Comparators

[Chris Angelico]

On Sun, Nov 22, 2015 at 9:49 AM, Cai Gengyang <gengyangcai at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hmm .. I am a slow learner and have poor memory. Sometimes when I see a new programming operator, I have to type it out so that I can remember it and let it sink into my brain
>

I recommend creating a text file of notes. Every time you learn
something new, add it to your notes file - and commit the change to
git. Then, when you come back to the file, you'll have one of several
reactions:

1) "Yeah, that's right! Good stuff to remember." - it's done its job
by reminding you.
2) "Wait, what? How does that work?" - add some clarification notes.
3) "Of course it's like that. I know that. Don't need that any more."
- remove it (and commit the change to git).

Every time #3 comes up, you know you're learning - you're becoming a
better programmer. And it will, often. This isn't something just for
"novice" or "beginning" programmers, either; I have a file like that,
although not only about programming. (This week, I added notes about
using iptables to NAT from one IP address to a completely different
one, and change the port number used, which basically let me deploy a
temporary bouncer on a cheap cloud server, getting around a temporary
outage here. Worth doing.) Some stuff will stay there for a long time,
ready for you to look it up whenever you need it. Other stuff will
come and go. All of it is useful.

ChrisA