Post #4093230
2026-07-18 06:29 UTC
Yeah I think you’re right, when it comes to AI as a coding tool. I heard someone ask something like “where on the scale from flashlight to violin would you put LLM tools for coding”. By that, they meant, if you use a flashlight, and it doesn’t work, you’re pretty sure it’s not your lack of experience with the tool - the tool is just broken. But if you play a violin and it sounds like shit, it’s probably because you’re not versed enough to play it (or at the very least you don’t know if it’s you or the violin who’s at fault), assuming you don’t play the violin.
If one finds LLMs unhelpful for coding, is it them not knowing how to play it, or is the tool inherently broken? It’s very arrogant to believe one is so knowledgeable about a tool, one which is in constant development too, that it is not them who is using it wrong, but rather the tool that is wrong.
There’s a plethora of other areas of just criticism of the technology, but I think how useful it is for coding is not one of them.
Aside: your “manmade” line breaks make your comment harder to read on a phone. I guess it’s a hard habit to break, but I would suggest you try. Most places people type text to be read by other these days, one should account for vastly different resolutions and aspect ratios (e.g. vertical & horisontal monitors). Adding in line breaks where it looks good on your screen is like writing text for yourself to read. That’s my personal opinion at least
Replies (1)
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@MrSmith@lemmy.world 2026-07-18 07:23
The fact that you have to “prompt-engineer” means that the tool has a terrible interface. In your flaslight analogy, there’s an on/off button that doesn’t work. You have to flip the flashlight, tap it twice, check the batteries and flip it twice again. Then it turns on. The fact that LLM coding tools are basically micro-managing with a special twist “knowing how to prompt”, makes it a shit tool for a lot of people. And they are justified in thinking so. You can’t hone a skill you have little control over. It’s like a hammer that strikes a random are within a certain radius of a nail.