The Programmer's Brain

5 Reaching a deeper understanding of code

This chapter covers

• Examining the different roles that variables can play in programs
• Comparing surface knowledge of code and understanding of the intent of the creator
• Comparing reading and learning natural language to reading and learning code
• Exploring different strategies to gain a deeper understanding of code

Earlier in this book we discussed using flashcards and repeated practice as techniques to learn syntax, and we covered strategies to quickly familiarize yourself with new code, such as highlighting variables and their relationships. While knowing syntax and understanding the relationships between variables is an important step to understanding code, there are deeper issues that play a role ...