Introduction 👋

Hi there, This is my 2nd article for the #4articles4weeks challenge. In this article, I'll be going to tell you What do I do when I'm stuck as a developer? And which are some online communities that help me in problem-solving and you can use them too for problem-solving. So, let's get started!

What to do when you are stuck as a developer? 🚀

Well, Don't worry. Everyone gets stuck when they're coding, but what are the solutions for solving that particular problem when stuck? I've seen most of the developers who spend lots of time-solving that specific problem while sitting in front of their screens. But when it doesn't gets solved I know how the developer feels. That is how there are some processes to solve problems when stuck as a developer in a specific problem. Let's see those processes of solving problems.

Process 1: Which first thing to do when stuck as a developer? 👨‍💻

Alright, so most of the developers feel that I've stuck in this problem and at that point, they lose their motivation to code or complete this project further. But but, listen one thing that this thing has a solution and that is solving the problem. Maybe most of you enjoy solving a problem or maybe someone does not. So, here's the first thing you've to do when stuck in a specific problem:

1. Search for the specific problem on Google. Yes, Google it! Maybe you'll get the answer to that problem very quickly. Search for the specific problem and get the work done.

2. Ask colleagues or co-workers about the problem.

3. Break it down into smaller problems.

4. Go back to the documentation for your own code.

Process 2: Rubber Duck Debugging 🦆

Maybe most of the developers don't know about Rubber Duck Debugging. Basically, In software development, rubber duck debugging or (rubberducking) is a method of debugging code by articulating a problem in spoken or written natural language. The name is a reference to a story in the book named The Pragmatic manner in which programmers would carry around a rubber duck and debug their code by forcing themselves to explain it, line-by-line, to the duck.

Many other terms exist for this technique, often involving different (usually) inanimate objects, etc. Many programmers have had the experience of explaining a problem to someone else, possibly even to someone who knows nothing about programming and then hitting upon the solution in the process of explaining the problem. In describing what the code is supposed to do and observing what it actually does, any incongruity between these two becomes apparent.

Process 3: Check the documentation of the particular language. 👀

Alright, a great way of solving your problem is by looking at the documentation and solving the problem efficiently. Most of us, do not have the habit of looking at the documentation and solving that problem. But, this is a great thing as a developer reading documentation makes it very well to solve the specific problem. What you've to do is just go to the documentation and look at the specific section in which you're having a problem.

Let's say I'm working in React:

And I'm having a problem with Conditional Rendering:

You simply go to the Conditional Rendering Section and read out the section and understand what exactly has been given in that section. Once, you've understood what is given in the specific section then you should get back to coding and see if you're able to solve the problem.

Process 4: Discord Communities ⚡

Discord is just an amazing platform for developers like you and me. If you don't know about Discord it's a platform where you can text, and voice chat with others. And it is also suitable for communities. There are many discord communities for developers, designers, gamers, etc... I believe you'll find some servers related to your domain. As there are different servers for different domains there are also channels in the servers where you can ask questions. And you'll get a solution for your problem very quickly from most of the active supportive users of the servers.

Here are some great Discord Communities you must join as a developer:

1. Developer's Club: A club for developers where you can ask questions, chat, and talk about different topics.
2. Devcord: Learn how to become a web developer, make friends, and have a good time.
3. Python: A community focused on Python Programming Language.
4. The Coding Den: The Coding Den is a friendly community of coders focusing on helping new and experienced programmers alike.
5. Reactiflux: Come chat about tech related to React & JavaScript or ask for help!
6. Buildergroop: Buildergroop is where over two thousand ambitious young builders network, build, and grow together.

Process 5: Blogs 📜

It's an honor to mention blogs over here because those are the ones that are almost helpful for every developer out here. Thanks to hashnode, dev. to, medium, etc for providing this much value through blogs. Specifically, you search for what problem you are facing and you get a quick result for the question in the form of blogs, This is so helpful for developers to quickly check out the blogs and get back to the problem to solve it. Blogs make our work easier and faster. Some of the best blogs I've seen are:

1. Hashnode: The best blogging platform for developers.
2. Dev.to: DEV is a community of software developers getting together to help one another out. The software industry relies on collaboration and networked learning.
3. Hacker Noon: How hackers start their afternoon. Hacker Noon is one of the tech blogs to learn about coding, blockchain, and startups.
4. Medium: Medium is an open platform where readers find dynamic thinking, and where expert and undiscovered voices can share their writing on any topic.
5. freeCodeCamp: It is an organization that consists of an interactive learning web platform, an online community forum, chat rooms, online publications, and local organizations that intend to make learning development accessible to anyone.

Process 6: GitHub Discussions 💬

GitHub Discussions is a collaborative communication forum for the community around an open source or internal project. Discussions are for conversations that need to be transparent and accessible but do not need to be tracked on a project board and are not related to code, unlike GitHub Issues. Discussions enable fluid, open conversation in a public forum.

Discussions give a space for more collaborative conversations by connecting and giving a more centralized area to connect and find information. For example, I have a problem in NextJS about Uncaught Error: Hydration failed because the initial UI does not match what was rendered on the server. here's a GitHub discussion forum regarding the same: github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/35773

If you check out the discussion forum correctly there you can find many users are discussing this error and trying to solve it. And moreover, the best thing about this forum is the user can react to an answer with an emoji of his choice and another user can also react to it and the increase rate of the emoji increases and the specific person gets that answer highlighted in front of him and he can directly see the answer and solve their problem.

Process 7: Take a Step Outside to get some fresh air 🌫

Take a step outside and get some fresh air. It’s easy to start getting tunnel vision when staring at the same code for a long time. Getting that visual reset will help you think more clearly when you come back to your code. Getting out of your chair may prove difficult; maybe you should go for a walk, play something, or get some rest for a while.

Then once your mind is fully recharged and it's up-to-date, then it’s time to bring a new pair of eyes to come to take a look at your code and help you debug. Trust me this process actually helps most of the developers, as we're staring at the same code/screen it's kinda difficult to debug at some point, by taking some rest or getting some fresh air makes your mind fully recharged then maybe you should come back with a new pair of eyes and get yourself the problem solved.

Conclusion ✨

To conclude, there are various ways from which you will get your problem solved but here I've listed some of the great and useful communities from which I've experienced problem-solving helpful. Each one of them has different pros and cons. We don't have to choose only one of the options beforementioned. We can keep trying new ones till we succeed. I hope these tips are helpful for you and you solve your problems easier than before.

Happy Coding! ✨