How to think and solve problems like a programmer

If you’re interested in programming, you may well have seen this quote before:

Everyone in this country should learn to program a computer because it teaches you to think.

–Steve Jobs

You probably also wondered what it exactly means to think like a programmer. Essentially, it’s all about a more effective way for problem solving.

In this post, my goal is to teach you the exact steps to be a better problem solver.

Why is this important?

Problem solving is the meta skill. How we deal with problems is sometimes, well, pretty random.

Unless you have a system, this is probably how you “solve” problems (which is what I did when I started coding):

1. Try a solution.
2. If that doesn’t work, try another one.
3. If that doesn’t work, repeat step 2 until you luck out.

Sometimes, you luck out. But that is the worst way to solve problems, and it’s a huge waste of time.

The best way involves a) having a framework and b) practicing it. According to Hacker Rank’s 2018 Developer Skill Report:

Problem-solving skills are almost unanimously the most important qualification that employers look for…more than programming languages proficiency, debugging, and system design. Demonstrating computational thinking or the ability to break down large, complex problems is just as valuable (if not more so) than the baseline technical skills required for a job.

Having a framework

Practice

Conclusion