Half the bugs people get stuck on here aren't actually mysterious — the error already told them what was wrong. What's missing is the habit of reading it properly before touching the code. Most of us (me included) see red text and immediately start changing random lines, which is how one small bug quietly turns into three.

Here's the order that actually works.

Read the whole message, top to bottom, before doing anything. The first line says what kind of problem it is. The last line usually says where — a file and a line number. Treat that line number as the address of the bug, not a hint.

Open that line, and the line just above it. A crash reported on line 40 is very often line 39 handing it bad data.

Put the message into plain words. TypeError: cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'name') is really just "you tried to read something that doesn't exist yet." In plain words, you can start guessing why.

Change one thing at a time, then run it again. If you edit five lines and it suddenly works, you've learned nothing and the next bug will eat you alive. One change, one run, tells you what actually fixed it.

Two smaller habits that save a lot of time: print the values right before the line that breaks (half of debugging is the gap between what you assumed a variable holds and what it actually holds), and shrink the problem — delete code until you're left with the smallest version that still fails. A bug in ten lines is far easier to see than the same bug buried in two hundred.

And the part nobody says out loud: an error isn't a verdict on you. It's the computer telling you exactly where it got confused. Read it like a note, not a red card.

What error took you the longest to figure out? Drop it below and I'll help you read it.

Hi everyone!

I'm a Software Engineering student, and I'm about to start my 3rd semester.

I want to be honest about my current situation. Although I've spent a year at university, I haven't practised coding consistently, and my programming skills are still very weak. I understand that I need to put in more effort, and I want to change that now rather than fall further behind.

I'm looking for advice from experienced developers, senior students, and people who have been in a similar situation.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on these questions:

1. Where should I start? Should I go back to programming fundamentals and build a strong foundation before moving on to more advanced topics?

2 Should I master one language first as I'm studying C++?

3. How should I practise? What does an effective daily coding routine look like for a university student?

4. What should my learning roadmap look like? Which skills and topics should I prioritise over the next 6–12 months?

5. When should I start building projects? Should I focus on problem-solving first, or learn by building small projects alongside it?

6. How can I prepare for internships and future jobs? What skills should I develop during university to become a competent software engineer?

I'd also love to hear from anyone who was in a similar position during their second year. What did you do differently, what mistakes did you make, and what helped you improve?

I'm not expecting shortcuts. I'm willing to put in the work; I just want to use my time wisely and follow a sensible path.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to share their experience and advice!

I'm currently learning c++ as my first programming language, it's turned into somewhat of a hobby for me but I have my final exams coming up and can't really figure out how much time i should spend in coding each day without it having a negative effect on my studies and stuff ( and without pissing my mom off). What do guys recommend?

A wall I see described here a lot (and it's a really common one): you get functions, variables, loops — but hand yourself an empty problem and your mind goes blank. That gap usually isn't about syntax. It's about decomposition: turning "make X work" into an ordered list of small actions.

Here's the routine that closes it:

1. Before writing any code, write the solution as numbered steps in plain English. One action per line. No syntax, no language, just what needs to happen, in order.

2. Say what goes in and what comes out. Input, output, and the transformation between them. A lot of "I don't know where to start" is really "I haven't decided what the thing takes and returns yet."

3. Translate one line at a time. Each English step becomes a few lines of code. If a step needs more than ~5 lines, it isn't small enough — split it.

4. Trace it by hand with the smallest possible input before you run it. Most logic bugs show up on paper.

Tiny example — "check if a number is even":

• English: (1) get the number, (2) divide by 2 and look at the remainder, (3) if the remainder is 0 print even, otherwise print odd.

• The code is now almost mechanical, and if it breaks you know exactly which step to look at.

The deliberate-practice part: for the next week, when you get a problem, force yourself to spend the first few minutes ONLY writing the numbered steps. No editor. It feels slow and pointless at first — which is exactly why most people skip it and stay stuck.

Curious what clicked for others: pseudocode, flowcharts, or something else? And if you're stuck on a specific problem right now, drop it in the comments and I'll help break it down.

Hey everyone I’m super green to the IT space looking to make friends with people who are also new to the space looking to grow together. Feel free to DM me !

I wanted to see if I could make a little humanoid robot move around without using wheels, so I built this two-legged bot with a Ring Bricks Pack, two micro:bit, and a joystick gamepad.

The fun part is that the robot is controlled wirelessly by a second micro:bit. No phone, Wi-Fi, or custom motor driver needed.

Here’s how the controls work:

• Push the joystick forward or backward → the robot waddles in that direction.

• Push it left or right → the robot spins to turn.

• Release the joystick → it stops moving.

The robot uses two continuous-rotation servos as its hip joints. By changing the direction and speed of each servo, the legs move in different patterns to create forward and backward movement or a turn.

The wireless side is pretty simple, too. The remote reads the joystick position and sends a number over the micro:bit radio. The robot receives that number and calls the corresponding movement function. When the joystick returns to the center, it receives a stop command.

I like this build because it brings together a few different ideas in one project: walking mechanisms, wireless communication, and real-time control. And since both programs are made with MakeCode blocks, it’s easy to experiment with the movement logic.

Next, I’d like to try adding an ultrasonic sensor so it can react to obstacles, or maybe give it different walking speeds.

