Learning Java and logic using debugger. Did I cheat? [closed]

Question

After a break from coding in general, my way of thinking logically faded (as if it was there to begin with...). I'm no master programmer. Intermediate at best. I decided to see if i can write an algorithm to print out the fibonacci sequence in Java. I got really frustrated because it was something so simple, and used the debugger to see what was going on with my variables. solved it in less than a minute with the help of the debugger.

Is this cheating?

When I read code either from a book or someone else's, I now find that it takes me a little more time to understand. If the alghorithm is complex (to me) i end up writing notes as to whats going on in the loop. A primitive debugger if you will.

When you other programmers read code, do you also need to write things down as to whats the code doing? Or are you a genius and and just retain it?

Answer 1

No, it's not cheating.

I think that if your sense of programming "logic" has faded a bit, then the absolute, best, 100% way to refresh or even learn this is to watch code in the debugger.

This is such a cool idea that if I ever teach a beginning programming class again, I should have a computer right there running code in the debugger so that the students can watch what happens.

In answer to your second question, if I really had to worry about what the code was doing, then I'd start writing things down. However, if I'm looking at code by navigating around in Eclipse, then I rarely have to write things down because the history of where I just was is readily available. However, if that history were not written down by the computer, I would absolutely be furiously scribbling on a pad as I navigated around the code.