Getting Better At Development

Discussion in 'Spigot Plugin Development' started by DavidDevelops, Apr 28, 2017.

  1. DavidDevelops


    Hey im new to development but I wanna get a lot better like I love all the things people create and I have came up with epic ideas but cant create them.... I can create plugins but im not good at it im always googling for code and learning new things im thinking about watching all of this guys stuff () But that's only some stuff I wanted to know if there are any other good ones I should watch if you know any please list them

    Note: Don't say go learn java I know java along with others and im still learning more of them I just need to learn more about this,

    Thanks for any help
    - Burns and bruises
  2. DO NOT WATCH THEBCBROZ. Not your fault, just stop, right now.
    • Agree Agree x 4
  3. Creating ideas is hard... I can't help you, I'm also bad at creating ideas.

    Getting better at a programming language, that's easy, just takes a variable amount of time to get the syntax to stay in your head.
    To get better at Bukkit/Spigot or any API for that matter, just try to do something you really want to do, and do it, that's all it takes.

    This method works because if you really want to do something, you will actively be searching for answers on your quest for knowledge, and by doing so, you eventually build an understanding of what you are trying to learn.

    Also, youtube tutorials aren't an efficient way to learn Bukkit
  4. If you do know Java as you say you do ( I found that hard to believe, sorry :\ )
    Just code, you'll get better overtime.
    Otherwise go learn Java, when I started Bukkit I barely knew what 'int' meant. Go get a good understanding of OOP, loops, conditions, primitive data type, common data structures etc'.
    After that BukkitAPI will be a piece of cake.
  5. I believe YouTube videos can be good for learning the Bukkit/Spigot API as a very beginner, to learn how things are set up, maybe make a few plugins, etc., but once you start getting an understanding of plugins, that's where you should stop. Finding a channel to learn from is important as well because if you are starting and learn bad practices, they tend to stick with you.
  6. If you are watching that and not either laughing hysterically or cringing at how bad it is, you do not know very much java, no matter what you think.

    Get a java textbook, like this.
    It is only about 1400 pages and will teach you all the basics of how to use java effectively and understand anything you may encounter. Trying to struggle along with a poor understanding will only waste time and produce bad code.
    • Agree Agree x 2
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  7. 0.0
    • Funny Funny x 1
  8. The book you reference seems quite large and scary!

    To get into Java I read "Java In easy steps" This was because the colours on the front cover appealed to me.
    I got it from my school's library. The book was very simple and extremely friendly to beginners, it can also be cheaply bought from many book stores such as WHSmith. The book covered many aspects of java including swing and many other things including OOP design.
  9. I think contributing to open source projects is the best way to learn.
  10. Senmori

    Senmori Retired Resource Staff
    Retired Patron

    Practice. Practice. Practice. When you think you are done, practice some more. Honestly I can't emphasize that enough. You can read books all day long but if you don't practice then it's worthless.

    Go find an idea you think would be interesting to implement and do it. There are plenty of books out there, but if you want to get better you need to practice.

    Did I mention practice?
  11. That might not be a good idea if you're not very experienced. You'd just mess things up.
  12. It is IMPOSSIBLE to mess up code. All you can ever do it break things and steer it away from the intended functionality.
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  13. It is large and not very scary, the explanations are quite clear and start at the very beginning. Most of it is a reference for everything from multithreading, graphical interfaces, networking, client/server applications, web programming and other stuff you dont need to worry about for bukkit, just the first third of the book or so would be important.
  14. In a correctly managed open source project, you open a PR, people will tell you that your code sucks and why, you fix it, then the project manager will decide if it is a worthy contribution or not, then merge or close the issue. It lets you learn from other while potentially doing something useful, and I think it's an effective method.
    • Like Like x 1
  15. What if your code monitors a nuclear reactor?
    Joke aside, my friend built a auto-update system, that accidentally deleted all of his files in C drive
    Do yourself a favor, don't mess with Java.IO xD
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  16. You can alwasy learn from
    Appljuze, BCBroz, and so many other YouTubers that have made tutorials, you can learn from experimenting with snippets from other plugins, or publicly made snippets.

    I'm also a new-ish person to development, so if you'd like to work together my Skype is in my signature.
  17. WAS


    Define "IMPOSSIBLE" lol Cause I'm not sure you understand what a mess is.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  18. Not if you are watching TheBCBroz. However, PogoStickDev29 have some pretty solid videos and good practices (however you won't learn the whole package). I watched him a while back, but now I don't watch videos anymore. I google my question, if it's very specific I ask at Stackoverflow (or alternatively here), or just browse websites such as Mkyong and the official documentation to learn new stuff I can use.
  19. You can learn some things from TheBCBroz if you're just starting, but you'll learn better ways of coding if you stay devoted to learning.
  20. You can learn what not to do.
    • Agree Agree x 3
    • Like Like x 1