AI made coding more enjoyable
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AI made coding more enjoyable
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Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#2> AI made coding more enjoyable
...just not for users.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#3I feel the same way.
> That includes code outside of the happy path, like error handling and input validation. But also other typing exercises like processing an entity with 10 different types, where each type must be handled separately. Or propagating one property through the system on 5 different types in multiple layers.
With AI, I feel I'm less caught up in the minutia of programming and have more cognitive space for the fun parts: engineering systems, designing interfaces and improving parts of a codebase.
I don't mind this new world. I was never too attached to my ability to pump out boilerplate at a rapid pace. What I like is engineering and this new AI world allows me to explore new approaches and connect ideas faster than I've ever been able to before.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#4The way I like to think about it is to split work into two broad categories - creative work and toil. Creative work is the type of work we want to continue doing. Toil is the work we want to reduce.
edit - an interesting facet of AI progress is that the split between these two types of work gets more and more granular. It has led me to actively be aware of what I'm doing as I work, and to critically examine whether certain mechanics are inherently toilistic or creative. I realized that a LOT of what I do feels creative but isn't - the manner in which I type, the way I shape and format code. It's more in the manner of catharsis than creation.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#5I quite agree with this.
I’m working on library code in zig, and it’s very nice to have AI write the FFI interface with python. That’s not technically difficult or high risk, but it is tedious and boring.
Realistically having a helper to get me over slumps like that has been amazing for my personal productivity.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#6I feel the same way. > That includes code outside of the happy path, like error handling and input validation. But also other typing exercises like processing an entity with 10 different types, where each type must be handled separately. Or propagating one property through the system on 5 different types in multiple layers. With AI, I feel I'm less caught up in the minutia of programming and have more cognitive space…
Are you not concerned that this world is deeply tied to you having an internet connection to one of a couple companies' servers? They can jack up the price, cut you off, etc.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#7I feel the same way. > That includes code outside of the happy path, like error handling and input validation. But also other typing exercises like processing an entity with 10 different types, where each type must be handled separately. Or propagating one property through the system on 5 different types in multiple layers. With AI, I feel I'm less caught up in the minutia of programming and have more cognitive space…
Not going to last long though, at least not professionally. AI will do the spec and architecture too. The LLM will do the entire pipeline between customer or market research to deployment. This is already possible with bug fixes pretty much. And many features too depending on the business.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#8I love everything about coding. I love architecting a system, and I love tending all the little details. I love to look at the system as a whole or a block of code in isolation and find nothing I want to change, and take pride in all of it. I also love making products.
LLM-agents have made making products, especially small ones, a lot easier, but sacrifice much of the crafting of details and, if the project is small enough, the architecture. I've certainly enjoyed using them a lot over the last year and a half, but I've come to really miss fully wrapping my head around a problem, having intimate knowledge of the details of the system, and taking pride in every little detail.
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#9That's it? That post shouldn't be on HackerNews tbh...
Re: AI made coding more enjoyable
#10I used to share this sentiment but the more I used AI for programming, the less I enjoyed it. Even writing "boring" code (like tests or summaries) by hand increased my understanding of what I wrote and how it integrates into the rest of the codebase, which I think is fun.
Letting a robot write code for me, however tedious it would be to write manually, made me feel like I was working in someone else's codebase. It reminds me of launching a videogame and letting someone else play through the boring parts. I might as well not be playing. Why bother at all?
I understand this behaviour if you're working for a company on some miserable product, but not for personal projects.