

Do You Think in a Programming Language When Programming? - NumberSix

Do You Think in a Programming Language When Programming?<p>Do you think in a specific programming language, for example your first or favorite language, when programming?<p>If so, do you translate from that language to other programming languages when programming in another language from your mental programming language?<p>Some alternatives:<p>Do you think in a more abstract way, such as in English or pseudo-code or mental pictures, and then translate this to the specific programming language you are working in?<p>If you think in a programming language when programming, can you switch from one programming language to another, for example thinking in C++ when programming C++ and thinking in LISP when programming LISP (to give two fairly different languages)?<p>What do you feel are the advantages or drawbacks of the way you think when you are programming?<p>Finally, do you know or suspect that other programmers think differently than you do when they are programming?
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mello151
I think that as I become more familiar with a language I get used to
'thinking' in the language I'm currently using. Up until a few years ago I was
only really comfortable with Java and always tended to think back to how I
would do it in Java and try to translate it. But as I get more comfortable
with other languages it's gotten a lot easier. Especially with languages like
Javascript and Python. I always laugh a little bit though when I go back to
Java and wonder why a line with a String threw an error only to realize I'm
using single ticks instead of double quotes.

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ibstudios
I do mental images when things are beyond my knowledge of a language. The
image of the game Hungry-hungry hippo got me through concurrency and threads.

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sidcool
I do that all the time. I can only think in either Java or Python.

