Do Programmers Memorize Codes? – Let’s find out

Feel free to google the things you don’t know and learn how to utilize solution platforms like StackOverflow, the internet remains an indispensable tool for programmers.

Many new programmers or software developers are often bothered with how to remember codes you have worked on; every professional programmer today also had the same question in their earlier days. 

Learning programming can be overwhelming, especially if you are new in the field because you will realize that there’s so much information to learn from.

So, it’s not uncommon to ask whether programmers memorize codes because you wonder how it is possible to remember all the concepts, functions, structures, e.t.c, if not to memorize codes. 

Moreso, an average programmer or software developer is open to learning more than one Programming language, each having its separate rules and syntax.

Will you then have to learn the rules and syntax of all the programming languages you are working with?

Definitely not; that’s almost impossible. The only time it’s “okay” to memorize codes is when you have an exam you want to sit for.

It’s important to note that what makes a good programmer or software developer is not how well they can memorize codes; considering the nature of the programming field with technological advancement, many programming languages have periodic updates.

This implies that if you memorize a code it can become obsolete with time.

Hence, the most crucial factor in being a good programmer is understanding programming concepts, not trying to memorize codes.

Do programmers memorize everything?

No, programmers do not memorize everything.

Programming should not be approached with a “memorizing mindset”; you can’t memorize everything; attempting to do this will be a daunting task, resulting in frustration.

In Programming, there are more things to learn and fully understand than trying to memorize all the code syntax of all Programming languages.

Professional programmers don’t memorize codes; repetition and consistent practice over time make code syntax come naturally to most experienced programmers.

Memorizing everything is considered not necessary. Instead, spend more time understanding the essential concepts.

Albert Einstein in one of his quotes, said, “Never memorize what you can look up in a book”.

When you are stuck in any of your Programming work, we have access to the internet, where regardless of the information you are looking for, you can access it through the internet.

Do a quick search on Google to get what you are looking for.

Google is every developer’s friend and tool. Are you surprised?

That is how it is done, and it’s normal to check the internet when coding.

And you can always do that anytime you are stuck while programming and the exciting part is that you will find accurate and correct information about what you are looking for.

Hence, trying to memorize everything is a waste of time in Programming, there’s so much information, and you can’t memorize everything.

About 90% of programmers and software developers use Google while coding, and 80% visit stack flow when stuck while coding.

Although, for experienced programmers, a level of coding fluency is expected from you.

However, memorizing everything is impractical and impossible and doesn’t aid effective coding.

Do programmers copy code?

Yes, a good number of programmers either copy codes from google or reuse their codes.

You can check out our article “Do Programmers use Google a lot“ to know if it is right to google codes.

For instance, as a programmer, if you have already solved a problem before in one of your previous codes, it is not out of place to use the existing code and use it again. 

That’s why it’s of no use trying to memorize when you can easily just copy the codes from your previous project.

However, it should be noted that copying codes would only make sense or be a wise option for programmers if and only if you have a thorough understanding of how the code works.

Especially if you are copying the code from another source.

Do not copy and paste codes you do not understand.

This bad habit is quite common among new programmers and software developers; this is not good and will not help you become a better programmer.

Most programmers have a library of code snippets they can always look up to while coding; this also can include the standard specs of codes you often use, and you can store them in your GitHub gist folder or local machine for easy access.

However, understanding codes before copying and applying them is very important for every programmer.

Do programmers code all day?

No, programmers do not code all day.

The average hours a programmer works in a week is about 40hours, which is about 8 hours per day.

Although sometimes programmers spend more time (more than the normal 8 hours) coding in a day, this can be due to many factors.

Some might be working on personal projects or programmers with tight deadlines to meet; they tend to “overwork” on such occasions.

However, such exceptions are insufficient to generalize that programmers work on codes daily.

Programmers have standard hours of work like other professions.

Do programmers know Everything?

No, programmers don’t know everything; it’s practically impossible to know everything because there are over 8000 programming languages and the programming field is very wide.

The most important part is to understand how programming works and the concept behind its functions which will help you have a better understanding regardless of the language you are learning.

The truth is, it is almost impossible for a singular person or programmer to know all the codes of a programming language better put, programmers do not memorize codes of a particular programming language to perform a particular task, however, because of experience and longevity in writing codes, it is possible that your brain retains some information, and you get a deeper understanding of them, but that doesn’t mean you know everything. 

In the programming field, there are often innovations, so programming is constantly evolving, which requires a programmer to stay abreast in learning to be up to date.

However, you can get more skillful and more fluent coding that doesn’t equate to knowing everything.

For the record, humans are not robots, and we can’t memorize every Programming code.

Conclusion 

Learning programming is quite similar to how we learn, say, addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction in school.

We don’t necessarily memorize them, but we know how it works.

Based on that understanding, we can navigate through any question.

For instance, when faced with a question like 245×36799, you can easily use a calculator or do your calculations because you understand the concepts, not memorize them.

This is the same with Programming.

The best way to learn is not by memorizing codes; instead, you get to understand the programming concepts and familiarise yourself with them with consistent practice; over time, you will observe that knowing syntax comes naturally as you keep coding.

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Happy Coding!