How to be a Programmer When Your Program Doesn't Work

 

Apparently, this is how I look when I'm coding (or, as in this image, working on digital art). All the fundamentals are just right - the absorbed expression, the old-fashioned headphones for music, and the massive bookshelf right behind me. (There are other things too, including the hoodie and the container of strawberry milk. I love strawberry milk.)

This is how I really feel when I'm coding:

After all, coding is a battle, as anyone who has studied basic JS knows. The rules are like so:

1. If you miss a semicolon, you die.
2. If you make a typo, you die.
3. If you put too many zeros, you die.
4. If you miss a bracket, you die.
5. If you forget ANYTHING, you die.

And if by some miracle you don't break any of those rules ...

Rule #6: If you pass the First Five Levels of Codeship, congratulations! You have created code that nobody will ever use, that does nothing except print 'Hello World,' and that a real web developer could have written in two minutes or less.

Still, you're happy. There's something eminently satisfying about taking a computer - something mysterious that most of us don't understand at all - and making it do what you want. You have now gained mastery over that machine, which can do mathematical calculations no human could ever achieve without help. Or, if that's not up your alley, let's say it can do things like bring the idea of OP9 to life.

This article is to bring a little humor and encouragement who feels that their work is useless. This is coming from someone who speaks not only Code, but also the human languages of French, Russian, and English. There are times when you're going to feel useless. Your code isn't always going to work, and it isn't always going to be pretty. I can absolutely guarantee that, because I've been there. Who hasn't? But just remember, you're a fighter. Working on this project is making you stronger. You're becoming more fluent in a language, or you're moving closer to your dream job of programmer (is that anyone's dream job, really? Think about it.) You have to remember that you really are accomplishing something, even when you feel the worst.

And if you need some visual encouragement, go look up a picture of your favorite anime character in full sword fight. If they can do it, so can you.

Lauren Smyth, Head Programmer for OP9
www.laurensmythbooks.com
@lsmythbooks