How can newbies make proper use of AI and still be good developers?
Right now in many communities there are mixed messages regarding beginners and use of AI, some say that you should stay away from it and others suggest getting jumping right in, so as not to stay behind. So I feel that there are many people like me who are confused and kind of unsure on how to proceed. If you use AI heavily in your work or personal projects, I would love to hear your suggestions.
12 comments
> So I feel that there are many people like me who are confused and kind of unsure on how to proceed.
Don't let AI write the code for you and send diffs when you're a newbie.
Use it to understand, to ask questions, use it like a better stack overflow/google, but don't copy/paste chunks of code.
If you do have it generate more than a single line, mess with it, change it around, type it in but change the way it works, see if there's other method calls that would do what you're doing, see if you can refactor it.
Basically, don't just get into a copy/paste loop. The same thing happened when Stack Overflow became big, you had a whole generation of code monkeys who could copy-paste something sorta working from stack overflow/googling, but when something broke, they had no clue how to fix it.
Copy-paste here (or having it send diffs) is the evil part, not the AI. AI can really help you learn new tech. Have it do code reviews, have it brainstorm ideas, or have it even find the right apis for you, Just don't copy paste!
Don't let AI write the code for you and send diffs when you're a newbie.
Use it to understand, to ask questions, use it like a better stack overflow/google, but don't copy/paste chunks of code.
If you do have it generate more than a single line, mess with it, change it around, type it in but change the way it works, see if there's other method calls that would do what you're doing, see if you can refactor it.
Basically, don't just get into a copy/paste loop. The same thing happened when Stack Overflow became big, you had a whole generation of code monkeys who could copy-paste something sorta working from stack overflow/googling, but when something broke, they had no clue how to fix it.
Copy-paste here (or having it send diffs) is the evil part, not the AI. AI can really help you learn new tech. Have it do code reviews, have it brainstorm ideas, or have it even find the right apis for you, Just don't copy paste!
Many of the senior devs who are so critical of newbies relying on AI to generate code would have started out copy and pasting from stack overflow.
The level of gate keeping in our industry is pretty depressing.
The level of gate keeping in our industry is pretty depressing.
It's likely those senior devs are only 'senior' in title and/or would have a lot of trouble finding jobs these days.
You said it better than I was going to!
Also, you can ask the AI to review your code, and it won't give you grief like the Internet would. You can ask questions without the need for asbestos underwear.
Also, you can ask the AI to review your code, and it won't give you grief like the Internet would. You can ask questions without the need for asbestos underwear.
Agree with both of the above. Two things I would add:
- Translate the problem you are trying to solve into the most generic terms possible, and then translate the AI response back into the problem you are trying to solve. AI suggests the tools for the job, you decide (and understand) if and how they get used.
- Read the docs on whatever features it is suggesting. Or use AI to help understand the docs. Once you've learned syntax, the two "technical" parts of coding are algorithms and features, both of which are documented. AI is really good at reading docs (hence the natural language processing part of natural language processing). Use it to help you read the docs.
I think back to how I learned to program when I was child. Blindly copying things from magazines and books with little to no understanding of what I was doing.
I see a lot of posts on forums stating that newbies should really understand the code they are producing.
Well I certainly didn’t when I was starting to learn.
I see a lot of posts on forums stating that newbies should really understand the code they are producing.
Well I certainly didn’t when I was starting to learn.
When your code didn't work due to a typo in the magazine (surprisingly common!) or bug in the compiler itself, how did you fix it?
AI allows juniors to magically fix the mistakes or suggest an alternative solution without needing to _think_ themselves. It will cook up a script in seconds to approach the problem from a completely different angle.
I only use AI when I'm really stuck on something and enjoy learning new ways I had never even thought of before. This provides me another avenue to explore before asking AI to help again.
AI allows juniors to magically fix the mistakes or suggest an alternative solution without needing to _think_ themselves. It will cook up a script in seconds to approach the problem from a completely different angle.
I only use AI when I'm really stuck on something and enjoy learning new ways I had never even thought of before. This provides me another avenue to explore before asking AI to help again.
You have to see someone use it properly. Generally, know what is possible and just ask for pieces of code you can copy-paste and test. Control the response length by knowing what to expect. Try to model a dialog instead of plain answers.
You should learn architecture and design patterns.
It’s like a calculator. You can use it. But you need to ensure your foundation is solid.
Otherwise you’ll become a bean counter doing what someone who actually understands math tells you to do. A mid.
It’s like a calculator. You can use it. But you need to ensure your foundation is solid.
Otherwise you’ll become a bean counter doing what someone who actually understands math tells you to do. A mid.
good question, my 2cents:
- use it to find information, like APIs & documentation.
- ask the llm a ton of questions.
- and don't be intimidated, if you ask any good programmer LLMs are still not that good and mess up a lot.
- if you are learning just to learn then just have fun.
- but if you are on a deadline or need to make an app to solve a problem and you don't really care about, quality, security, or learning then just use cursor or aider to get the job done.
- use it to find information, like APIs & documentation.
- ask the llm a ton of questions.
- and don't be intimidated, if you ask any good programmer LLMs are still not that good and mess up a lot.
- if you are learning just to learn then just have fun.
- but if you are on a deadline or need to make an app to solve a problem and you don't really care about, quality, security, or learning then just use cursor or aider to get the job done.
If you know the fundamentals, AI agents become horses/cars/rockets and you have the reins.
transfer code from AI to hand writing code.