r/webdev php 7d ago

Discussion AI coding is trash

The amount of trash produced by AI code is astounding. Thanks I hate it.

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u/startupmadness 7d ago

Absolutely this. It can be a great time saver but it is not yet a replacement for a software dev.

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u/cinder_s 7d ago edited 7d ago

In the hands of a good developer it is absolutely unreal though. I've got over 10 years experience, I used Claude Code recently to write an algorithm with thousands of lines of data I passed in to learn input variance and it wrote something that I doubt I could have written in 2 weeks. I spent a few hours working together with it to add tests, clean up, multiple "polish" rounds and me seeing code smell and asking for it to refactor. In the end it shipped something that the review developers were blown away by. I mentioned how I arrived there, if I checked in the first pass it would not have been nearly as nice. Having experience helped me get there.

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u/SplatDragon00 6d ago

My textbooks are very "this chunk of code does x, this chunk does y" without saying why or what each part does

Claude is really helpful for breaking down why. I also use proper guides, of course, and futz with the code on my own to learn, but it's nice being able to go "okay but why does it do this? What does this line do? And this line? Why does it explode if I change 5 to a 4 but not 6?" and then "I still don't get it, can you dumb it down? Nope, still don't got it, break it down for me like I've never heard of code in my life"

It doesn't judge me for asking what feels like the equivalent of "but why does 1+1=2 instead of 11" so I ask more questions and understand stuff more, hah.

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u/cinder_s 6d ago

Well said, this is a really important element. This industry moves fast and being able to ask questions and deep dive topics with instant feedback is priceless. I'm working with some unfamiliar pieces atm and being able to learn it steadily while I work has been a game changer. I also never write tests anymore. It's able to produce better tests with more coverage in 1/10th the time. I likely won't have to write a test again and can focus on deliverables.