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Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the first model that made me realize that the era of AI-aided programming is here. Its ability to generate and modify large amounts of corr

Claude 3.5 Sonnet is the first model that made me realize that the era of AI-aided programming is here. Its ability to generate and modify large amounts of correct code - across multiple files/modules - in one response beats anything I've tried before. Integrating that with specialized editors (like https://www.cursor.com https://www.cursor.com) is an early vision of the future of software development.

rvnx 2y ago
Oh yes, totally agree, it's like if you have a very experienced programmer sitting next to you. He still needs instructions on what to do next, he lacks a bit of "initiative", but from a pure coding skills it's amazing (aka, we will get replaced over time, and it's already the case, I don't need help of contractors, I prefer to ask Claude).
- gizmo 2y ago
  More like an insanely knowledgeable but very inexperienced programmer. It will get basic algorithms wrong (unless it's in the exact shape it has seen before). It's like a system that automatically copy-pastes the top answer from stackoverflow in your code. Sometimes that is what you want, but most of the time it isn't.
  - valval 2y ago
    This sentiment is so far from the truth that I find it hilarious. How can a technically adept person be so out of touch with what these systems are already capable of?
    - gizmo 2y ago
      LLMs can write a polite email but it can't write a good novel. It can create art or music (by mushing together things it has seen before) but not art that excites. It's the same with code. I use LLMs daily and I've seen videos of other people using tools like Cursor and so far it looks like these LLMs can only help in those situations where it is pretty obvious (to the programmer) what the right answer looks like.
      - rvnx 2y ago
        With all of that, ChatGPT is actually one of the top authors in Amazon e-books. But I agree that for some creative tasks, like writing or explaining a joke, or some novel algorithms, it's very bad.
        PaulRobinson 2y ago
        The LLM generated e-book thing is actually a serious problem. Have you read any of it? Consumers could lose trust unless it’s fixed. If you buy a book and then realise nobody, not even the seller, has ever read it, as it turns into incomprehensible mush regularly, are you more or less likely to buy a book from the same source?
    - jetsetk 2y ago
      Hilarious (or even shocking) is the sentiment that people are actually so overhyped by these tools.
lolinder 2y ago
I've really struggled every time I've pulled out any LLM for programming besides using Copilot for generating tests. Maybe I've been using it for the wrong things—it certainly never helps unblock me when I'm stuck like it sounds like it does for some (I suspect it's because when I get stuck it's deep in undocumented rabbit holes), but it sounds like it might be decent at large-scale rote refactoring? Aside from specialized editors, how do people use it for things like that?
- rvnx 2y ago
  At least from my experience: You take Claude, you create a new Project, in your Project you explain the context of what you are doing and what you are programming (you have to explain it only once!). If you have specific technical documentation (e.g. rare programming language, your own framework, etc), you can put it there in the project. Then you create a conversation, and copy-paste the source-code for your file, and ask for your refactoring or improvement. If you are lazy just say: "give me the full code" and then "continue the code" few times in a row and you're done :)
  - munksbeer 2y ago
    > in your Project you explain the context of what you are doing and what you are programming (you have to explain it only once!). When you say this, you mean typing out some text somewhere? Where do you do this? In a giant comment? In which file?
    - rvnx 2y ago
      In "Projects" -> "Create new project" -> "What are you trying to achieve?"
- danielbln 2y ago
  Provide context to the model. The code you're working on, what it's for, where you're stuckhat you've tried, etc. Pretend it's a colleague that should help you out and onboard it to your problem, then have a conversation with it as of your are rubber ducking your colleague. Don't ask short one-off questions and expect it to work (it might just, depending on what you ask, but probably not if you're deep on some proprietary code base with no traces in the LLMs pretraining).
_xnmw 2y ago
I keep hearing this comment everywhere Claude is mentioned, as if there is a coordinated PR boost on social media. My personal experience with Claude 3.5 however is, meh. I don't see much difference compared to GPT-4 and I use AI to help me code every day.
- viking123 2y ago
  Yeah they really like to mention it everywhere, like yeah it's good but imo not as good as some people make it out to be. I have used it recently for libgdx on kotlin and there are things where it struggles, and the code it sometime gives it's not really "good" kotlin but it takes a good programmer to know what is good and what is not
  - phyalow 2y ago
    I think in more esoteric languages it wont work as well. Python, C++ it is excellent, suprisingly its Rust is also pretty damn good. (I am not a paid shiller, just in awe of what Sonnet 3.5 + Opus can do)
    - kibibu 2y ago
      Kotlin isn't exactly an esoteric language though
- valval 2y ago
  User error.
  - lebca 2y ago
    Please consider avoiding more ad hominem attacks or revising the ones you've already plastered onto this discussion.
samier-trellis 2y ago
How are you liking cursor? I tried it ~a year ago, and it was quite a bit worse than ferrying back and forth between ChatGPT and VSCode. Is it better than using GitHub Copilot in VSCode?
- meowface 2y ago
  Definitely better. I ended my Copilot subscription.
  - samier-trellis 2y ago
    Oh interesting, will give it another go, thnx

rvnx 2y ago

Oh yes, totally agree, it's like if you have a very experienced programmer sitting next to you. He still needs instructions on what to do next, he lacks a bit of "initiative", but from a pure coding skills it's amazing (aka, we will get replaced over time, and it's already the case, I don't need help of contractors, I prefer to ask Claude).

