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AI coding

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Re: AI coding

#291

Post by euclidinspace »

inimino wrote: post #284
dsiegel2275 wrote: post #148

So I have all kinds of problems with this post. First, the assertion that the best model of "AI coding" is that it is a compiler. Compilers deterministically map a formal language to another under a spec. LLM coding tools are search-based program synthesizers that retrieve, generate, and iteratively edit code under constraints (tests/types/linters/CI). That’s why they can fix issues end-to-end on real repos (e.g., SW…

People knock "English as a programming language", but in my opinion this is the whole value of AI programming: by the time you've expressed your design and constraints well enough that an LLM can understand it, then anyone can understand it, and you end up with a codebase that's way more maintainable than what we're used to. The problem of course is when people throw away the prompt and keep the code, like the code i…

I don't think that a prompt can be a valuable object, similar to how code used to be. Unless Mira Murati is successful at scaling her approach to deterministic inference, a prompt is fragile and transient. And even if she is successful, LLM updates make a prompt much less useful over longer time horizons.

I think that the only useful objects to keep right now are DSPy programs together with well-crafted examples, with examples being the most valuable because they are transferable across models and architectures.

I also noticed several people in the thread comparing coding assistants to junior programmers. I disagree. The only parallel is that they will do what you tell them to. Otherwise, a coding assistant can hold an entire codebase in context, reason across patterns, and generate boilerplate faster than any human. That capability has no human analogue. And unlike a junior, they have no agency, so the comparison breaks down on multiple fronts.

Re: AI coding

#292

Post by hereme888 »

Sammi wrote: post #289
hereme888 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

App-store listing is a whole other animal. I don't care to go through all that just to share my app. I also don't care to resolve every technical issue others experience. Every time I've thought about generating revenue by selling my apps, two thoughts come to mind: my code is not professional-grade, and the field is so competitive than within months a professional will likely create a better app so why pollute the w…

Sounds like were getting at something in the conversation. For the professional developer generative ai is another tool, making us maybe a bit more capable than before. For the amateur it is a breakthrough enabling amateurs to tackle things that are wildly more ambitious than what they could before. But it's still amateur just-good–enough–for-personal-use software. Productising software is still 90% of the work of pr…

I like that take, and confirms I shouldn't yet spend my time trying to sell what I make.

Re: AI coding

#293

Post by neta1337 »

johnnyyyy wrote: post #278
georgehotz wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Author here. I agree with this comment, but if I wrote more like this my blog post would get less traction. "LLM coding tools are search-based program synthesizers," in my mind this is what compilers are. I think most compilers do far too little search and opt for heuristics instead, often because they don't have an integrated runtime environment, but it's the same idea. "Plenty of effective engineering tools are sto…

In your blog post: “Most people do not care to find the truth, they care about what pumps their bags” in your HN comment: “I agree with this comment, but if I wrote more like this my blog post would get less traction.” Seems like you also not care about the truth.

He cares for the truth by making it accessible to more people.

Re: AI coding

#294

Post by faangguyindia »

h4ch1 wrote: post #276
8cvor6j844qw_d6 wrote: post #118

Just started using Claude Code recently. It seems to speed up feature development but requires one to have a good understanding of the codebase to guide it and be aware of edge cases it missed. Also, it doesn't seem to be able to take advantage of latest information or new SDK features unless deliberately informed. Not sure if I'm doing it right, but I resorted to feeding it documentation when it can't seem to someth…

Dunno how it'll work with Claude Code, but I use the context7 MCP to feed up-to-date docs in copilot. Sometimes that also doesn't work so I make a guiding document using whatever llms.txt the framework/language/platform offers or just wget the entire documentation, condense it into a single text file and use that while prompting. Seems to work ok, especially for Svelte 5 where most LLMs except Gemini don't give me ru…

>Dunno how it'll work with Claude Code, but I use the context7 MCP to feed up-to-date docs in copilot.

No wonder you've no idea about current capability of LLM based coding, copilot is far behind competition.

Re: AI coding

#295

Post by faangguyindia »

h4ch1 wrote: post #275
faangguyindia wrote: post #56

AI coding is working really good for us. My teammate shared 3 phase workflow we are using on our team to deliver project at rapid phase. It's shared on ClaudeCode subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeCode/s/iy058fH4sZ I've been using it for months with great success

This is just basic spec based development, don't see what's so interesting about this. People have been using this method for quite a while, even Kiro now uses this for its entire process.

>People have been using this method for quite a while, even Kiro now uses this for its entire process.

Kiro is terrible at this (I assume it's your product), maybe stop shilling it every now and then

Re: AI coding

#296

Post by mihaic »

armitron wrote: post #282
mihaic wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you've seen plenty of people that didn't do what he did? Yes, because I've seen them build software that was actually used. And I've seen a few that did just like him, impressive sounding projects that had no usage. I understand it's something subjective. I get the same feeling when looking at Damien Hirst's monstrouly expensive stuff that leaves me cold. Even after I get the concepts behind the works, my end feeli…

Your calibration around skill gradients but also cause and effect is so far off that I'm wondering how you manage to navigate reality.

You have absolutely no idea about me or my life, but chose to insult me based on not being impressed by some github profile.

Why did you feel the need to say that?

Re: AI coding

#297

Post by redixhumayun »

bbatchelder wrote: post #245
bdcravens wrote: post #25

I'm almost 50, and have been writing code professionally since the late 90s. I can pretty much see projects in my head, and know exactly what to build. I also get paid pretty well for what I do. You'd think I'd be the prototype for anti-AI. I'm not. I can build anything, but often struggle with getting bogged down with all the basic work. I love AI for speed running through all the boring stuff and getting to the goo…

I'm just slightly younger than you, but have the exact same sentiment. Hell, even moreso maybe, because what I realized is that "writing code to implement interesting ideas" is not really what I enjoy - it's coming up with the interesting ideas and experimenting with them. I couldn't care less about writing the code - and I only did it because I had to...if I wanted to see my idea come to life. AI has also been a rea…

> AI has also been a really good brainstorming partner - especially if you prompt it to disable sycophancy.

Can you share more about how you are prompting to disable sycophancy?

Re: AI coding

#298

Post by drumdance »

IMO the value of AI coding is less about what we're seeing now and more about what will happen once anyone can program their phone, watch or smart speaker just by feeding it a prompt.

Re: AI coding

#299

Post by platevoltage »

lubujackson wrote: post #258
platevoltage wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree. Having AI write your entire application is equivalent to having it write a song for your band, or even generate audio so you don't have to do record it yourself. If you aren't talented enough to write or record your own music, you aren't really a musician. If you have a quick question about music theory and you want a quick answer, AI can be a benefit.

Yeah, I don't buy this. Creating art is in no way equivalent to making logic to perform a task.

There is more to building software than "making logic to perform a task".
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