Autocompletion can hurt your learning if you let it think for you

If you’re learning, relying too much on autocompletion will hold you back. It won’t automatically make you dumber, but it can easily stop you from building the skills you actually need.

As a learner, you should still run into errors, read error messages, and figure out what went wrong. You should think about the performance cost of your code. You should understand how things work underneath — enough to re-create the logic if needed. You should also think through edge cases so you can check the robustness of what you write. These experiences stack up and become your core abilities. More importantly, you learn how to think.

Use the tool as a tool. Don’t let it think on your behalf.

Extend 🌱

• Autocompletion is a powerful productive tool
• Autocompletion can enhance your learning