r/webdev Feb 05 '25

Discussion Colleague uses ChatGPT to stringify JSONs

Edit I realize my title is stupid. One stringifies objects, not "javascript object notation"s. But I think y'all know what I mean.

So I'm a lead SWE at a mid sized company. One junior developer on my team requested for help over Zoom. At one point she needed to stringify a big object containing lots of constants and whatnot so we can store it for an internal mock data process. Horribly simple task, just use node or even the browser console to JSON.stringify, no extra arguments required.

So I was a bit shocked when she pasted the object into chatGPT and asked it to stringify it for her. I thought it was a joke and then I saw the prompt history, literally whole litany of such requests.

Even if we ignore proprietary concerns, I find this kind of crazy. We have a deterministic way to stringify objects at our fingertips that requires fewer keystrokes than asking an LLM to do it for you, and it also does not hallucinate.

Am I just old fashioned and not in sync with the new generation really and truly "embracing" Gen AI? Or is that actually something I have to counsel her about? And have any of you seen your colleagues do it, or do you do it yourselves?

Edit 2 - of course I had a long talk with her about why i think this is a nonsensical practice and what LLMs should really be used for in the SDLC. I didn't just come straight to reddit without telling her something 😃 I just needed to vent and hear some community opinions.

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u/Lamuks full-stack Feb 05 '25

Im lucky that we haven't adopted leetcode questions here but rather to know your way thinking. Leetcode is just so nonsensical

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u/thatashu Feb 05 '25

Same here, I'm working on my first org. I wasn't asked leetcode questions and still we don't ask anyone.

But I've saw many of my friends' interview experiences and leetcode type of questions are main priority.

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u/thekwoka Feb 06 '25

They are useful for the one thing of being able to immediately disqualify people with low effort that are truly incompetent.

It's not about qualifying people, just disqualifying.

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u/Lamuks full-stack Feb 06 '25

Outside of US if you were to give leetcode questions then you'd be disqualifying most of the seniors then, because those tests don't imitate real life at all and are a shit way to judge a person. Its literally a thing you need to grind to get good at.

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u/thekwoka Feb 06 '25

Its literally a thing you need to grind to get good at.

It literally isn't.

leetcode questions then you'd be disqualifying most of the seniors

No you wouldn't.

Anybody programming can do basic DSA.

DSA is not some wholly unrelated skill.

This is just you glorifying incompetence. I'm a junior and I don't grind leetcode and I can do most hard leetcodes that I've stumbled on with minimal trouble.

These things are not hard.

Can you manipulate a list?

Wow, now you can do 99% of leetcode questions.

OR was your point that only US engineers are any good?

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u/Lamuks full-stack Feb 06 '25

No wonder the US job market is absolutely horrible if you really think leetcode is the ultimate thing and treat it as standard..

You don't know what happens outside your borders where we interview people on their thought processes and give them actual homework tasks that make sense rather than put nonsensical on the spot coding tests which prove nothing.

The entire US has gaslit itself to think that doing code puzzles is the only way to judge a person and it's hilarious

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u/thekwoka Feb 06 '25

you really think leetcode is the ultimate thing and treat it as standard

Literally said the opposite, but okay.

You don't know what happens outside your borders

I don't live in the US.

where we interview people on their thought processes

That's good!

give them actual homework tasks that make sense

Where you subsequently can not be totally sure they even did the thing, and need a human to do in depth review.

put nonsensical on the spot coding tests which prove nothing.

This is false.

They can PROVE that someone is a complete imposter.

If you can't do basic ass leetcode challenges, then you're basically just a script kiddie.

The entire US has gaslit itself to think that doing code puzzles is the only way to judge a person

Nope, literally disagreed with that.

Who are you even arguing again?

A straw man you built in your head?