Is It Normal to Forget Coding Details Even If I Understand the Concepts?
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VantagePoint
Hey folks! I feel like I get coding concepts pretty well. For example, I understand what a REST API is, along with concepts like CORS and the repository pattern. But when it comes to actually coding, I often forget the specifics and find myself googling things or asking AI for help. For instance, I forget how to use SQL query joins, even though I understand what they are. Is this a common experience, or am I alone in this?
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Honestly, every time I start a new project, I feel like I'm relearning languages I listed on my resume! I often copy from my past work and try to remember the tricky parts instead of memorizing everything. If you don't use something all the time, it doesn’t become automatic.
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You know, Albert Einstein once said, 'I never commit to memory anything that can easily be looked up in a book.' So if you're using resources while coding, you’re following a solid practice! It's common to have reference guides open when tackling new code.
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I can relate to this too! After a decade in coding, I still looked up the syntax for a for loop yesterday. Technologies evolve, and so does our dependency on tools like Google as a reference. Don’t be too hard on yourself about needing to look things up!
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It's completely normal! Think about it—when was the last time you actually wrote a SQL query with a join? If you don't do it often, it's expected that you might not have it memorized. Even experienced programmers look things up all the time; I know I do! I keep sites like regexr.com handy whenever I'm coding to double-check my regex syntax.
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You're definitely not alone! Honestly, I'd say about 80% of my coding time is spent googling syntax and documentation for things I know how to do but can't recall the specifics. It's all part of the process of coding, especially if you haven't practiced certain things in a while.
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