Learning to Copy and Paste

“A good artist creates, a great artist steals.” There are code examples for you to copy and paste into your project. The content of this book and all downloadable content are no different. This means that you’ll have to understand what the code is doing to interpret it to fit your needs.
Every programmer does this habitually.
It is important to learn how to do this since it is something that you actually need to do in many cases not only to learn but also to get any unfamiliar task done. Programming is a constant learning process. It is a language to command computers.
Anytime you learn a new language, there will be plenty of words which you’ll have to look up.
Add to this the fact that every programmer gets to make up new words, and you’ve got a language that you’ll always need a dictionary for.

When some code is shown, you’ll be expected to copy that code into your project. With your fingers ready on the keyboard, you’ll want to get in the habit of typing.
There is a reason why programmers are usually fast typists. This is also cause for programmers to be picky about what keyboard they prefer. In most cases, the projects in this book will be in some state where you can read text that is already in place.

Most of the projects are in a more complete state, where you’ll be able to run them and see an intended result. As a programmer I’ve gotten used to searching the Internet for example code.
Once I’ve discovered something that looks useful, I copy that code and paste it into a simple test case. After I’ve wrapped my head around what the code is doing, I rewrite it in a form that is more suited for my specific case.
Even if the code involves some fun trick, I’ll learn from that code.
As I learn new tricks, I grow as a programmer. The only way to learn new tricks is to find the necessity to solve a new problem for which I haven’t already figured out a solution. Finding solutions to problems is a fundamental part of being a programmer.