Practice Writing Codes

Top 10 Tips to Improve your Programming Logic

Programming is part of most of the gadgets we use today. Programming and programming languages have evolved to a great extent and has changed our lives. If you are a programmer, then it is important to have good logical thinking skills. So, how to improve your programming logic? It is just not easy to grow as a successful programmer by knowing your programming language. If you are new to the programming world and if your logical thinking abilities are vast and well-developed, then you need not worry about becoming a successful programmer. Logical thinking starts from childhood, when you start to play chess, solve simple puzzles, play Sudoku and other puzzles and games. But, in a real world scenario of serious programming, you need high level skills to logical thinking. So, how would you improve your programming logic and how could you build your logical thinking abilities? Here are few of the top 10 tips to improve your programming logic in languages such as C, C++, Java, .Net, Python, JavaScript, Perl, Shell Script and many more.

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10. Read Books

Read Books on Programming Logics

Apart from learning your programming language, it is important to read books on analytical thinking, problem solving, reasoning, aptitude, logic building, discrete mathematics, lateral thinking, combinatorics and also love. There are thousands of well written books for all these topics, please select the appropriate book for your need. It is always wise to start with a basic book and go for an advanced one. How to Solve It by Polya, The Pragmatic Programmer by Andrew and David, Fundamentals of Logic Design by Forth, and Think Like a Programmer: An Introduction to Creative Problem Solving are few great books to read to improve your logical thinking and reasoning. There are many apps, software, and online tools to improve logic. Also, Google and find out few creative books, ways and steps to improve logical thinking. Keep practicing the stuff you have learnt until you become a master.

9. Read Plenty of Resources on Programming Language and Algorithms

Read Resources on Programming and Alogrithm

Read resources on the common data structures, algorithms and topics on the programming language. Before you write any logic, it is always good to write algorithms for the logic. Reading and understanding more and more of algorithms would definitely help your logical thinking. As you read, understand and practice algorithms, simultaneously read resources on target programming language. Understand the syntax, best coding practices and modular coding styles. If your programming language is Object Oriented Programming, then it is important to learn all the common design patterns as well. It is also important to master common data structure such as Arrays, LIFO, FIFO, Linked List, List, Doubly Linked List, Sets, Vector, Arraylist, Map, Hashmap and so on.

8. Read and Understand Other Programmer’s Codes

Read Other Programmers Codes

If you are in a project where you can view other programmer’s codes and programs, and then try to go through those codes and understand how they have written the logic. This exercise helps in matching your logically thinking skills with other people’s logical thinking. It enables you to co-relate how the other person has thought and written the logic. Use the refactoring feature in certain IDEs to understand the flow of code. Refactoring can be done without any tools as well, if you already know how to get through. Use a debugger to debug the code, see the values that get passed, see where the conditions fail, and check how to control flows and much more. If the code is human readable, then definitely go through the code and you will understand the code. If you do not understand the code, which means the code is badly written. Once you start to understand other people’s coding then you can think of how to improve those codes, which is again another exerciser to improve your logical thinking skills. It is best to start with a open-source project.

7. Break Complex Problems into Simpler Problems

Break Complex Problems to Simpler Problems

In the programming world, programmers face complex problems in their day-to-day work. It is very important for the programmers to first get a visual picture of the problem. The visualization is possible only when the programmer has thoroughly understood the complexity. Once the visualization is complete, the programmer can use graphical tools to get the real picture. Alternatively, simple notes with pencil diagrams also would help. Then it becomes important that the diagrams are split into simpler modules or basic problems. Once this step is complete, logic building is just modular and easily achievable.

6. Change your Lifestyle

Change to Healthy Lifestyle

Healthy lifestyle is very important for proper functioning of brain. Healthy food, sound sleep and stress-free life would lead to better thinking and positive response in terms of logical thinking. Foods such as eggs, green vegetables, yogurt, fruits and whole grain boosts the brain power and stimulates hormones that enables you to think laterally. On an average, 7-8 hours of un-disturbed sleep is as important as healthy food. Performing exercises, aerobics and yoga can keep your body and mind stable and healthy. Stress-free life is important for thinking, analyzing and programming. Practicing logical thinking and mathematics is only 5 percent, whereas healthy lifestyle is 95 percent.

5. Exercise your Brain by Playing Chess, Rubik’s Cube and Sudoku

Brain Excercise

Chess, Rubik’s cube and Sudoku are scientifically proven to be a tough brain challenging games and improve lateral, creative and problem solving abilities of the brain. It has been found by scientists that conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s by enlarging what psychologists are calling your ‘cognitive reserve’. Playing these games at a young age helps in brain development for future. It doesn’t mean after becoming a developer you shouldn’t practice these games. At any age, the brain has the ability to develop and grow.

4. Think Conditionally

Think Conditionally

Programming is more about conditions and looping with those conditions. Creating logic needs you to think conditionally. Yes or No. Certain things in programming get executed when a condition satisfies and the same is not executed when the condition fails. Writing down the logic as a conditional statement such as if….. then.. else…. is helpful to improve conditional reasoning. The important part of conditional reasoning is that the conditions are repeatable and can occur again and again. Start by practicing simple conditions and then go for hypothesis and theories on conditional reasoning and local thinking.

3. Try to Solve Simple to Complex Problems by Writing Codes

Practice Writing Codes

Start by writing codes in your programming language for simple problems. Proceed with medium difficulty problems and then go for tough and complex ones. Simple problem may be adding all prime numbers in a given set of 100 numbers. Complex problem may be creating a doubly linked list in a structural programming language like C and trying to reverse, sort and traversing the linked list. You should sense the world around and try to solve those real life problems. Let’s take the example of a clock, it has seconds, minutes and hours, try to create a clock by coding. In the case of a clock, its logic that seconds run the fastest followed by minutes and hours. When solving any kind of problem, understand the problem completely, analyse the possible solutions and methods that could be used to solve, find the most basic elements of the problem and then start solving. This will slowly improve your logic building skills.

2. Write and Code in the Programming Language

Write Codes

Practice the programming language as much as possible. When you have mastered the programming language’s syntax and structure, your next goal is to practice the programming language. You can either write or type and practice. To become a good programmer, you must see errors on your console. Solve all the common programming puzzles like palindrome, reverse a string, searching, sorting, converting numbers to strings, and many more.

1. Practice Puzzles to Improve Logical Thinking

Practice Puzzles

Finally, practice lots and lots of easy to complex puzzles. Search for resources that teach you how to solve puzzles. It has been scientifically proven that solving jigsaw and crosswords help in a child’s brain development. The same thing applies to any adult brain. Your brain’s memory is enhanced; problem solving capability and lateral thinking develops when you solve puzzles. Finally, you become a logical thinker and a better logic solver. Apply the leanings in your day-to-day life to solve daily problems. Ultimately, everything would result in you becoming a successful programmer in your day job.

Vinod Suthersan is an young tech enthusiast, Blogger addict, Internet craze and thriving to learn new things on the world of Internet.

2 thoughts to “Top 10 Tips to Improve your Programming Logic”

  1. I like these recommendations.

  2. Or, you know…
    Go to college and study four years. Then programming becomes natural. If you choose to expand your skills – which is always possible in every single thing, programming is not the exception – then practice. Although practicing is not even necessary then, for time itself will make you better as you work.

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