Patching is not Programming

One of the best skills to have in software development is the ability to jump into some code, find, and then fix an error it is having.

Every software needs bug fixing, being able to do it quickly and reliably is a great skill.

But ...

Programming is not bug fixing. They are complete different. You can, of course, just toss in some code from StackOverflow, then bug fix it until it seems to be doing what it needs to do. That is a common strategy. But it is not programming.

In programming, you go the other way. You take the knowledge you understand, and you carefully lay out the mechanics to make that reality a thing. What is important is how you have laid out the code in an organized manner with an expectation for all of it’s possible behaviours.

Then later you bug fix it.