These posts are so exhausting and telling of those who never enjoyed programming in the first place. Wish these were a wake up call to those posting that they’ve been in it for reasons they haven’t been able to understand till now.
Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
21–30 of 142 posts
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#22>> Recently, I realized I no longer enjoy programming. It feels like I’m just going through the pain of explaining to the LLM what I want, then sitting and waiting for it to finish.
This isn't programming. Delete the AI stuff and start programming again. It's fine to use LLM's if you want but nobody is forcing you to.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#23Seems like you have given the part you enjoy in software development to LLM.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#24Have you considered not doing that? It's not obligatory to have an LLM shit out unreviewed code for you, you're making a choice to do that, and you can make a choice not to.
Review the code. Hell, maybe even write some code yourself.
What you're describing is how I feel whenever I use an LLM for anything more than the most basic of tasks. I've gone from being a senior level software developer to managing a barely competent junior developer who's only redeeming skill is the ability to type really, really quickly. I quit the management track some time ago because I hated doing all my software development via the medium of design documents which would then be badly implemented by people who didn't care, there's no way you're going to get me to volunteer for that.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#25> At this point, I’ve even stopped reviewing the exact code changes. I just keep pushing forward until the task is done.
This is definitely going to end well.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#26I've always found it a bit strange that people enjoy the act of coding so much that LLMs make then sad. For me it's always been about what I can make, not the actual typing of code into the editor. With LLMs I can make better stuff, faster, and it's really exciting. It used to be that if I needed to use a new library for one little task, it would be hours or days of reading the manual and playing around. Now it's min…
> I've always found it a bit strange that people enjoy the act of coding so much that LLMs make then sad.
Why do you find this strange? It's like saying you find it strange that a carpenter enjoys working with wood, that it's only about the end product and not the process.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#27> At this point, I’ve even stopped reviewing the exact code changes. I just keep pushing forward until the task is done. How is this the future of software engineering?
Because capitalism
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#28Technology is about efficiency, and for people to adopt it you need to be 10x more efficient. LLMs took a 15 years process of burning out, and shortened it to 1.5 years.
That is a hilarious and depressing perspective!
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#29I think that's just the way you're doing it? I feel the opposite. I appreciate the ability to iterate and prototype in a way which lowers friction. Sure I have to plan steps out ahead of time, but that's expected with any kind of software architecture. The stimulating part is the design and thought and learning, not digging the ditch. If you're just firing off prompts all day with no design/input, yea I'm sure that s…
As the saying goes, mathematics is not a spectator sport. The same applies to programming. If you don't do the lower level work, you are a spectator that is rearranging other people's laundered code, or even their laundered architectures.
Re: Tell HN: I Lost Joy of Programming
#30I always enjoyed problem solving, and programming was more of a means to that end for me. These days, focusing on syntax feels a bit tedious, especially when LLMs can handle so much of it. That being said, I still find myself obsessing over code quality, reading and reviewing code, and thinking a lot about architecture and best practices. I still get a lot of satisfaction from building things well, even if the actual…
in this world of LLM coding, we jumped to architect level
Many of us will make that shift effectively, sure. I think the problem is that to really be a good architect, you need 10+ years of actually doing things to understand what should/should not be built, and the industry is rapidly removing the jobs that let people acquire that experience.