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Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

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Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#51

Post by sgbeal »

Aachen wrote: post #32
sgbeal wrote: post #3

> These days I feel I am the only one that hasn’t changed their way of writing software at all. If you mean using a text editor, a shell, and a makefile, then you're not alone by any stretch of the imagination. If you mean your skills stagnated 10+ years ago and have not advanced since then, then... yeah, you might be the only one ;).

It's 2026. It hasn't been 10+ years

> It hasn't been 10+ years

:-?

My "10+ years" was not referring to any specific milestone. It was referring to the general flow of time. It's been 10 years since 2016, twenty since 2006, and more than 40 since writing my first program. Lots has changed every 10 years in that period, both in my skills and the environments i program in, but shell/emacs/makefile remains a staple of that process.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#53

Post by bthallplz »

I don't code much in my position (State of California), but I'm pretty sure the public sector/government is a solid bet. Government has a major reluctance to use (and depend) on techniques and tools that haven't been proven out for like 5+ years. I suspect that most government coders' practices aren't at a 2021 best practices level yet.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#54

Post by wing-_-nuts »

robin_reala wrote: post #20
lolakutty wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea, it is easier to use an LLM for search than using a conventional search engine. No one is going back to that if a non-malicious LLM is available at reasonable costs.

The real costs are externalised to society and the environment. I assume you weren’t including that in your “reasonable costs”.

They really just need to mandate that new datacenter construction uses closed loop cooling, and must provide an upfront investment sufficient to add enough carbon free energy to the grid to power it. That would, of course, make it much more expensive, but maybe it'd be enough to make investors consider whether lighting trillions of dollars on fire is really the best use of their money.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#55

Post by icedchai »

I'm pretending to drink the koolaid, faking interest in agentic coding while I figure out something else to do. It's okay for personal projects but professionally, I honestly hate reviewing slop, being sent 10+ page documents full of junk that nobody has read.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#56

Post by vermilingua »

csbrooks wrote: post #45
vermilingua wrote: post #19

I don't touch LLMs for any purpose (when I can help it, they are frequently shoved in your face regardless); and up until recently was doing just fine. I was fired for this stance, not for performance reasons (officially stated that there was no concern with my output), only for political reasons (insubordination, refusing to use LLMs to do my work for me). I have been seeing fewer and fewer job ads that ask for/requ…

Seems to me you at least have to try using them, so you can make a coherent case why you work just as well or better without them.

I believe that "have to" is a little strong, no? I think my case was made just as well by remaining one of the only people in my team able to critically analyse changes and plan complex work after three years of the rest of my company diving headlong into the vibe-pit.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#58

Post by dainiusse »

hebetude wrote: post #30

Interviews require you to code without any LLM help. 9/10 require this still. Once inside, I don’t think they write any code themselves.

I don't think this is true. The interviews I had were all impossible without AI given the time frame.

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#59

Post by timbaboon »

Having a weird experience with this at work. We are being told to use it, but the amount of flip flopping on whether or not we can use ChatGPT or Codex or anything else has left a lot of us without any clear direction. One day it’s allowed, the next day IT security guys have blocked it. Local models are also not allowed. I’m carrying on coding everything myself, because I can’t keep changing my workflow when IT changes their mind every second day. Despite this, the directive from the CIO is that by next year 70-80% of code must be AI generated. Last I checked only 2% of the company was actually given a license for codex. So idk man

Re: Ask HN: Anyone still coding like 2021? Where do you work?

#60

Post by tgv »

Yes, I do. I don't see an advantage to using LLMs in my main project. I do see dangers: losing the overview.

A colleague does use it extensively on another project, and it's near impossible to follow at some points, even though it's a small project. There's a lot of code duplication, that's for sure. And there was a complete lack of security, as the project started as a simple nodejs based demo, and then sprawled out. I fixed that the old fashioned way on the outside (sessions, auth, and a CRUD API).

I do use LLMs occasionally, for converting code (something they're really good at), and trying to find bugs, that kind of thing. It is really impressive, and it's fucking up education.

As the meme says: start eating healthy now, because your future doctor will have vibed his way through med school.

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