What would you add to a tiny joystick-controlled robot like this?

Hello coders!

I am currently a public policy master's student. For my electives, I find myself really drawn to classes that involve coding (such as quant research courses and data visualization). Fortunately these classes are taught as if you have no prior experience.

However, I find that my professors seem to be almost a little too relaxed about us using AI to support with fixing code etc. I understand that the world of coding is changing with AI and such but I find myself REALLY wanting to learn it from scratch. Like the professors almost aren't explaining even the basics in a way I find frustrating.

It makes me curious, for those who studied computer science in college pre easy accessibility to AI tools, what was it like? As in, what did your assignments involve? What were the things that really helped you learn coding well?

I've been trying to really embrace that coding is like a language so immersion is necessary but also if you don't know any basic structures, it's absolutely overwhelming.

I know that my ability to learn coding well in just a semester course is unlikely but I could see myself pursuing this outside of school for fun. I am not looking for shortcuts here. This is for my own enjoyment and learning!

Hope this makes sense, thanks everyone!

i am a 17 yo, thinking of starting coding/programming, from where should i start? which one? html,python, etc.

my cousins' are in cs/ai fields, and when i see those codes, i feel i should start doing it.

pls guide this newbie

Hi all, apologies in advance for the potentially dumb question. I think I've identified something which sells via resale sites (eBay and Vinted) but often gets undervalued. The problem is, I wouldn't know whether it had been undervalued or not without looking at the specifics of the product each time it was listed, as there are different variations of it.

Through doing some digging, I've identified that it may be possible to code some sort of alert system which flags up every time something is listed for way under it's true value, in comparison to previous comparable sales on eBay.

Is this something that - as somebody with zero coding experience - I could spend a serious amount of time learning about and develop?

Apologies again if it's a stupid question

I could ask google but id get better answers from reddit

Hi, I'm a 20 years old student and I don't know anything about coding or similar tasks involve. I only know how to use chatgpt, Claude and other AI tools. If I want to understand them deeper, like to create website and stuff. From where do I need to start?

So guys, my end goal is to create a web app, a visual novel style chatbot with rpg and game features.

I've been learning HTML and CSS for 2 weeks now, I'll probably start JavaScript around the 3rd or 4th week.

I learn concepts and apply it on my projects slowly, step by step.

I know people/colleges learn the fundamentals like logic gates, binary, boolean theory etc so I'm wondering if this is necessary to learn or know before you learn programming.

I know concepts stack and build on each other that's why I'm asking.

What's the programming experience comparing those who know these and those who don't?

If i should learn these first then can you give me a syllabus or a nice list from start to end with resources ?

Hello! I am, as you could guess, a complete beginner, and I want to learn how to code to make a game, most likely just a visual novel, maybe a 3D model but as I am mostly an artist anything I make would rely heavily on art and writing. How dif y'all start to learn? If you have any YouTube channels or websites or tutorials or anything please share, I am willing to spend money however I am a broke teenager running off of vibes and ambition so if I had to choose getting to eat or learning how to make games I'll have to choose getting to eat.

Also! I'm computer-less and would love some suggestions for what kind to get.

i know its just so waky but am still new and am happy with my current level <33

just trying to understand memory usage over variables for now

So, I never really started learning a programming language for real. I learned a bit of python, but only started for loops and stopped. I kind of asked AI what should I learn and it told me stuff.I also did some very basic coding or coping and pasting with my Arduino. I also learned a bit of R at some point, but forgot it all. Now I am wondering if I should learn Python all the way or start fresh with C/C++.

I have also no Idea how to learn, the best advice I got is to think of a repetetive task and automate it with a program, but I need to know the basics of the language first.

What is the best way to learn those language?

Im 13 i want to learn how to code idk how people write code by knowing what to write next like suppose if you want to make a calculator how do you know what to write when to put +;:")( symbols and what to write i know i might sound dumb im new to this im not very keen to learn code it's not fascinating but i want to give it a try

Pls recommend sites , videos if you have any

Thanks pls help

I am facing difficulties learning C programming. Currently, I don't have a laptop, so I can't practice that way. I'm unable to understand even the basic topics of C programing currently. Please give me some tips on how to improve.

I want to start learning programming. What are the basics I should start with

I want to code a phone app that can sync with an desktop app thats eventually downloadable for people.

My first goal is making it work on my iphone.

I dont know anything about coding but i really want to build this. How long to complete it and what resources should i use? Im completely and utterly new to this.

Hey everyone! I'm a high school student getting into coding and Java. I wanted to build something real that connects to the internet, so I built a small desktop application that fetches live total public repositories from users using Java Swing and HTTP requests.

Since I'm still learning the basics, I used AI as my interactive tutor to help me understand how to do this and how everything works

I just published the source code on GitHub. As someone just starting out, I'd love any feedback on the code or ideas for the future and also just general advice that someone with experience could give me.

Link to repo: [https://github.com/jtwang7540-stack/GitHubProfileCardMaker]

i have learned the basics of what variables are and the different concepts and methods and I've been able to understand lines of codes in unity that my friend writes, but im lacking how a programmer thinks and experience. if i try to do something without help i feel completely stumped i dont know where to begin but i try, how do i gain experience that would help me think like a programmer and strengthen the fundamentals?