Kai Meyer

Father
C/C++ Software Engineer in Data Protection
Linux Gamer
Dallas "This is our year" Cowboys fan

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@vboykis I was referring to the "entire logic path of a single route" comment. I get more accurate and actionable information by using a debugger to trace code through a specific logic path.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@araseb_ How many stories, movies, books, narratives, and so on do we have across the world where the lesson is:
Asking the right question is harder than you think.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@TheCowboysNet 33
22
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29

But if it was on the 3
22
33
21
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24

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@yacineMTB I just looked up from my code I just "hand wrote" (using a steady hand and a magnetized needle, no less!) while it compiles and saw this.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@coryalthoff 40 or more? Or is it 40 or less? I'm just wondering if I've got a chance.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@NewAgeRetroNerd I think there's an appetite for interested and motivated people, regardless of skill level. When placed in the right environment, anyone that wants to learn, will.

It's up to us old folks to make our respective environments "the right place".

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

Boy do I want this to be true.

Yes, AI writes code fast. No, the whole process from "start writing code" to "code is ready to ship" is not always faster for me when I use AI. In fact, certain sweeping tech debt fixes are exactly what my experience says AI struggles with.

I'm working on a large C++ code base that was obviously once a large C code base. I have classes called "CMutex" for example, and I'm replacing them with `std::mutex`. That goes pretty smooth.

But when we encounter latent bugs that aren't strictly part of the tech debt scope, AI treats the existing code as authoritative unless I explicitly override it. For example, it turned a nullptr dereference bug into a silent "success" by adding the nullptr check right before assignment instead of erroring at the top of the function. From reading the code it's obvious that the invariant is "caller provided a valid pointer".

I wish everyone luck in their endeavor to increase productivity, value, and skill with the adoption of AI. But overly generalized claims like this do more harm than good.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

I agree. Communication is hard.

Maybe coding is only the easy part if the hard communication part is already done.

I think your "communication is the problem" frame might be a good way to reconcile opposing views like:
"Coding was never the hard part"
and
"I don't read the code"

If the communication part is done well, the code wasn't the hard part and AI flourishes in those environments.

If the communication part is not done well, or is inherently highly complex, sitting down to write the code can seem like the difficult part because it requires complex and abstract thinking that AI struggles with.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@omkarships @grok Explain Jevons Paradox as it relates to AI productivity in software development.

Everything new is old.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@Primary_Pianist I insist that we are saying the same thing. You can't say everything anytime you say something. You didn't say that obedience to commandments is an act of faith, but I know you would agree with that.
So, what are we arguing about again?

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@housecor lol, RIP Scrum Master.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

We agree again!
Every example you cite of works preceding faith involve two separate individuals; the actor and the observer. It is certainly true that the actions of one can inspire faith in Jesus Christ in another, and thus "works" can indeed "precede faith" on a timeline. And it works best when the actor is Jesus Christ Himself.
You then extend the pattern of faith leading to action to add action leading to knowledge, which happens within the same individual.
It is important to note that in each citation, the commandments are given to disciples who have already professed their faith in Jesus Christ. While we can observe Christ healing, forgiving, serving, and loving to learn that each of those works is good, a commandment like "love they neighbor" generalizes that same lesson in advance. Commandments provide instructions so that I don't need to witness every possible loving "work" before learning that loving my neighbor is good. Obedience to commandments are the "good works" that follow faith.
Within the individual, faith continues to be the anchoring principle. Salvation is the conclusion of the journey that begins with faith. Obedience to commandments are the indicator that you are still on the path. That's why Joseph Smith placed it as the first principle, and why he put principles before ordinances.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@IamAroke My buddy wrote some code and then exclaimed proudly, "I'm officially a 3 star programmer."

He had written a function that legitimately needed a "MyClass ***MyClass" parameter.

Almost looks like a censored cussword when I'm in there and it scrolls by.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

Read it.
When I write code, I write it in chunks and stop to test it along the way, a few dozen lines of code at once.
So ask the AI to stop periodically, according to your preference, so you can read and keep up.
You know how it takes 5 minutes to do anything anymore? So have it generate enough code that it takes you 5 minutes to read it. Use git in interactive mode to stage changes a few lines at a time. Have it generating the next change while you read the last change.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@shotgundotdev Lol. It's the worst way to end a book (series) but I love it so much! Merry and Pippin are among the most satisfying character arcs in the whole story!

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

It's not new in and of itself. It's a new source for an old problem. How many times is a business sold for the IP and the whole dev team washes out, or is out sources to a different team.
Same problem. Nobody knows the code.

I'm in such a position. It's actually reinforced by leadership. I hear this in meetings.
"Remember, we copy and then fix. We don't fix in place. Otherwise we risk breaking something."
I very much dislike that guidance, and have a similar reaction to the GOAT; I take it personally. It is my mission to take full ownership of that code base, test it, modernize it, and eliminate it as a source of stress for the rest of the team.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@housecor Get the job done. Who cares? It's new tech, give it a whirl, let it help you, or don't. Just get the job done.

[Kai Meyer @KaiMeyer]

@ThePrimeagen I had a college professor say something like "the logical extention of abstraction is a programming language".