Diakon:
I. Attitudes
1. Never think you’ve written the best possible code, or even your best possible, to solve that problem. There’s always a better way. After all, it’s possible that assignment was just plain easy.

2. Develop a (good) work ethic. Learn to discipline yourself as a programmer. Make rules and keep at it. Set up schedules, set goals, make plans.
3. Deal with developaralysis. Remain focused on where you’re going and refuse to budge.
4. Determine to improve (every week, at the least). Make a conscious assessment of your skills and analyse what new knowledge you’ve gained over the past week.
5. Never feel superior. You know that feeling when you’re telling complete newbies about manipulating memory via bits and pointers, and they’re just looking at you with awe on their faces, saying things like “man, this guy is bad…”. Stop. Take a deep breath and deflate that big head. It’s not gonna help you get better at all, because you’ll keep thinking you’re so far ahead, when you actually haven’t gone anywhere.
6. Savour your work. I know I just finished saying what seems like the opposite, but I mean it. Learn yo savour your work. When you solve a tough problem, be glad. Sing and dance… And get back to work. But don’t brag.

II. Actions & Practices
1. Code from a variety of viewpoints. By this I mean that when solving a problem, you work out the best solutions in terms of (for instance) i) speed ii) memory management iii) handling of unexpected input iv) algorithmic efficiency etc.

See more at:https://shalvahadebayo./2015/11/04/how-to-become-a-better-programmer/

Senior programmers in the house (and newbies too), please make your contributions.

Fulaman198:


Well said, Linus Torvalds needs to read this.

Fulaman198:


Well said, Linus Torvalds needs to read this.

Diakon:
Fulaman198 thanks. Anything helpful to add?

jacob05:
don't insult the father of the OS I love and the one others copied just because he gave a response to a "shitty" code a programmer like yourself wrote. Phew

Fulaman198:


Sure my advice to being a better programmer is to take things 1 step at a time. Writing a programme is like solving a problem. First, find out what you are trying to solve, and set up a step by step approach to solve the problem. Some people like to use flow charts (I personally don't like using them, but hey, if it works for you, it works). But what i do personally when writing a programme is that I take it from a step to step approach. I test the programme in phases throughout the entire process before establishing the finished product. You improve with time of course. The best way not to catch yourself writing sloppy code is to start on a project early and add newer/better implementations with time. That's why there are various release cycles for many programmes. I hope that is a good contribution from my part.

Diakon:

It is. Unfortunately, many newbies/amateurs (myself included) want to just jump right into writing that code. It's hard being patient, but I'll begin enforcing it personally. Thanks.