Live data from Hacker News

I'm going back to writing code by hand

blog.k10s.dev

11–20 of 656 posts

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#12
AI writes what you ask it to write, you need to talk to it about architecture. You should have an architecture doc so AI can shape the code based on that, you can get the AI to make the architecture doc also. If using claude you can use the software architecture mode for this.

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#13
post #6

> I'm rewriting k10s in Rust. Not because Rust is better but, because it's the language I can steer. I've written enough of it to feel when something's wrong before I can articulate why. That instinct is the one thing vibe-coding can't replace. The AI hands you plausible-looking code. You need a nose for when it's garbage. Isn't Golang relatively easier to read than Rust? I was under the impression that Rust is a mor…

Go reads fine whether the architecture is good or bad, and I couldn't tell the difference until I was in trouble. Rust is harder to read but harder to misuse. The borrow checker would have caught that data race at compile time. I've also just written more Rust. That familiarity matters separately. +1 on Open 4.7 involving the user a lot more. Rn I'm trying to get to a state where I can codify my design + decision pre…

Gotcha, that implies you are going to read the code that the AI produces anyways.

> Go reads fine whether the architecture is good or bad

Were you reading the Golang code all along and got fooled or did you review it after it failed? Sorry I admit I didn't read the whole article.

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#14
post #7

Can't you just ask AI to break up large files into smaller ones and also explain how the code works so you can understand it, instead of start over from scratch?

That was actually the first thing I tried. It did a good jov at explaining the code base mess and the architecture. Then I ran 3-4 refactor attempts. Each one broke things in ways that were harder to debug than the original mess. The god object had so many implicit dependencies that pulling one thread unraveled something else. And each attempt burned through my daily Claude usage limit before the refactor was stable.

And I'm sure the rewrite is going to teach me a whole different set of lessons...

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#15
post #7

Can't you just ask AI to break up large files into smaller ones and also explain how the code works so you can understand it, instead of start over from scratch?

Rewrite following a new architecture plan could get finished pretty quickly, treating the original as a prototype.

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#18
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go reads fine whether the architecture is good or bad, and I couldn't tell the difference until I was in trouble. Rust is harder to read but harder to misuse. The borrow checker would have caught that data race at compile time. I've also just written more Rust. That familiarity matters separately. +1 on Open 4.7 involving the user a lot more. Rn I'm trying to get to a state where I can codify my design + decision pre…

Gotcha, that implies you are going to read the code that the AI produces anyways. > Go reads fine whether the architecture is good or bad Were you reading the Golang code all along and got fooled or did you review it after it failed? Sorry I admit I didn't read the whole article.

He was NOT reading the code: "For 7 months I'd been prompting and shipping without ever sitting down and actually reading the code Claude wrote."

Re: I'm going back to writing code by hand

#20
You don't need to go back to coding by hand if you know how to do it already. There is a middle ground.

If you understand good software architecture, architect it. Create a markdown document just as you would if you had a team of engineers working with you and would hand off to them. Be specific.

Let the AI do the implementation of your architecture.

Post reply on HN