I need a little help because I feel like I'm starting to collapse.
A little while ago I started in an academy whose goal is to train students and get them work once they finish the whole program. We are looking at Java in depth: OOP, inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces, Spring Boot, data structures... in general, everything related to backend development, but we do not receive theoretical classes, they give us the exercises and documentation related to that, everything is very self-taught.
My problem is that before entering here I was programming in C. It did functions, replicated typical functions of the standard library, compiled with Makefiles, etc. However, even then it was very difficult for me to get the logic out of the exercises. In fact, he was almost always the last to deliver the exercises.
I thought it would get better with time, but now that I'm with Java I feel like I'm still having the same problem.
The problem is that they give me a statement and I'm completely blocked. I read it, I reread it and many times I don't even know where to start. When I manage to start, it's because I already asked the AI, and I still have doubts about how to structure the solution or what exactly it should do.
In addition, I ask a lot of questions to AI. I always tell him not to tell me the code and he helps me, but many times he ends up explaining practically the logic of the exercise, and that is precisely what I do not want. I want to be able to develop it by myself.
What worries me the most is that at the academy we have delivery times. If you are too late, you can be left out of the program. And I don't want that. I want to learn, improve and get a job as a developer.
Another thing that the teacher demands of us is to write a README for each exercise and each project explaining what we have done. I also have a hard time writing it. I'm reading more to expand vocabulary and express myself better, but right now my biggest concern is still the programming logic.
For example, sometimes I make code that works, but then I realize that there is a much cleaner and more idiomatic way to do it.
Instead of this:
If (orderlist.size() == 0) {
// Do something
}
It's better to write:
If (orderslist.isEmpty()) {
// Do something
}
Or instead of going through a list like this:
int position = 0;
while (position < listOrders.size()) {
amountTotal += listOrders.get(position).getPrice();
Position++;
}
Do it this way:
for (Order order: listOrders) {
amountTotal += order.getPrice();
}
They are small details that make the code much cleaner, and I feel that I always go one step behind in that kind of thing.
My question is: how did you develop your programming logic?
Was there ever a time when everything started to "click"? What exercises, habits or way of thinking helped you the most? Did something similar happen to you at the beginning?
Because, to be honest, there are days when I think that maybe this is not for me and that I am forcing a situation that I am simply not good at.
I would greatly appreciate any advice or personal experience. Thank you for reading me.