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Good News is, logical thinking skills can be taught, learned, and improved over time. This means that if you want to enhance your problem-solving skills in programming, you're in luck—you can definitely achieve it! at the end of this article, you are required to solve the problem mentioned below and that can define you level of logical thinking. Anyway, read these 10 ways to improve your logical thinking skills while learning to code as well. 

1. Write Lots of Code

The best way to get better at programming and logical thinking is by writing lots of code. There's no magic wand that can make you a better developer overnight. It takes time, effort, and hard work.

Example: Build a simple calculator app. Start with basic operations (addition, subtraction) and gradually add more features (multiplication, division, handling errors like division by zero).

2. Read Code

After writing code, the next best thing is reading code. By seeing how others have implemented certain features or solved specific problems, you can learn new approaches and patterns.

Example: Explore open-source projects on GitHub. For instance, study the implementation of the Flask web framework to understand how routing and request handling are managed.

3. Learn Data Structures and Algorithms

Programming is all about data structures and algorithms. These are fundamental to any programming language. Practice using them in your applications. Start with common structures like searching, sorting, binary trees, and lists.

Example: Implement a binary search algorithm for a sorted list of numbers. Compare its efficiency with a linear search.

4. Break Down Problems

When faced with a problem, always try to break it down into smaller, manageable chunks. This approach, known as "divide and conquer," makes solving each part easier and builds your confidence.

Example: When developing a to-do list app, break it down into features like adding tasks, editing tasks, deleting tasks, and marking tasks as complete. Implement each feature step-by-step.

5. Consider Negative Scenarios

Think about all possible negative scenarios. For instance, when building a login screen, consider what happens if a user enters an incorrect email address, a lengthy one, or leaves it blank. This mindset will make your applications more robust and less buggy.

Example: Implement form validation for a registration form. Ensure it handles edge cases like empty fields, invalid email formats, and weak passwords.

6. Be Confident and Fearless

Confidence and fearlessness enable you to think outside the box and be creative. When you encounter a problem, tell yourself you can solve it, then analyze it properly by identifying the input, the expected output, and breaking it down into smaller steps.

Example: Tackle a challenging project like creating a basic version of a social media platform. Start with user authentication, then move on to user profiles, posts, and comments.

7. Embrace Mistakes

Mistakes are a natural part of learning. If you run into errors, you'll understand why they occurred and how to fix them. Don't fear making mistakes; instead, learn from them.

Example: During development, you might encounter a bug where a function returns incorrect results. Debug it by adding print statements to trace the values and understand where it goes wrong.

8. Seek Help from Peers

Don't hesitate to reach out for help from peers, seniors, or team members. Ask for guidance or have them review your logical thinking. Their experience can provide valuable insights.

Example: During a code review, ask a senior developer to review your implementation of a new feature. Discuss their feedback and understand how to improve your approach.

9. Stay Positive on Bad Days

Everyone has bad days. When things aren't going well, try to stay positive and motivated. Remember why you're doing what you're doing, whether it's for family, financial goals, or personal achievements.

Example: If you're stuck on a problem for hours, take a short break, clear your mind, and then come back to it with a fresh perspective.

10. Take on Complex Tasks

Always commit to taking on the most complex tasks available. This will publicly commit you to solving them and provide opportunities for growth and learning. Although challenging, the rewards are immense.

Example: Volunteer to implement a critical feature like payment processing in an e-commerce application. This task will push you to learn about security, data handling, and user experience.


Coding Challenge: Find the First Non-Repeated Character

Problem Statement: Write a function that takes a string as input and returns the first character that does not repeat. If all characters repeat, return a message indicating that.


Function Signature:

def first_non_repeated_character(s: str) -> str:
Example: 
# Example 1
input: "swiss"
output: "w"

# Example 2
input: "programming"
output: "p"

# Example 3
input: "aabbcc"
output: "No non-repeated character found."
Constraints: 
  1. The input string will contain only lowercase letters and no spaces. 
  2. The input string length will be between 1 and 100 characters.

Solution of Coding Challenge is here
Solution Code:
def first_non_repeated_character(s: str) -> str:
    # Create a dictionary to store character counts
    char_count = {}

    # Count the occurrences of each character in the string
    for char in s:
        if char in char_count:
            char_count[char] += 1
        else:
            char_count[char] = 1

    # Find the first character that has a count of 1
    for char in s:
        if char_count[char] == 1:
            return char

    return "No non-repeated character found."

# Example usage:
print(first_non_repeated_character("swiss"))         # Output: "w"
print(first_non_repeated_character("programming"))   # Output: "p"
print(first_non_repeated_character("aabbcc"))        # Output: "No non-repeated character found."
Explanation:
Counting Characters: The function uses a dictionary to count the occurrences of each character in the input string. 
Finding the First Non-Repeated Character: The function then iterates through the string a second time to find the first character with a count of 1. Returning the Result: If such a character is found, it is returned. Otherwise, a message indicating that no non-repeated character is found is returned.

Test Cases

assert first_non_repeated_character("swiss") == "w"
assert first_non_repeated_character("programming") == "p"
assert first_non_repeated_character("aabbcc") == "No non-repeated character found."
assert first_non_repeated_character("a") == "a"
assert first_non_repeated_character("abacabad") == "c"
assert first_non_repeated_character("abcdef") == "a"

By solving this challenge, a programmer can demonstrate their ability to: 

  1. Use data structures effectively (dictionaries in this case). 
  2. Iterate through data efficiently. 
  3. Apply logical thinking to solve a common problem.