gizmo 2y ago
More like an insanely knowledgeable but very inexperienced programmer. It will get basic algorithms wrong (unless it's in the exact shape it has seen before). It's like a system that automatically copy-pastes the top answer from stackoverflow in your code. Sometimes that is what you want, but most of the time it isn't.
- valval 2y ago
  This sentiment is so far from the truth that I find it hilarious. How can a technically adept person be so out of touch with what these systems are already capable of?
  - gizmo 2y ago
    LLMs can write a polite email but it can't write a good novel. It can create art or music (by mushing together things it has seen before) but not art that excites. It's the same with code. I use LLMs daily and I've seen videos of other people using tools like Cursor and so far it looks like these LLMs can only help in those situations where it is pretty obvious (to the programmer) what the right answer looks like.
    - rvnx 2y ago
      With all of that, ChatGPT is actually one of the top authors in Amazon e-books. But I agree that for some creative tasks, like writing or explaining a joke, or some novel algorithms, it's very bad.
      - PaulRobinson 2y ago
        The LLM generated e-book thing is actually a serious problem. Have you read any of it? Consumers could lose trust unless it’s fixed. If you buy a book and then realise nobody, not even the seller, has ever read it, as it turns into incomprehensible mush regularly, are you more or less likely to buy a book from the same source?
  - jetsetk 2y ago
    Hilarious (or even shocking) is the sentiment that people are actually so overhyped by these tools.

lolinder 2y ago

I've really struggled every time I've pulled out any LLM for programming besides using Copilot for generating tests. Maybe I've been using it for the wrong things—it certainly never helps unblock me when I'm stuck like it sounds like it does for some (I suspect it's because when I get stuck it's deep in undocumented rabbit holes), but it sounds like it might be decent at large-scale rote refactoring? Aside from specialized editors, how do people use it for things like that?

rvnx 2y ago
At least from my experience: You take Claude, you create a new Project, in your Project you explain the context of what you are doing and what you are programming (you have to explain it only once!). If you have specific technical documentation (e.g. rare programming language, your own framework, etc), you can put it there in the project. Then you create a conversation, and copy-paste the source-code for your file, and ask for your refactoring or improvement. If you are lazy just say: "give me the full code" and then "continue the code" few times in a row and you're done :)
- munksbeer 2y ago
  > in your Project you explain the context of what you are doing and what you are programming (you have to explain it only once!). When you say this, you mean typing out some text somewhere? Where do you do this? In a giant comment? In which file?
  - rvnx 2y ago
    In "Projects" -> "Create new project" -> "What are you trying to achieve?"
danielbln 2y ago
Provide context to the model. The code you're working on, what it's for, where you're stuckhat you've tried, etc. Pretend it's a colleague that should help you out and onboard it to your problem, then have a conversation with it as of your are rubber ducking your colleague. Don't ask short one-off questions and expect it to work (it might just, depending on what you ask, but probably not if you're deep on some proprietary code base with no traces in the LLMs pretraining).

_xnmw 2y ago

I keep hearing this comment everywhere Claude is mentioned, as if there is a coordinated PR boost on social media. My personal experience with Claude 3.5 however is, meh. I don't see much difference compared to GPT-4 and I use AI to help me code every day.

viking123 2y ago
Yeah they really like to mention it everywhere, like yeah it's good but imo not as good as some people make it out to be. I have used it recently for libgdx on kotlin and there are things where it struggles, and the code it sometime gives it's not really "good" kotlin but it takes a good programmer to know what is good and what is not
- phyalow 2y ago
  I think in more esoteric languages it wont work as well. Python, C++ it is excellent, suprisingly its Rust is also pretty damn good. (I am not a paid shiller, just in awe of what Sonnet 3.5 + Opus can do)
  - kibibu 2y ago
    Kotlin isn't exactly an esoteric language though
valval 2y ago
User error.
- lebca 2y ago
  Please consider avoiding more ad hominem attacks or revising the ones you've already plastered onto this discussion.

samier-trellis 2y ago

How are you liking cursor? I tried it ~a year ago, and it was quite a bit worse than ferrying back and forth between ChatGPT and VSCode. Is it better than using GitHub Copilot in VSCode?

meowface 2y ago
Definitely better. I ended my Copilot subscription.
- samier-trellis 2y ago
  Oh interesting, will give it another go, thnx