If you’re a developer, you’ve likely found the importance of being able to effectively use Google to find answers to your coding questions and investigate issues. This is an invaluable skill that can save you valuable time. Here are some effective tips on how to use Google to find what you’re looking for quickly and easily.
Use the Right Search Terms
When searching for coding information in Google, it's important to use specific keywords to narrow down your search. General search terms like "programming" won’t be very helpful — you need to be more specific. Think about the answer you’re looking for, the language you’re using (Java, JavaScript, C#, etc), and the specific feature or problem you’re trying to solve. Put those into a query and you’re much more likely to find a response that’s relevant to what you’re looking for.
Use Advanced Search Filters
Google has a great feature that allows you to further refine your query results. Using Advanced Search, you can set up filters like language and region, file type, and even the web domain of the site you want the results from. This helps to narrow down the results and provide more on-target results.
Utilize Operators
Using operators in your search can help to filter irrelevant results. For example, if you want to search for a PHP function that’s similar to the one in Java, you could use the minus sign (–) to filter out results that are not related to PHP. You could also look for a specific file type or word in the title of a webpage using the keyword command “intitle:”.
Use Developer Forums
Although regular web searches are important, there are many development-specific forums either dedicated to various coding languages, or for web developers in general. Taking the time to explore these forums can reveal a wealth of information and troubleshooting tips that you may not have otherwise heard of.
Take Advantage of Docs and Tutorials
Most browsers, operating systems, and development languages have documents and tutorials available for developers. These documents are invaluable because, in addition to teaching code, most of them are full of examples and best practices. Therefore, they can provide the help you need while also teaching you vital development techniques.
By utilizing tools like Advanced Search, operators, forums, and official tutorials and documents, you’ll be helping to ensure that you get the most useful, relevant answers to your queries. And that can, in turn, save you a lot of time and frustration.