How can you evaluate your coding skills in a new language?

When approaching the learning of a new programming language, I adopt a hands-on methodology. I rely on a set of well-known programs and algorithms that I am familiar with, incorporating essential language elements. Subsequently, I delve into the documentation, diligently working to implement these programs using the provided instructions. This approach not only ensures that I comprehend the language thoroughly but also allows me to grasp the intended usage as envisioned by the language developers.

In my experience there are a couple of ways to tell you are "proficient" in a language. - You can mostly get work done without looking up the syntax, but you still have a limited toolset and keep finding ways to improve what you have done before (beginner) - You've worked enough with the language to be able to recognize the patterns and make inferences whenever you come across something that you haven't used before (intermediate) - You have seen at least once some parts of the language that your "beginner self" couldn't even have imagined, usually dealing with specifics of how the language (or the framework) was implemented, to try to debug/fix issues that are difficult to understand (expert).

While learning anything, setting goals is very important. You should know what you are going to do with new found knowledge. But you should work on real life projects to hone your skills.

Evaluating your coding skills in a new language is an important step to gauge your proficiency and identify areas for improvement. Here are some effective ways to assess your coding skills in a new language: 1. Ensure you have a solid understanding of the language's syntax, data types, control structures, and basic concepts. 2. Familiarize yourself with the standard libraries and frameworks commonly used in that language. Keep up with the latest developments in the language. Remember that learning a new language is an ongoing process, and consistent practice and exposure are key to improving your coding skills. Regularly reassess your goals and adjust your learning strategies accordingly.

Set clear goals for building projects, passing exams, or improving at coding challenges. Track progress through completing courses, solving problems on platforms, building a portfolio, and receiving expert code reviews. Measure success through metrics like projects completed, certifications achieved, challenge scores increased, and qualitative feedback on code quality. Use these goals and metrics to get structured feedback and demonstrate coding skill improvements.

Using online tools is a very good way to evaluate your new skills as you don't want to spend time setting up the development environment, especially when you are new to it. (Emphasis on especially)

Tools that can help you explain the code are very helpful in the beginning. There are some pages where they provide scoring, feedback and improvement as well.

Leverage online code editors, IDEs, analyzers, linters, and code quality/performance tools which provide automated feedback on errors, warnings, style, readability, complexity, efficiency, and security. Use code review and collaboration tools to share your code and get feedback from others. Online tools provide objective, structured feedback you can use to benchmark coding skills and identify concrete improvement opportunities when learning a new language.

Practice regularly. Join some challenges online/offline. Stay updated with the latest developments, join communities and sometimes can also discuss with people

Read and analyze others' code, refactor your own code, explore new language features and libraries, and participate in coding events and challenges. These activities expose you to diverse scenarios which will expand your skills. Practice regularly, outside of project work, to become fluent and versatile in a language. An adaptive learning mindset and habit of continuous exposure to new coding paradigms is essential for improvement.

A participação e contribuição em projetos open-source também é um caminho para a prática, por introduzir o desenvolvedor em um cenário mais próximo ao real, exigindo a compreensão de código de outras pessoas, assim como a capacidade de desenvolver a linguagem aplicando boas práticas e realizando a sustentação e melhorias em códigos já existentes.

Leverage online forums, blogs, podcasts, communities, mentors, courses, certifications, and assessments related to the language to get diverse feedback. Connect with other coders using the language to exchange tips and code reviews. Feedback from varied sources exposes you to new perspectives, best practices, and constructive critiques. This will validate and enhance your skills in the language. Actively pursue online feedback channels to accelerate your learning.

Venturing into the realm of learning new programming languages proves to be an engaging experiment. However, challenges arise, particularly when exploring more obscure and less common languages with intricate syntax. Despite potential difficulties, I encourage perseverance, as navigating the complexities of these languages contributes significantly to enhancing overall programming skills. The process of mastering such languages fosters a deeper understanding and brings valuable insights to your programming proficiency.

Um ponto importante a ser considerado no aprendizado de novas linguagens de programação é a avaliação de paradigmas e a identificação dos elementos fundamentais de código. A compreensão da lógica de programação é necessária para facilitar o domínio de qualquer linguagem, através da tradução dos conceitos básicos e fundamentais da lógica em palavras reservadas e específicas de cada linguagem. Portanto, um bom primeiro passo é a avaliação das estruturas básicas, verificando o comportamento da linguagem estudada e também a sintaxe da mesma.