How to Ask ChatGPT 📱 as a Beginner Developer (and Not Get Burned)

🔤🔤 - Intro

When I was just starting to code, ChatGPT didn’t exist.
(Yes, I’m that old. Okay, maybe not that old, but you get the point.)

Back then, I had to google endlessly, dig through Stack Overflow threads from 2012, and cry over cryptic compiler errors that no one seemed to explain well. So when ChatGPT appeared, I was like - wow. This changes everything.

But here’s the catch: it also makes it dangerously easy to stop thinking. To just copy-paste code that looks right but isn’t. Especially if you’re just getting started.

That’s why I’m writing this mini-series - short, honest posts for beginners or junior devs on how to actually use ChatGPT to learn, not just survive.

If you’re new to coding, or even just feeling a bit lost - you’re not alone.
I’ll try to keep things short, real, and sometimes a little bit funny.

Stay tuned for Post 🔤🔤

Post 🔤🔤 - Always run the code

When ChatGPT first came out, I was amazed.
You could ask: “How do I sort a list?” - and 💥 it gives you code. Clean, confident, senior-style 😎

You copy it. Paste it. Move on.
But then you realize:
- it doesn’t compile 😵
- the method doesn’t exist 😵‍💫
- or worse - it kind of works, but not the way you want 🤨

As a beginner, it’s so easy to stop thinking and just trust the code. I’ve been there - that’s why I’m saying:
Always run the code.

📌 Run it in your IDE, in a Playground, or in an online sandbox. Make sure:
🟡 it compiles,
🟡 it behaves as expected,
🟡 and you roughly understand what it’s doing.

Want to level up faster?
Write a quick note to yourself: what did you just learn? Even a sentence helps.

🙃 ChatGPT is a great assistant, but it can make mistakes.
You’re not dumb - you just need to check the code.

So:
Trust, but verify. Run it. Watch it. Understand it.

Post 🔤🔤 - Don’t just ask “how”, ask “why”
When I work with Java, it’s all crystal clear: I know the ecosystem, I understand what’s going on under the hood, and any steps from ChatGPT or documentation feel like an open book 📖 But recently I started learning Swift and SwiftUI - and things got trickier.

Sure, you can just follow step-by-step instructions: copy, paste, run - done. But without knowing why it works, you risk falling into the “magic” trap. It’s fine today, but tomorrow the context changes, and the code breaks - and you have no clue where to start debugging.

That’s why I always try to dig deeper. If ChatGPT gives me an answer, I’ll ask: why is it like this? what if I do it differently? are there alternatives?

⚠️ One catch: this can take a lot of time. The tree of topics can grow wide and deep. You ask about one thing, and the explanation sparks more questions. Sometimes you start with a SwiftUI layout question and end up discussing CPU architecture 🤯 ChatGPT doesn’t always know when to stop, so sometimes it’s better to have a mentor who will say, “Enough, go write code.”

💡 My tip: when learning something new, switch between two modes - “just get it done” and “now understand why it works”. That way you get both results and lasting knowledge.