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Jan 31, 2017
Is it bad that it took me 2~2.5 hours to write a number guessing game in Python?
Specifically, it prompts the user for a number and it tells them if their number is too high, too low, or not in the range asked for, as well as what the worst guess is, how far away that guess was from the correct number, and the amount of times the user made a guess.
The entire time I did not feel like giving up nor did I get bored, I was just trying figure out how to satisfy all the requirements. I didn't get help or look for help, I was just wracking my brain and trying to find out what worked. And when I finally managed to complete it, I felt so accomplished and satisfied. I was so into it that I didn't notice that about 2~2.5 hours passed by and I only wrote about 40 lines of code.
For a newbie, is that a bad sign? Or was that how it was for everyone and you just get better and faster over time?
Edit: Thank you all for the words of encouragement!
Responses(5)
I like the following quote by Addy Osmani.
You shouldn't feel bad if it took you 2 hours to code the game. At least you learned something from it. You'll slowly realize that it's all about practice. The more you practise, the better you get. So, don't worry - just keep going!
All of us started where you are now. We wanted to create something. Something small and easy, which seems accomplishable. Then we started coding, trying out things and looking up stuff. We all took hours for the first few lines of code we wrote on our own!
So let me congratulate you: You managed to take the first step to becoming awesome! All you need to focus on now is to not settle. Add features to your little game, think off a new challenge (maybe even a new game?)! Keep programming and having fun. No one will jugde your time, because as you go, you will learn and practice. The more you learn and practice, the faster you get.
Heck, before you even realize it, a thousand lines is what you write for breakfast :D
---> On a more advanced note: Do not measure your code or your coding performance based on lines of code or the time needed to write them. Many problems require you to think and come up with a good solution. A good solution might be as short as a few lines and take hours of thinking, but will beat everything else ;)
The only bad thing in programming is about give up and throw it away. It's nice to lose some time to accomplish some goals and it's fine if something get your time by 2, 4 or 12 hours.
The point here is every developer have their way to make things and not all are the same, for example me some times there is problem that i resolve quickly and others than struggle in my head and don't see the solution.
Keep making things and with you goals and do the best, there is no problem to spend some time to fix something :)
No, Tabi, don't worry, nothing wrong with that. I remember my first programs, some 40 years ago. Took my hours and hours for almost nothing. I've earned a living with programming upto now. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but that doesn't mean you're not going to be good at it.
JdeH
Sai Kishore Komanduri
Engineering an eGovernance Product | Hashnode Alumnus | I love pixel art
You can't rely on the time you took to come up with a working solution, as a sign in evolving the potential to become a great developer.
But you know what you could take as a sign — how involved, and poised you got, for figuring out a solution that satisfies all the requirements; good for you for coming out with it; notwithstanding the time it took. That is a very good sign. :)
Happy hacking, and here's one to many more cool things that you shall come to make. 🍻