Question

How can I improve my programming skills

Answer 1

Read programming books and try to make program as much as you can.

Answer 2

Efficiency - This comes mainly with practice and studying a particular language. The more you code in a language, the faster you get because you get used to the functions, framework, configurations, IDE etc. This happens naturally. I've often worked with programmers who have just 1 or 2 years of work experience but code quite fast. In hindsight, I was that sort of programmer in my early years. I thought everything is possible and as long as it's possible I could quickly write code and make it work.Pragmaticalness - This is the most important aspect of programming skill. This aspect depends on how good your thought process is. If you have to write code for a feature, do you just open a text editor and start coding away like a champ, or do you think and plan. The programmer who does the latter is usually the better programmer. To improve approach and thought process, you should learn how the masters do it. I recommend reading a few books mainly "The Pragmatic Programmer". This book is all about programming wisdom. Being pragmatic means you do think ahead, plan well and identify the major flaws in your logic and refine your algorithm to a point where you are convinced there's no major loophole in your approach.