How do you remember it all?

Hey, guys. So, I'm really, really new to Java. New in the sense that I literally just started watching tutorials on it like, two days ago.

That being said, I'm running into a major problem. I've been watching thenewboston's java video tutorials on Youtube, and so far, they've been really amazing. The guy is super helpful, explains everything clearly, and doesn't assume that any of us know any aspects of what he's talking about.

The problem, is that there's not enough space in my brain for all this crap. I'm on the 16th tutorial video, and already I can feel the information starting to ooze out. There's just so much syntax to memorize x.x

How do you guys possibly remember it all? I'm constantly screwing up in my code. Forgetting to put an empty parameter here, setting a semicolon where one isn't needed, forgetting important variable keywords, etc.

I'm trying to learn it at a reasonably fast pace, and maybe that's what's killing me, but it feels like there's no amount of repetition that could possibly make this all stick. Thoughts?

The only solution I can offer is more practice/repetition. And most importantly don't get discouraged. It took me a few years at least to master most of the fundamentals.

KevinWorkman has an excellent article on How to Program. It's directed mostly towards those seeking help with classwork, but the same principles can and should be applied everywhere.

Also, there are resources available to you to get help with problems you may have (including this forum).

Copeg has an article for how to get the most out of these resources.

People speak highly of thenewboston and - from what little I've observed - it seems OK. (Sorry: that isn't supposed to be faint praise! Many people go to a lot of effort to provide these things and then supply them for free.) But videos will only get you so far. I agree with helloworld, more practice. So turn off the video and practice! Also text tutorials have have an advantage here as the whole thing inall its detail can be visible even as you read just one paragraph. And of course, they can be left open on your desktop as you are coding.

It's not either-or. Consider supplementing the videos with text based tutorials.

Also messing up the "simple" syntax stuff is par for the course to begin with. Unlike natural language where we *encourage* children in their efforts, the compiler offers no encouragement whatsoever. Just press on: you'll be surprised how quickly you master things.

I love practicing with Java. Once you learn the basic syntax on how to create a method and start poking around with variables, you can start doing some fun stuff. The only problem I run into is that more often than not, I simply don't know how the syntax should be organized, or what keywords to use.

For example, the first day I started watching the videos, he talked about if statements. I'd poked around other languages before, and if statements are usually one of the first things you learn, so I was already somewhat familiar with it.

So I messed around with that, and suddenly had the great idea to make a program that counted up from one to an arbitrary number. The first thought that came into my head was... how the hell am I going to do that with if statements?

It became quickly evident that if was not the right keyword. I would have to re-write the line of code each time it incremented upwards, so that it could check the variable again. So, I went to google, and typed in basic Java syntax. I was quickly presented with a cheatsheet that showed me a variety of useful keywords. Under 'loops', I found the keyword 'while'. Didn't take me long to figure out how to make the program after stumbling upon that.

The point, is that it's hard to practice writing code if you're not familiar with the syntax. You think of a fun idea for a beginner program, and you realize that the syntax you already know doesn't actually work with that idea. That's why I've been watching the tutorial series - to introduce me to the new syntax and format that I can use.

Learning a new language has always been overwhelming for me. I tried learning C, and that was just a punched in the face. I couldn't find a good compiler, and I had no idea what I was doing, so that crashed quickly. There's just soooo much to learn, and I have a really bad habit of not pacing myself through long learning processes. I try to learn everything at once as fast as I can, and I end up not memorizing the key points. I guess that must be what's tripping me up here.