

The programming skill that a CS major doesn't teach - aiiane
http://codingkilledthecat.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/small-projects-big-projects/

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ColinWright
A thousand times yes.

It's often said that there are several cognitive stages to learning to
program:

* Concept of variables

* Iteration

* Recursion

* Parallel / thread programming

However, it's also been said:

    
    
        "Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the
        first place.  Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly
        as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to
        debug it." -- Brian Kernighan
    

Similarly, if my code requires wrapping my head around all of it before I can
start or re-start work on it, there comes a point where I can't work on it any
more because it takes too long to get it in my head. One interruption, it all
falls out, and I've got nothing done.

Writing in "big-project mode" lets me be productive in small chunks, and
projects get finished, rather than stalling.

Learning to write your code in small chunks of time helps develop this skill.
Definitely worth doing. Definitely valuable.

