How should I retain code?

Question

I have been coding since around 2013 and I learn HTML and CSS and I take breaks like months of breaks at a time and I completely forget how to do it. Like I have to relearn the syntax and the codes and re remember/relearn them. It's not really remembering for me, I have to relearn it because it's difficult to get back into it and do it and understand it. I don't know why this is happening, it won't stop because this has been happening since my first break. So now I'm having to relearn HTML and CSS. I use to take practice quizzes online and get near 100s but now I retake the quizzes and get a low score. What is this and how can I fix it?

Answer 1

It happened to me even without taking months of breaks. When I first started learning C++ (keep aside the fact that I was not able to cope up with it's syntax and working), after completing the course here on SoloLearn, I thought I'd do something with the knowledge I gained. But when I sat down to do it, I found out that the basics were gone. In fact, I had to redo the whole course again. So the conclusion was that, if I had practised while learning, it would have been much better than completing the course and then sitting down to practice. I think yours was the same case.

Answer 2

If you have to relearn things, then you haven't understood them well in the first place.

I had quit programming for 8 months, both python & web development, yet I managed to remember things in less than one single hour for python, and about the same for html/css, just by reading old codes or reviwing basic syntax.

It's happening because when you first learnt things, you didn't give them enough time, and was just in a hurry to get better. You should make sure you understood everything well, before you move on to the next chapter.