3 ms·

Because soon you will just ask your computer to build your code after giving it a few parameters. Then you will proof read and sanity check the code and spend m

Because soon you will just ask your computer to build your code after giving it a few parameters. Then you will proof read and sanity check the code and spend more time optimizing and working on the really hard problems.

wellpast 8y ago
This still hardly seems obvious.
Retra 8y ago
How soon? I don't know of any software I've written for which that could be done. The first program I ever wrote was an implementation of Tic-Tac-Toe, and I can't imagine a set of parameters to produce that which aren't specifically for making games of that nature while also being easier to select than writing the code myself. I'd bet such a system is impossible in general, and that that should be the obvious conclusion. Now, machine learning to find bugs or adjust variables... yeah. I can see that.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
xamuel 8y ago
Assuming you could concretely nail down all the vague terms you just used, I'd be willing to bet real money we won't have anything remotely like that within the next 10 years :)
- err4nt 8y ago
  I think a lot of people who suggest things like this use the image of a computer writing code, or generating code in a programming language that didn't exist, when I think in reality what's more likely to be implemented is something more like Automator for Mac OS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z56PBanBSx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z56PBanBSx4 In Automator, pre-made blocks of code that do different things (filesystem manipulation, data transformations, application control, machine control) can be assembled into a workflow, and configured with options. It is possible that something like that could be given a speech-based UI (rather than keyboard and mouse) and the result is that pre-existing code is assembled and configured. That's a lot more realistic.
rileymat2 8y ago
Right now source control applications don’t even detect simple merge conflicts based on meaning. For example if I remove a global variable from a source file and another branch adds another reference to it, if it does not occur on the same line git will happily merge the file with no conflict.
boomlinde 8y ago
That is already how you program Prolog, no proof reading or machine learning required. I also think that specifying the problem is one of the harder aspects of software development. On the contrary, I think machine learning might be more immediately useful for things like low-level optimization.

wellpast 8y ago

This still hardly seems obvious.

Retra 8y ago

How soon? I don't know of any software I've written for which that could be done. The first program I ever wrote was an implementation of Tic-Tac-Toe, and I can't imagine a set of parameters to produce that which aren't specifically for making games of that nature while also being easier to select than writing the code myself. I'd bet such a system is impossible in general, and that that should be the obvious conclusion. Now, machine learning to find bugs or adjust variables... yeah. I can see that.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

xamuel 8y ago

Assuming you could concretely nail down all the vague terms you just used, I'd be willing to bet real money we won't have anything remotely like that within the next 10 years :)

err4nt 8y ago
I think a lot of people who suggest things like this use the image of a computer writing code, or generating code in a programming language that didn't exist, when I think in reality what's more likely to be implemented is something more like Automator for Mac OS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z56PBanBSx4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z56PBanBSx4 In Automator, pre-made blocks of code that do different things (filesystem manipulation, data transformations, application control, machine control) can be assembled into a workflow, and configured with options. It is possible that something like that could be given a speech-based UI (rather than keyboard and mouse) and the result is that pre-existing code is assembled and configured. That's a lot more realistic.

rileymat2 8y ago

Right now source control applications don’t even detect simple merge conflicts based on meaning. For example if I remove a global variable from a source file and another branch adds another reference to it, if it does not occur on the same line git will happily merge the file with no conflict.

boomlinde 8y ago

That is already how you program Prolog, no proof reading or machine learning required. I also think that specifying the problem is one of the harder aspects of software development. On the contrary, I think machine learning might be more immediately useful for things like low-level optimization.