Learning new programming languages may be quite interesting for students and developers. But when you professionally step into the global market then it is not as simple as it seems.
New learners and developers are mostly interested in developing codes. But they lack the focus on solving problems, algorithms, and data structure. Data structure and algorithms play an important role in developing robust code. Every other person seems to become a developer just by cramming a few essential steps. However, they don’t go into any kind of in-depth study or practice on how to solve issues related to codes.
A good code is not just made to design a new program or get over the current issue. It needs to be efficient and strong as well. Every developer has their approach towards problem-solving using their patterns and logic. But there are a lot of developers who get stuck at problem-solving. Even though they understand logic and codes, they are not sure how to solve questions or how to channel their thoughts into codes to solve the problem at hand.
Here are a few simple steps that can be followed to make any coding issue a thing of the past.
Analyze the Issue
When you come face to face with a problem, first of all, keep in mind that it is not the end. You need to solve it and you can. Now read the question and see if you could understand anything or not. If not then read again and again. Try to write what you understand, that is already there and what you think you need to find.
Analyze the question carefully and think about what could be the possible solution for it. Don’t make assumptions on your own at the start. When you get a hang of it then write it down on a piece of paper. Note down what you think is input and what should be the output of that question.
Ask yourself these questions about the problems which are quite helpful in such cases:
Did you get what the question is about?
Are you sure you can elaborate it for somebody else?
Are you certain about the inputs and outputs of the question?
Do you have enough data to solve the problem?
If you are not sure about these questions then read and try to understand the question again with more concentration.
Go Through The Sample
When you are trying to solve the problem. Take some sample questions and analyze the inputs and outputs for the sample question. This can help you understand the question at hand in a better way. Try to gauge what inputs will go into the problem. And estimate what the outputs could be.
After these simpler examples, go for bigger ones. Try solving complex inputs and output for your practice. While doing so, do not forget to practice some edge cases also. This will help enhance your problem-solving skills.
Breakdown The Problem
Now comes the most helpful and interesting step. Especially when dealing with an extensive problem, break it down into smaller understandable parts. Although it is optional, many developers and programmers use this technique to come up with a plain but robust response.
This will make it a lot easier to solve the problem and reduce time consumption as well. There are also several options available online such as swift design patterns that help you write codes more easily. You can make a kind of flowchart and divide the problems into smaller categories or modules. Then come up with a function for the individual modules. Connecting them in order can help you come up with a final solution.
Begin Coding
After these steps when you are done with understanding the question, solving examples, and breaking the code into smaller parts then comes the final step. Now by linking the sub-problems with one another in a well-defined order you will eventually come up with a final code.
Although at this point many programmers believe in writing pseudocode instead of the real one. The pseudo-code contains all the data and you just simply have to translate it into the real code at the end. Pseudocode works as a guide for you when writing the real code. This will help simplify the process of writing the original code. While writing a code, keep a check on your starting point, your current point, and where you want to be.
Go Over Your Code
Now, this is the last and one of the most important steps. Do you think your code is perfect? Are you sure that these were the best solutions to solve the problem? Or is there any space for improvement? After problem-solving make sure you go over your code, its solution and analyze if there is still anything you can do to make it better.
You can conclude this by going over the following question by yourself.
Do you think there could be another solution to this problem?
Are there other approaches that can be used to solve this problem?
What if someone else showed you this, would it be understandable for you?
Do you think it can be solved more simply and easily?
Is it readable for others also?
Can any other algorithm be used instead?
Is the performance at the ultimate optimum?
By questioning yourself you can easily make any changes to the code that will result in making your code more efficient and robust.
Using the above step, you can just make coding issues a thing of the past. You can be an expert in coding or a genius developer. But without being able to solve coding issues, you’re just stuck at a point. Solving coding issues is a skill that can be mastered with time, practice, and interest. Coding problems are not simply solved by coming up with new ideas. There is no doubt it is important but you need to enhance your thinking capability along with the use of smart tools. Besides the above-mentioned steps, this will surely help you solve any coding issues more easily in a well-organized manner.
