Coding is the practice of writing commands for the computer to perform something useful. You can choose any kind of programming language to write these commands. This means that the activity of coding is always linked with the end goal in mind. Some people however, love coding so much that they just have fun in writing code with no end goal in mind.
For example, people who spend hours practicing Leetcode questions. I feel this is such a waste of a coder’s time. If the developer utilizes this time to actually build something useful which other people can use, even if it is a little buggy or not so performant, it will be so much better use of their time.
Building something even if by looking up examples on StackOverflow, is so much better way of learning to program than to keep grinding through Leetcode/Hackerrank or other algorithmic problems. I am not saying developers should completely ignore learning good algorithms, they should, but in a way that is natural and not forced by some fake problem designed by someone else.
Companies who ask such algorithmic questions for interviews are not getting people who are real builders, they are just getting well trained folks who are good at solving algorithmic problems. In my opinion, more emphasis should be laid on the past work or work portfolio of a coder. Even better give them a take home problem about building something end to end.
Programming is fun when you see that your creation is useful for others. It gives the developer the most satisfaction. Code is never static, and always requires refactoring. I would value someone who can hack together a working solution without worrying about the initial performance. I bet when Mark Zuckerberg was building Facebook, he was not trying to write the best performant code. His first aim would have been to quickly build the solution and worry about the performance later on.
Another way developers really waste time is by sitting in classes or trying to go through hour long YouTube videos to learn something. In this case also if you do not know a particular language or framework, the best way to learn will be to try to build something useful. It will make you learn much faster and you will find real satisfaction with the end result.
There is vast world of problems out there needing to be solved by your beautiful brains fellow coders. Even if you can’t find a new problem to solve, you can always look at existing solutions and try to re-build them in your own way. Your own social network, market place, etc. Look for those and try to tackle them with your passion for coding, you will enjoy it a lot more.
Happy Coding!
