Readit NewsBut we have plenty of tools that helps us understanding code. Things like inspectors (UI,network,..), tracing (including the old printf), debuggers (stack frame for function calls and variable values), grep (for context and overview) and static analysers.
I see people going all in with LLMs and forgetting that those even exists. It's hard to take such people seriously.
Strong agree! For example, we at Val Town just invested very heavily in getting a good ol' fashioned language server to work in our product to power hover-overs and type information in our web editor. That'll likely be our next company blog post...
Is the argument that it's better to start from an empty code editor than having AI create a working first version?
I've found it faster to have AI write the code, revise with instructions as necessary, and delve into the code itself if I need to.
The argument is that if you intent to maintain the code you should keep the AI on a very tight leash, and at least understand the architecture of the code, if not every line.
> and throwaway projects
I have seldom encountered these.
What I encounter, instead, are lashups that the engineering team thought would be throwaway, but which Management made "Final Ship" code.
I have learned to always do "ship-shape" code; even for the most innocuous projects. I may be a bit sloppy as I'm exploring different paths, but the minute I decide on a firm plan, the code cleanup and documentation starts.
Vibe coding is allowing everyone (including me!) to make way more apps in my personal life that are very throwaway. I think some folks are doing this in business contexts too. But this is a real game-changer for non-technical folks
This is really clear and well argued. I particularly enjoyed this line:
> If you don't understand the code, your only recourse is to ask AI to fix it for you, which is like paying off credit card debt with another credit card.
Thanks Simon!!
If you ship, and charge money for it, you are responsible for maintaining it. Can’t treat it as throwaway, even if you meant it as such.