Ask HN: Does it still make sense to write code by hand?

It's like any other tool. Use it when you need it.

We don't insist that HVAC installers use hand-powered drills to "feel closer to the work," but we also don't insist that they use battery-powered drills and impact drivers on every single task.

We don't insist that a chef use a Vitamix blender to chop a single onion when a couple seconds with a sharp knife will do, but we certainly wouldn't only use a sharp knife to create a salsa.

We don't insist that a carpenter use only hand-saws to build a house, but we also don't insist that they use a chainsaw to make a chair.

We don't insist that an accountant write out taxes by hand, but we also don't insist that they use a calculator to determine how old you are from your birthdate.

You use the power tools when appropriate, and you use more delicate, surgical tools when appropriate. It's not any more difficult than that.

> prompting very small tasks after you have made the initial design, something along the lines of "Create a database migration that adds column [x], not null", "add a field to the this form that will accept string value, validate it on the backend against this format, and save it to column [x]". So basically, writing code in plain English.

Are you presenting this as the option that allows you to have better understanding (smaller tasks, closer to the changes), or the option with which you don't have understanding (because you're still getting assistance, not solving every problem on your own and not typing the code out yourself)? I genuinely can't tell from your post, people can and do take both of these positions.

> I will lose the ability to think about code and understand code

If you lose it (whatever "it" is), it's because you don't use it. If you don't use it but you're still getting your job done, is that really a loss?

Maybe not the ones created for humans, but high level languages, probably. More abstract languages ("high level" basically means more abstraction away from the underlying machine, with "low level" being closer to the machine) allow for compression relative to unabstracted languages.

In the context of coding on your own terms, I think it makes sense to still code to help learn and reenforce understanding. There are a lot of times I read something or see code, I think I get it, but it’s not until implementing it, and making changes to that implementation, that I actually understand it.

There is also a question of enjoyment. While you enjoy it, and while you’re learning, write it yourself. If you’ve already done something many times, understand it well, and it’s become tedious in a bad way, maybe that’s where some strategic use of AI comes in. Of course, I tend to like a bit of tedium from time to time.

Its rare for me now. Most by-hand stuff I do is setting up initial repositories and folders for the base structure I want, copying logos, assets, images, content, and then I tell AI to finish the rest for example.

Configuring secrets for CICD, .env files, hosting configurations/backups.

Writing instructions files, specs, copy/pasting context, requirements, examples.

I see the argument here constantly "But ur skills!". OK. Well back to work actually shipping software using this new tool that is never going away. My client doesn't really care about my skills, just my speed and they have money for me.