Do you think it’s really possible to be versatile in programming? The point of view is different when it comes to that question. But let me tell you this: yes it’s possible. I’m the living proof.
Today I’m feeling blessed to have been able to build many web applications with frameworks such as Laravel, Ruby On Rails, Symfony, and ReactJS (check my portfolio to see some of those applications). And I feel that I can learn much more. How was it possible? Here are 2steps that helped me to do so.
1- Read the documentation
My learning philosophy has always been to learn by doing. However, before you can do this, you must try to understand the basic concepts and theory of development. The key to getting started is realizing exactly when you need to drop off the documentation and start developing. When I started to learn Ruby, I used a lot the documentation, in order to learn how to use common enumerable methods and loops. You should do the same when you start learning a new programming language or framework. You should only stop once you know how to do the basics.
2- Build something
In my learning journey, I built a lot of projects. I don’t talk about the projects they give you as the capstone projects. I talk about projects that are real, relevant, and contextual to you. It’s cool to build capstone projects, validate a module and get your certificate. But if you want to master quickly a language or a framework, you should build something more meaningful.
I remember when I was learning Laravel. I decided to build at the same time an e-learning platform, to allow people to create online courses. That project came from my heart. So I had to overcome any obstacle that would be on my way. How? By learning, reading, and watching videos again and again….until I was capable to build this beauty.
So, as you learn something new, try to realize a project that is really important for you. You will see how quickly you’ll be able to master the language or the framework.
Conclusion
There are many other steps that helped me to learn various languages and frameworks without suffering, such as
- patience,
- writing documentation,
- knowing where and when asking for help,
- build accountability by working in pair programming
I guess we’ll talk about it next time…
