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The End of Coding

alexn.id.au

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Re: The End of Coding

#11

Post by jpea »

stelonix wrote: post #5
danso wrote: post #2

Call me skeptical. Virtually everyone who has spent more than a few years programming can attest that it has, at the very least, opened a new dimension of logical thinking and problem-solving that is not easily found in other fields. I think the challenge of creating an interface to this kind of thinking that is friendly to non-coders is difficult enough...but the idea that once these tools are made, they'll grok wha…

There are many ways to mitigate these issues. The one I like to believe will be the most used would be a entire new way of using computers. Just like Google uses complex algorithms in order to try to give you better search results, I see no reason why Excel can't try to "learn" your usage. I'm quite saddened that it's 2013 and few applications try to learn more about the user's usage patterns.

Build a system with what seems to be a good, logical set of usage assumptions and you will find that once it's out in the wild, you will get people trying all kinds of different ways of using your system. It defies your own logic, but humans aren't that logical (usually). Being too clever with your assumptions usually backfires.

Re: The End of Coding

#12

Post by CmonDev »

danso wrote: post #2

Call me skeptical. Virtually everyone who has spent more than a few years programming can attest that it has, at the very least, opened a new dimension of logical thinking and problem-solving that is not easily found in other fields. I think the challenge of creating an interface to this kind of thinking that is friendly to non-coders is difficult enough...but the idea that once these tools are made, they'll grok wha…

The Excel rule is simple: if you want an expression then start it with '='.

Re: The End of Coding

#13

Post by 300bps »

jtheory wrote: post #10

I feel like I've been reading this article every year, with some variation but the same yet-unrealized potential every time. I'm not an expert in "human" coding or AI, but I get the same vibe from both of them -- until you try it yourself, it seems pretty reasonable that someone will solve this problem fairly soon. And it has seemed that way for many years now. Simple CRUD apps can already be built with simple, frien…

You were able to read the website? All I see is:

Error establishing a database connection

Maybe the OP should hire a coder to fix his site?

Re: The End of Coding

#14

Post by tluyben2 »

300bps wrote: post #13
jtheory wrote: post #10

I feel like I've been reading this article every year, with some variation but the same yet-unrealized potential every time. I'm not an expert in "human" coding or AI, but I get the same vibe from both of them -- until you try it yourself, it seems pretty reasonable that someone will solve this problem fairly soon. And it has seemed that way for many years now. Simple CRUD apps can already be built with simple, frien…

You were able to read the website? All I see is: Error establishing a database connection Maybe the OP should hire a coder to fix his site?

Do as everyone does; keep reloading; you'll catch it :) Besides it being the reason the db is not responding.

Re: The End of Coding

#16

Post by mattdmrs »

> If you’re a programmer and this offends you, consider how much more value you could create if you didn’t spend half your time as a glorified PSD->HTML translator.

As the author states, the idea of abstracting away the complexity of creating user interfaces isn't new, but I think it's wrong to think we could one day create tools that lets you do that without having to write code and still keep all the flexibility of going sufficiently low-level. An application platform usually gives you low-level building blocks (e.g. Core Animation) and higher-level ones (e.g. UIControl and family). You can construct visual tools to manipulate the latter, but you can't do the same with the former, since they're much more than just position and parameters. Reducing this difference in complexity by blaming it on the tools is misguided IMHO.

There an inherent complexity in coding that isn't its weakness but rather it's advantage. You can't abstract away coding just like you can't abstract away human language or writing. Could you substitute an essay with a very detailed painting?

Re: The End of Coding

#17

Post by wslh »

In the short term it's more about automation/reduction of work than end of coding. For example, in the past I paid designers hundreds or few thousands for creating a new version of my web page, now I use Twitter Bootstrap or a theme and pay a few hundreds for customization.

Now, million of software developers are working on the same problems at the same time, they are asking the same question and following the same Q&A path in sites like SO. There is a lot of space for automation.

Regarding new tools for ending coding, nobody came up with a solution yet and there are a lot of smart people who are/were thinking about it. Surely it will be a breakthrough but it will work for solving domain specific problems. It's impossible to solve it for the "general coding problem".

Re: The End of Coding

#18

Post by alexnorth »

300bps wrote: post #13
jtheory wrote: post #10

I feel like I've been reading this article every year, with some variation but the same yet-unrealized potential every time. I'm not an expert in "human" coding or AI, but I get the same vibe from both of them -- until you try it yourself, it seems pretty reasonable that someone will solve this problem fairly soon. And it has seemed that way for many years now. Simple CRUD apps can already be built with simple, frien…

You were able to read the website? All I see is: Error establishing a database connection Maybe the OP should hire a coder to fix his site?

I'm on it. Meanwhile, cache is http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:qjCebmD...

Re: The End of Coding

#19

Post by stelonix »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #8
stelonix wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many ways to mitigate these issues. The one I like to believe will be the most used would be a entire new way of using computers. Just like Google uses complex algorithms in order to try to give you better search results, I see no reason why Excel can't try to "learn" your usage. I'm quite saddened that it's 2013 and few applications try to learn more about the user's usage patterns.

I guess the difference is that what google does is already somewhat fuzzy, when you search for something you're not necessarily even sure what you want the search engine to return. We also don't expect the results to necessarily be perfect which is why the search engine returns more than one result. On the other hand when you're trying to do some specific task you already know in most cases exactly what you want to h…

Well, that's the trade off I'm hoping people are willing to make. Just like we did it for search back when Google was new, for example: we had to learn how to use Google compared to whichever search engine we were using before. It's just like trying to learn a new application. I do believe unless the whole computing system/environment works in this new paradigm, the effort wouldn't have as much impact as I'm picturing in my mind.

Re: The End of Coding

#20

Post by riskable »

tfb wrote: post #9

I've been working on http://loggur.com for a (very) long time now to address exactly what the author describes. (Note: The home page is very outdated and vague; I'm planning on redoing it upon release; see my other comments about the details here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5811801 ) And I should point out that coding will never fully become unnecessary. Of course many of the repetitive parts of coding can…

Your site looks pretty good to me (and I just viewed it on my phone). Unless by "outdated" you mean, "it doesn't contain the most up-to-date information about our product(s)." In that case, well, I look forward to seeing it! Already added to my Google Calendar.

BTW: I know you're probably trying to collect emails of interested parties with your "get notified" form but you may wish to consider a direct "Add to Google Calendar" link or button. Here's an example of how to create such a link:

http://www.google.com/calendar/event?action=TEMPLATE&text=Lo...

If HN supported proper linking it wouldn't look so ugly :)

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