The One Thing No Developer Does That'll Position Them As An Expert and Triple the Quality of Their Code

Read the documentation.

That's it.

It's as simple as that.

Let's look at an example: do you know what the `===` operator in JavaScript does? It's a widespread rule to use it in favor of the `==` operator, but did anybody ever tell you why? I'm guessing they didn't; they had also merely adopted the rule without contemplating its reasons.

But guess what: you can take a look at the JavaScript docs. If you read the article and tell somebody that, if the compared types match, the `==` operator behaves exactly like (in fact, even defers to) the `===` operator, they'll deem you a total JS wizard.

While this is a nerdy example, nobody reads the docs on Vue, React, or Node.js, either.

Instead, they learn from courses, YouTube videos, or colleagues. That's fine at first, but course creators are trying not to go into too much detail (so as not to overwhelm the student), YouTube creators try to keep their videos below 7 minutes, and most colleagues learn from the same resources.

If you read the docs, however...

• you'll learn the particulars
• you'll write better code, code as the library authors intended it
• you'll educate your coworkers and build your reputation
• and you'll eradicate an entire class of bugs that stem from incorrect library usage.

By reading the docs, I mean not just skipping to the section on the one function you're using. Read it like a book, and take notes.

It's boring, I know, and it will take a while (I'm still working my way through the PostgreSQL docs).

But it's the only way to understand a topic thoroughly.