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I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

hexhowells.com

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31–40 of 79 posts

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#31

Post by syx »

pyman wrote: post #6

Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do. Kinda like how typewriters got replaced by computers in the 80s. Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write. Same thing's happening now with code. We waste so much time dealing with syntax, fi…

While I agree with all the previous comments, your comment sparked an idea in me. I started imagining a future where we develop a new programming language optimized for LLMs to write and understand. In this hypothetical scenario, we would still need developers to debug and review the code to ensure deterministic outputs. Maybe this isn't so far-fetched after all. Of course, this is just speculation and imagination on my part.

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#34

Post by drbojingle »

ctoth wrote: post #8

Let me share a problem I solved recently (well, a year ago god I'm getting old)! I had to write this template loader for my space sim... reference resolution, type mapping, and YAML parsing. This isn't the code I wanted to write. The code I wanted to write was behavior trees for AI traders, I'm playing with an idea where successful traders can combine behavior trees yada yada, fun side project. But before I could tou…

I'm 100% in the same boat. Bring on the brave new world and let me go higher

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#36

Post by raincole »

pyman wrote: post #6

Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do. Kinda like how typewriters got replaced by computers in the 80s. Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write. Same thing's happening now with code. We waste so much time dealing with syntax, fi…

> Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write.

Were you a published author in the 80s?

Because I highly doubt this was how writers in 80s thought of their job.

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#37

Post by rednafi »

I never found the act of coding something profound. LLMs are just tools, like sed, awk, or xargs, albeit with more range.

So no, I don’t miss the days of dealing with some douchebag on Stack Overflow or some neckbeard on a random subreddit telling me to pick up different career. They can now die in peace with their “hard-earned KnOwleDgE.”

Fiddling with directory structures or bike shedding over linter configs never felt artistic to me. It just felt like getting overly poetic about doing bullshit. LLMs and agents are amazing at doing these grunt work.

I get that some folks see the hand of God in their dotfiles or get high off Lisp’s homoiconicity, but most folks don’t relate to that. I just wanna do my build stuff and have fun with the results—not get romantic about the grind. I’m glad LLMs made all my man page knowledge useless if it means I can do more in less time and spend that time on things I actually enjoy.

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#38

Post by [deleted] »

pyman wrote: post #6

Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do. Kinda like how typewriters got replaced by computers in the 80s. Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write. Same thing's happening now with code. We waste so much time dealing with syntax, fi…

[deleted]

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#39

Post by dataviz1000 »

pyman wrote: post #6

Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do. Kinda like how typewriters got replaced by computers in the 80s. Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write. Same thing's happening now with code. We waste so much time dealing with syntax, fi…

Another good analogy is how calculators, people who performed mathematical calculations, were replaced by machines. Sure they were eventually put out of work, nonetheless, the mechanical and then electronic calculators eventually made entire industries so efficient it increased everyone's wealth and created new positions and jobs.

We will be fine.

Re: I want to be a Journey Programmer Again

#40

Post by suzzer99 »

pyman wrote: post #6

Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do. Kinda like how typewriters got replaced by computers in the 80s. Back then, people spent so much time making sure there were no typos, they'd lose focus on the actual story they were trying to write. Same thing's happening now with code. We waste so much time dealing with syntax, fi…

> Feels like we're heading towards a world where computer languages disappear, and we just use human language to tell machines what to do.

I agree, but it feels like we need a new type of L_X_M. Like an LBM (Large Behavior Model), which is trained on millions of different actions, user flows, displays, etc.

Converting token weights into text-based code designed to ease the cognitive load on humans seems wildly inefficient compared to converting tokens directly into UI actions and behaviors.

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