Programming Tutorials are boring.
May 23, 2009
Me: Yeah, of course they are boring.
Dude: “But why?”
Me: Well, tutorials are made by programmers who are still learning themselves, even though the learning process never ends.
Dude: “What do you mean the programming process never ends? I want to be the best!”
Me: I wonder if there is such a comparison method for grading programmers. Does not make sense to say there is a best programmer. Anyway, you need to learn concepts from tutorials. Don’t just read what the tutorials says and write the code. Write about what you are learning from the tutorial and other thoughts you may have. Even the craziest ideas should be written down. You never know if you get back to a past idea to see if it was a solution to a current problem.
Dude: “Ok, right…. I am not the type to go through past notes to see if there is a solution. I really don’t understand the tutorial I am reading now.”
Me: Find other tutorials and look at what you are supposed to be learning.
Dude: “Why find other tutorials? You said in your SDL post to stick with one tutorial.”
Me: Yeah, I know that, but tutorials are not foolproof. Some tutorials are good and some aren’t. gamedev.net is a huge resource of games related topics. Not everything they post are tutorial, most are articles. Articles are written to spread information about experiences. So, what do you think you are doing when you write about what you have learned?
Dude: “Ah, I see. I got it. Writing about what I learned is a good idea. What if the tutorial lesson is short?”
Me: Write a little on what you have learned, then write about possibilities of what you have learned up to that point. Honestly, if you think a certain tutorial is a waste of time, then skip it entirely or just plainly don’t write about it. Some lessons are informational only, so that means just read it through.
Dude: “Sounds reasonable so far. I have nothing.”
Me: Good Luck. Most people (or Americans) want quick results, don’t fall into that trap. You’ll fall hard and probably lack the willpower to get back up.
Dude: “Fine fine… (To self: This guy is bogus)”
Me: Yeah, follow me on twitter now. Buh bye.
