Senior Devs Google Too: Here Are 7 Things I Search All the Time
22 Oct 2025 #codingI just wanted to reply with a link to letmegooglethat.com. But that felt rude.
I had received a WhatsApp message late at night. It was a friend’s sister, a junior backend developer. She asked how to extract an IP address from a request in an old WebForms app.
Instead of the “let me Google that for you” answer, I replied saying it was part of the HttpContext object or something. “You’re better off Googling, I can’t remember,” I said.
As juniors, we think we are expected to memorize every single method, command, and option from the standard library, frameworks, and tools. That’s not true.
Unlike exams and interviews, when coding, you can use Google or ask ChatGPT.
Here are 7 things I always have to Google:
#0. Diffing two Git commits or branches. I Google this every time I want Copilot to review a code block.
#1. Undoing stuff with Git. How to undo a commit or unstage files. Is git undo a valid command?
#2. Formatting numbers. Is it myNumber.ToString("C") or with "F"? I can’t remember.
#3. Formatting dates. Even when I came up with my own mnemonics, I still have to look it up. How many f for milliseconds?
#4. Anything AutoMapper-related. Just this week, I Googled how to ignore properties again. When using AutoMapper, I often end up pulling up my own TIL posts or going down a rabbit hole in StackOverflow.
#5. Parsing numbers. Does a cast work? Is it ToDouble() or double.Parse?
#6. Anything about enums. How to list all enum members. How to parse from an int to an enum. How to print a member name. But since I’ve started using SmartEnum, I haven’t looked back to “normal” enums.
As a coder, Google is your friend. Learn to search, find your own answers, and ask for help when you’re stuck. Even with AI, these three are the most important skills for new coder.
That’s why I made those three the first strategies in my book, Street-Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding. That’s the practical guide I wish I had on my journey from junior to senior. Because coding isn’t about memorizing syntax. It’s about knowing where to look, and how to learn.