How Can I Tell If I’m on the Right Track with My Coding?

Unfortunately, there's no foolproof way to avoid mistakes entirely. You’ll learn a lot by looking back at your earlier projects and seeing how you can improve. Check out programming principles like SOLID, DRY, and KISS; they can be really helpful in organizing your code better. If your current project allows it, consider refactoring or even starting fresh if you haven't got too far. Also, reviewing other people's code can offer insights into better practices and efficient coding solutions.

A great mindset to have is to ‘fail fast’. Focus initially on getting the functionality right and let the rest follow. It’s perfectly fine to restart or change direction if something isn’t working! Keeping your code modular can also save a lot of trouble down the line. Don't fear rewriting portions of your project as you learn what works; it’s all part of the process!

Any plan that holds you back from building something is a bad one! Don’t let perfectionism stop you from getting a good project done. To ensure that one part of your code doesn't break the rest, learning layered architecture is beneficial. Also, good unit tests and implementing try/catch blocks can save you a lot of headaches. Logging also comes in handy for tracking down errors.

Creating unit tests can drastically improve your confidence in your code. Having tests for various scenarios you're likely to encounter helps you think through potential issues. Writing simpler functions that can be easily tweaked later also streamlines the process; you might find they can often be broken down into smaller, testable parts. Just remember, learning this takes practice, and don’t be hard on yourself while you’re getting better!

No, there's no undeniable way to make sure every piece of code you write is perfect. You'll pick up techniques to mitigate issues through education and experience. Think of it like asking a lawyer if they'll never lose a case; industry pros still have to redo things from time to time. Developing resilience is key—you'll need to keep pushing through the frustration as you improve.