Google is a developers best friend

A friend of mine who is learning to code sometimes asks me questions about coding or a problem he is currently having, whenever I do not know the answer I quickly pull out my computer and google it. I usually find it within the first or second search. One day he commented "Adim you are so much better at searching google than I am". Apparently he had been doing the searches but not getting the results I was getting. I thought about it for a bit and realized that searching for coding answers is something I take for granted, but I have honed this skill, refining it over a decade.

I saw this question and I realized that someone who is learning to code is still figuring out keywords in the language they are using, they are also figuring out the differences between the framework they are using and the language they are using as well as how Google interprets word combinations, like if it matters how you use the word "react" in a sentence when referring to "React Js" while searching Google.

A lot of seasoned developers do not mention googling as part of their coding process because it gives a sense that they do not have all the answers, but Google has become the most valuable tool I use when programming, besides giving answers to common problems I might face during a coding session, it gives me access to write-ups by developers smarter than I am, solving problems I did not even know existed. In software development Google gives us access to a collective mind of sorts. There is a culture of sharing in software development and great developers share what they know and the tools they make. This allows us stand on the shoulders of giants and build things that would normally take us a long time to figure out using language and framework manuals in a fraction of the time.

I have met developers that work hard to memorize stuff so they do not need to Google it again, because their idea of an expert programmer is someone who knows everything, sits at a computer and mashes keys for hours and develops kick ass software without any outside help, but that is not true.

So nowadays when someone asks me what are the few things they need to know to be a good programmer?. "Google is your friend" is usually among the top advice I have on my list.