3 ms·

Given the sudden spike in vibe-coded commits to the rsync codebase, and regressions that’s introduced, this is very good news.

port11 5mo ago
I was prepared to dismiss your comment because rsync has always been rock solid, but indeed upgrading broke my backup script. The latest issue on GitHub documents plenty of bugs introduced in the last 2 patches, including a monstrous ~9k LOC commit that was probably pointless. LLMs make writing code faster/easier, but the thinking was always the important bit. I’ve no idea why you’d muck up such a long-standing, reliable piece of software.
- prmoustache 5mo ago
  When LLM allows you to produce code n% faster, it also allows you to introduce bugs n% faster. I find it quite strange that people do not seem to be aware of that...I think many started worshipping the tool as if it was some kind of divinity and lost all objctivity. This doesn't bode well for the future if people aren't able to review code anymore.
  - brianwawok 5mo ago
    Don’t need people to review code, need more LLMs. People aren’t that magical.
    - port11 5mo ago
      Maybe one day. Right now I can have Opus carefully draft a plan, Sonnet execute it, and have Opus review the code. It will complain about things that it had dismissed in the plan. Example: it recently flagged ID derivation from a signing key. Opus itself suggested it! When reminded of that, it did this new 4.8-style “my bad, and here’s why I was right in the first place.” Humans are still badass.
asdsg 5mo ago
Yes, I also don't know how license critical distributions like Debian can even ship rsync now because it contains a) laundered code and b) Tridgell cannot claim copyright over the Claude additions. So rsync should be pinned to an older version and just get security updates.
- trollbridge 5mo ago
  Yeah. Pretty discouraging particularly since I have always associated Tridgell with high-quality code.
  - coatmatter 5mo ago
    > Posted Apr 8, 2024 0:29 UTC (Mon) by tridge (subscriber, #26906) [Link] (27 responses) > [...]"I have often worked on the boundary of free and proprietary software, right from when I was dosemu maintainer for a while, to Samba and many other projects. I make all my projects open, usually GPLv3, but I don't mind using closed tools to help me work more efficiently, even though I am creating free software myself. I know some people take a stronger stance and refuse to use any closed tools at all. That is a great choice if that is what you want to do. It isn't how I work, and it never has been." https://lwn.net/Articles/968732/ https://lwn.net/Articles/968732/ "Tridge returns to rsync [Posted April 6, 2024 by jzb]"

port11 5mo ago

I was prepared to dismiss your comment because rsync has always been rock solid, but indeed upgrading broke my backup script. The latest issue on GitHub documents plenty of bugs introduced in the last 2 patches, including a monstrous ~9k LOC commit that was probably pointless. LLMs make writing code faster/easier, but the thinking was always the important bit. I’ve no idea why you’d muck up such a long-standing, reliable piece of software.

prmoustache 5mo ago
When LLM allows you to produce code n% faster, it also allows you to introduce bugs n% faster. I find it quite strange that people do not seem to be aware of that...I think many started worshipping the tool as if it was some kind of divinity and lost all objctivity. This doesn't bode well for the future if people aren't able to review code anymore.
- brianwawok 5mo ago
  Don’t need people to review code, need more LLMs. People aren’t that magical.
  - port11 5mo ago
    Maybe one day. Right now I can have Opus carefully draft a plan, Sonnet execute it, and have Opus review the code. It will complain about things that it had dismissed in the plan. Example: it recently flagged ID derivation from a signing key. Opus itself suggested it! When reminded of that, it did this new 4.8-style “my bad, and here’s why I was right in the first place.” Humans are still badass.

asdsg 5mo ago

Yes, I also don't know how license critical distributions like Debian can even ship rsync now because it contains a) laundered code and b) Tridgell cannot claim copyright over the Claude additions. So rsync should be pinned to an older version and just get security updates.

trollbridge 5mo ago
Yeah. Pretty discouraging particularly since I have always associated Tridgell with high-quality code.
- coatmatter 5mo ago
  > Posted Apr 8, 2024 0:29 UTC (Mon) by tridge (subscriber, #26906) [Link] (27 responses) > [...]"I have often worked on the boundary of free and proprietary software, right from when I was dosemu maintainer for a while, to Samba and many other projects. I make all my projects open, usually GPLv3, but I don't mind using closed tools to help me work more efficiently, even though I am creating free software myself. I know some people take a stronger stance and refuse to use any closed tools at all. That is a great choice if that is what you want to do. It isn't how I work, and it never has been." https://lwn.net/Articles/968732/ https://lwn.net/Articles/968732/ "Tridge returns to rsync [Posted April 6, 2024 by jzb]"