Where to get peer review of code and how to get my code attention?

Question

I'm just now learning to programming at age 17. It's hard for me to talk to other programmers as I'm just out of high school (which means I can't take programming courses). I know that I write terrible code, and not like Jeff Atwood terrible code, my code actually sucks. So where can I post some of my code and get real programmers to review it. I know if I had a question I could ask it on StackOverflow, but I want to post a whole class and get a review on it.

The real problem here is that I'm not going to be writing the next great piece of Software. I'm going to be writing a really useless class, which will serve no other purpose than to teach me how to program. This code will never be used, ever! EVER! How can I get an advanced (or even intermediate) programmer to look at my code?

Thanks in advance! ;-)

Answer 1

Look to the open source community. There are plenty of existing and new projects that would love an eager (if inexperienced) developer to offer support.

Going this route offers two advantages:

1. You get to see great code in action and learn from it
2. Any changes you submit will be reviewed by an experienced developer and they will often give you excellent suggestions as to how to improve your code before it will be accepted

Start by choosing a project in your language (there are a bunch in c++) and check out the code. You don't need to understand it all, but you must be able to understand at least a portion of it.

If the project looks way to complicated, keep looking. Younger projects tend to have less code that you need to learn.

Answer 2

Why don't you try RefactorMyCode?

Answer 3

If you can't get great programmers to look at your code, do the next best thing: look at theirs!

Look for a bunch of code snippets that do the same (simple) thing. Before you look at them too closely, write your own code to perform the same task. Compare all of the snippets with your own (and each other!) and try to figure out the reasons for the differences.

I recommend looking for code from well established projects. Code from tutorials often ignores important details for the sake of simplicity.

Answer 4

I think the best way to learn is the way I learned (I may be biased): trial and error. I just wrote programs all the time, teaching myself as I went. I'd write terrible code, and I would wrestle with making it do what I wanted. Often it would make me give up on that particular project. But on the next project, I'd take a different approach, and it would work better. Repeat ad nauseam. Once you know where the rough spots are in your designs, you'll be able to ask specific questions on places like SO, or, better yet IMHO, come up with better designs yourself. I independently invented all the major design patterns just through frustration at the solutions I'd created in the past. I think this gives me a valuable perspective, since for most people design patterns are just a "best practice", but I know the pain that comes with using other designs, and I can see signs of bad designs in code very easily (it takes one to know one). This last skill is one that I often see lacking in other programmers... they can't see why their design is deficient and they should use something else.

Answer 5

I would try not to write useless code, but attempt to solve some particular problem. Your learning will be more advanced if you are learning in the context of a real-world scenario. It doesn't have to be a big business domain; could even be a game or a shareware utility.

As for getting your code reviewed, the open source community is a good way to go as The Lame Duck says - in fact you're guaranteed it gets some form of review if you actually contribute to a project. Other avenues to explore: your local C++ users' group, checking out a co-op program available through a junior college, or engaging someone in a company that sponsors interns.

I haven't tried sites such as RefactorMyCode as suggested by Gilad Naor, but that seems promising. And, yes, StackOverflow is a good place for bite-sized chunks of code. If you do that, explain what you are trying to do, and why you are trying to do it that way, and ask if there's a better approach. Good luck!

Answer 6

Do something fun and don't worry too much about code style yet. I started out with BASIC on Commodore 64 without even realizing that there was such a thing as clean code vs dirty code. If I had worried a lot about that then, it might have hindered me from progressing. You always learn best when doing it playfully.

Answer 7

You could always try a site like Project Euler, where there are a whole load of problems that will test your skills and a whole bunch of solutions to those problems, submitted by others. Project Euler tends to focus on algorithms rather than higher level programming constructs, but I imagine that there are others in a similar vein.