep, watch TV, read a book, go on a social networking site, listen to music or even sleep (I just couldn’t!).
My mind asked me, What’s next ? I smiled and moved on to the next problem.
To those people who have been named “Geek”, all I have to say is you are who you are! They are right, take pride in who you are. Because you love what you do!