4 ms·

> I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis, but feel like it’s ignoring the elephant in the room: writing code is not the bottleneck in need of optimization. C

by vosper 4y ago

> I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis, but feel like it’s ignoring the elephant in the room: writing code is not the bottleneck in need of optimization. Conceiving the solution is. I dunno about this. I know the received wisdom is that "writing the code isn't the hard part", but I think reality is more like "writing the code is only one of the hard parts". There's an awful lot of badly-written code, or code which is only partly correct, or only correct under some circumstances. The only way to make writing code not one of the hard parts is to specify 100% of the functionality, every corner case, and all test scenarios, before any code is written. And then you still have to verify that it was translated correctly into code, which I think we can all agree is another one of the hard parts! Conceiving the solution is hard, thinking of edge cases, what-ifs, and failure scenarios is hard, creating effective tests is hard, and writing the actual code understandably and correctly is also hard!

omginternets 4y ago
Yes, I think you’ve more precisely articulated what I had in mind. The point stands, though: codepilot does not help with the hard part of the job. It solves a problem that only exists for people who aren’t exercising care.
jgwil2 4y ago
Writing the code is the hard part mainly inasmuch as it forces you to concretize and clarify previously vague notions. In that sense, it's hard to separate "conceiving the solution" from "writing the code," unless you're perhaps one of those rare geniuses who are simply able to dictate ideas fully formed in their head (I'm thinking of the scene in Amadeus when Salieri examines some clean, uncorrected sheet music and is then shocked to discover that Mozart doesn't make copies and he's holding originals).
marcosdumay 4y ago
> I know the received wisdom is that "writing the code isn't the hard part", but I think reality is more like "writing the code is only one of the hard parts". Writing the code isn't the bottleneck. And there is no point in optimizing some part of a process that isn't a bottleneck. Anyway, have you noticed that "understandably and correctly" isn't included on the OP's definition of "writing code"? That's for a reason, and it's the most adequate definition to use on this context.

by vosper 4y ago

omginternets 4y ago

Yes, I think you’ve more precisely articulated what I had in mind. The point stands, though: codepilot does not help with the hard part of the job. It solves a problem that only exists for people who aren’t exercising care.

jgwil2 4y ago

Writing the code is the hard part mainly inasmuch as it forces you to concretize and clarify previously vague notions. In that sense, it's hard to separate "conceiving the solution" from "writing the code," unless you're perhaps one of those rare geniuses who are simply able to dictate ideas fully formed in their head (I'm thinking of the scene in Amadeus when Salieri examines some clean, uncorrected sheet music and is then shocked to discover that Mozart doesn't make copies and he's holding originals).

marcosdumay 4y ago

> I know the received wisdom is that "writing the code isn't the hard part", but I think reality is more like "writing the code is only one of the hard parts". Writing the code isn't the bottleneck. And there is no point in optimizing some part of a process that isn't a bottleneck. Anyway, have you noticed that "understandably and correctly" isn't included on the OP's definition of "writing code"? That's for a reason, and it's the most adequate definition to use on this context.