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> Code is the best possible application of LLMs because you can TEST the output. This is an overly simplistic view of software development. Poorly made abstra
by dartos 2y ago
> Code is the best possible application of LLMs because you can TEST the output.
This is an overly simplistic view of software development.
Poorly made abstractions and functions will have knock on effects on future code that can be hard to predict.
Not to mention that code can have side effects that may not affect a given test case, or the code could be poorly optimized, etc.
Just because code compiles or passes a test does not mean it’s entirely correct. If it did, we wouldn’t have bugs anymore.
The usual response to this is something like “we can use the LLM to refactor LLM code if we need” but, in my experience, this leads to very complex, hard to reason about codebases.
Especially if the stack isn’t Python or JavaScript.
- simonw 2y agoSo code review LLM-generated code and reject it (or require changes to it) if it doesn't fit your idea of what good code looks like.
- dartos 2y agoOr… yknow… I could just write the code… Instead of going through a multi step process to get an LLM to generate it, review it, reject it, and repeat… I wonder why you reply to these comments, but not my other asking what you use LLMs for and specifically explaining how they failed me.
- simonw 2y agoFound that comment here, about to reply: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42562394 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42562394