I'm a self taught "code enthusiast" (don't think of myself as a programmer just yet). I love to play around with simple code, but I could never get into a "serious" project cause in my mind, to be a programmer you need to know every single line of code and not rely on the internet.
The fact that I got into programming at 23 doesn't help cause I also feel like a parent learning to use a piece of modern technology(even tho I'm tech savvy).
Anyone got any advice?

Have a ++. You are right, you absolutely memorize the entire language. No serious programmer in their right mind would resort to Google, or any form of documentation. And of course, programmers are born with knowledge of coding, so yes, 23 is way too late.

Seriously, Google is a programmers best friend, and you can start at any age. Really.

@iAmNaN Thx, guess it's all in my head cause any programmer I know irl has started waaaay before me and already has a steady job in the field

Just dive in. I consider myself to be pretty damn well versed in most of the languages I work with, but I still learn something new almost daily. Hell, if we all knew everything there was to know about the languages we use, the only point to devRant would be bitching about clients!

@ghost1227 XD well said. One thing tho. I heard from friends that if you wanna be a "serious" programmer, pick a language and stick to it, but I love java and c# equally (and occasionally python). What's your thought on that?

@rewert pick a goal and stick to it, languages are just tools. Focus on things like 'the craziest /fastest web site' or 'the clearest simulation' and use the tools that are most appropriate for the job.

@rewert well, your job will be in one of them, doing personal projects in the other is fine, And working in different languages is useful, as it helps see things from a slightly different angle.
Also, 99% of developers check overflow daily, the ones who aren't, are probably just betting stubborn, and take longer to get to a solution!

@rewert "stick to one language"

Partly complete shit and partly wisdom.
It's far more important to learn how to *program* as opposed to a language, but at the same time learning a language at depth is both educational and a good asset.
Language mastery takes years of practice, so I wouldn't fret about it now.
Just get as comfortable as you can with the concepts for now and you're on the right track.

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for possitive reinforcement. I just started using this app, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna like it here.

@rewert No one language is perfect for every scenario. If you're OK with only developing one thing forever, sure... you can totally get by with just one language. But different things require different tools. Hell, if you want to work in a cross-platform environment, you HAVE to know more than one language! Code written for Windows doesn't work on OSX or *NIX without adjustment, even when the language is the same (and it rarely is), iPhone and Android are built on totally different platforms and use different languages (and don't get me started about the poor souls working on Windows phone). Business software and games are generally written in different languages (for obvious reasons). You wouldn't write a webapp in C# any more than you'd write a desktop app in PHP... The list goes on. Need I say more?

@rewert the problem with being monolingual is that you might be mistaken for an American. Being able to work with different languages makes you more valuable as a programmer, and makes your life more interesting, and your skills are more portable. Learn structure and flow control, and then apply that knowledge to whichever language you are using at the time.

@iAmNaN Hey, I'm American and multilingual (both in code and speech)!

@ghost1227 same here. 😉

I google stuff all the time. I mean honestly I use Lists.newArrayList(); so much that I forgot how to instantiate a basic array at one point.

You can't remember everything. I need to remind myself every now and then (and by that I mean look at the docs) whether it's string.toLowerCase() or toLowerCase (string) in Java and likewise for PHP. PHP and Java being the main languages I've used.

I also got into programming at the age of 23 by getting into a uni degree part time. Which was at the end of 2012. Which was when the world ended... there is a joke there somewhere.

Find on YT a video called "the myth of the real JavaScript developer". It talks about JS but it applies to the industry as a whole.

I got in about 3 years ago.. with VBA, that is what gave me the confidence to keep coding.

I did code on highschool and uni too, but I just did not stick with it.

And I think of myself as a code enthusiast too.

My dad is a dev, and has been for many years. He cut his teeth on reference manuals and punch cards.

Today, he also cannot do his job without googling. He still has to pull up the Python string methods page.

So don't feel like you have to know everything. Unless you are actually in a course, there are no tests and no one is policing you. Welcome to the club, programmer. 😎

Well, think of it like this: If you're 23 you have at least 50 years worth of career ahead of you. If you only ever learn one language it better be COBOL, because I can guarantee you Java and C# will be long gone by the time you retire.

My two cents,

It is never late to be programmer. The difference between programmer and hobby coder is just in person's confidence and experience.

About being monolingual or with mono goal, I believe, one should be versatile. To be able to solve (in reasonable expectations) any problem structurally, methodically. Different situations require different languages and goals.

On learning, I am programming for more than ten years now, and I still don't feel I know everything or almost everything about any language. If you go for mastery of one language, by the time you became master the language evolves (prime example java 8).

I agree with what people mentioned, the programming is much more than just language, it is mesh of beautiful data structures, algorithms and many eureka moments in one. The code is never perfect and it will never be. It can be just good enough at any moment, and that is good in itself.

So take challenges, then decide, discuss solutions and make it reality!

@ghost1227 if you're not learning you're not working hard enough. Once you're the most knowledgeable person on one topic it's up to you to expand it even further

In my concern, before knowing every line of code, the most important thing is to understand the concept behind the code, why do this instead of that. After that you go into a next level: understand the meaning of the code, at the very end you don't need to know each line of code by heart, cause you may be a good coder, knowing what each line does, but not understand the manners and the technics

@tldr thank you for that, great listen.