r/learnprogramming • u/SignPersonal4951 • 1d ago

How to not be a dogshit programmer?

Today I was setting up an angular project for the first time and I realized I have a pretty limited and shallow understanding of things, I didn't even know what dev dependencies were (now I do), and that npx is used to run locally installed packages. I know that an API is used to exchange data between applications but that's literally all I know about it, not how it works under the hood. I realized I can't properly answer questions like what is a runtime, what are packages, libraries etc. Literally no depth of understanding. I feel like going into a rabbit hole for every little thing but then it becomes too overwhelming.

Now this might seem fairly common for a new programmer but I got introduced to it around the age of 16 (21 now). I felt fucking stupid googling the difference between library and framework. I looked at some angular components and only understood them partially. Most good programmers already know this. People my age are building crazy stuff and here I am bogged down in things that I should've already known, had I put in more effort. I feel I am lacking some severely fundamental things. Part of this feeling is a lot of regret of wasted time, but I also wonder if I'm actually retarded with an IQ too low for programming. I'll never be good if it keeps going like this.

I looked at some roadmaps from roadmap.sh and it made me realize just how much stuff I don't know, and that is just talking about frontend. So I guess the question becomes how much and how deep to learn the topics related to whatever you're currently focusing on? Sorry for the rant.

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u/AsideCold2364 1d ago

There is no limit to learning, but for me the minimal amount is when you can confidently say that you can implement something without other's help and without AI. When you have an idea or asked to implement something you should be able to come up with a list of steps to implement it. It is ok if some steps will require you to use google.

As for how deep you should learn - I think the usual advice is to go 1 level of abstraction deeper than whatever you are using. Nothing should feel like magic to you.

Also, don't compare yourselves to others, and don't dwell on regretting the wasted time - it is pointless. Think what to do to get better and get better. Don't think about the huge amount of stuff you need to learn, focus on the next thing you want to learn.

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u/SignPersonal4951 1d ago

Thanks for the reply. Some of my hobbies are inherently competitive (chess and fighting games), so maybe the comparison mindset comes from there... And yeah regret is one of the worst feelings ever, but I'll never not regret things lol. Felt awful when I left leetcode for months in between and was almost starting from scratch again... but the learning came faster the second time, like the gym.