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Maybe we can keep on coding? pseudo code project
6 months ago a few people [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44940089] agreed that LLMs are very good at translating Pseudo-code to real code. I agree. Also, writing pseudo code somewhat makes me feel a similar state of flow. Maybe even more, because no compiler/interpreter annoys me about syntax issues.
Now, I built this:
https://github.com/HalfEmptyDrum/Pseudo-Code-Flow
It is basically a Claude Code skill. You can call it on a .pseudo text file with /translate. It will obviously translate the pseudo code into your specified language. This would be nice and all, but I included another subtle but useful feature:
*This is probably the most useful feature and fundamentally changed my coding*:
The LLM will suggest changes (design, architecture, functionality, ...) to your code, but will roughly use your pseudo code style.
I think of pseudo code as the semantic body that is closest to how the code/algorithm is represented in my head. When Claude then answers in my language instead of Python/C++/... (which has lots of boilerplate to make it work), it resonates much easier with me.
Let me know what you think!
- stbtrax 7mo agofeedback: your psuedo code example is just product requirements and not actual psuedo code. and I think if you wrote psuedo code it would just work as is without a skill
- EmptyDrum 7mo agoTrue (will fix) - but then still, Claude will still not change my pseudo code, but directly translate. I liked that part particularly.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- EmptyDrum 7mo agoBtw, I got inspired by this: https://www.williamjbowman.com/blog/2026/03/05/against-vibes-when-is-a-generative-model-useful/ https://www.williamjbowman.com/blog/2026/03/05/against-vibes... Really useful read!
- EmptyDrum 7mo agohttps://github.com/HalfEmptyDrum/Pseudo-Code-Flow https://github.com/HalfEmptyDrum/Pseudo-Code-Flow the link again
- lazypl82 7mo agoGreat point on the flow state with pseudo code. The gap I keep running into is what comes after – once the translated code ships to production, knowing quickly whether it actually behaves as intended is still mostly manual. Curious if others have thoughts on that part of the loop.
- EmptyDrum 7mo agoI feel like that this is fundamentally impossible to solve for. Approximately the effort = planning + checking correctness seems to be constant.
- raw_anon_1111 7mo agoWhy would that be any more manual than it has been before? You still write or have Claude to write unit and integration tests thst you review
- jseabra 7mo ago[flagged]
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- EmptyDrum 7mo agoI agree - in the end we have some fuzzy turing machine when writing in pseudo code. I think it is inherently hard to get this right. I also think that these decisions about control flow etc should stay with the developer given I find it very rewarding and LLMs are not very good at it yet (even though they have promised us the improvements for the past 5 years lol).
- codingdave 7mo ago> The LLM will suggest changes (design, architecture, functionality, ...) to your code, but will roughly use your pseudo code style. So it will change your architecture, but keep your line-by-line logic? Is this like a self-driving car that takes you to the wrong destination, but accurately follows traffic laws on the way? Give me the opposite - something that builds exactly what I designed, but has the freedom to get there in better ways than I suggest.
- Kai202111 7mo agoIt won't keep the logic. It is encouraged to change the line-by-line as well as the overall logic!
- muzani 7mo agoLLMs work perfectly well without a pseudocode skill. It natively understands pseudocode just as well as it understands Indonesian.
- EmptyDrum 7mo agoThat's not the point of the skill.