During my engineer career I’ve been learned kinds of programming languages, including C language, Java, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, M68K Assembly, Visual Basic and so on. That means I gotta start a new thing from a scratch very often. So I develop a ‘system’ so that I can feel comfortable to start a brand new area.
The system includes 3 items: a whole picture, the common point, and a consultant !
a whole picture
Less unknown, less panic!
When I’m going to visit a new place, I check Google Map and even street view so that I can have a whole picture of the place. Doing that always makes me comfortable before my trip.
When I start a new language, I like to Google it and check Wiki first, and to study the introduction, overview and even the history of it. Doing that makes me comfortable and let me step forward without panic.
the common point
As the article I mentioned about program languages, I talked about the Logic of a language is what it truly matters.
If you’re good at one language, it’ll be easy to find the common point and utilize the thing you’ve already known to bring you to a new world sooner.
a consultant
Once you get a whole picture and find the common, you gotta go further and deeper. You start to encounter kinds of problems. A consultant here is NOT a real person. It’s a textbook, we call ‘A Bible’, means big, fat textbook that includes everything, every details so that you can get the information you want from it to solve the problem.
In a word, I usually buy 2 books in different sizes in the beginning. One is a small book with basic concepts, overviews and examples, which provides me with a whole picture, and release my anxiety. The other one is a big book which includes the information as much detailed as it can, so that I can check it as a consultant to solve the complicated problems I encounter.
Please Enjoy the ‘system’! Good Luck !