I work as a QA tester and can handle SQL and simple scripting fairly comfortably, but I don't have much formal programming experience. My workplace codebase is mostly C# and TypeScript, and I test developer changes while occasionally fixing small bugs myself using basic logic or help from an AI tool.
The codebase feels overwhelming, especially when I'm trying to follow unfamiliar syntax, arrows, and the path a request takes through different files. I can sometimes understand what a small section is doing at first glance, but most of the code is still difficult to follow. What's the fastest practical way to build the fundamentals and become better at reading and understanding this kind of code?
3 Answers
An AI coding tool can be useful when you have permission to use it with the code. Ask it to explain a small section in plain language and add detailed comments describing each statement, then verify the explanation yourself. Treat it as a tutor rather than a replacement for learning the fundamentals, and avoid sending confidential company code to an external service unless your workplace explicitly allows it.
Choose one small feature that you regularly test and trace its complete flow. Follow the request from its entry point through the relevant files, then use a debugger and step through it line by line. Set breakpoints, inspect variables, and write down what each method is responsible for. This hands-on approach usually builds a mental model faster than skimming the whole codebase.
Start with a beginner-friendly C# or TypeScript course or book and focus on the fundamentals: variables, types, conditions, loops, functions, classes, objects, collections, and error handling. Reading a large codebase before learning those basics is like trying to read a book in a language you haven’t studied. Your SQL experience means you already have some logical thinking to build on; you mainly need to learn how that logic is expressed in a new syntax.
Even a short beginner course can make the punctuation and syntax feel much less mysterious. Once the basics click, the existing code becomes much easier to break down.