Comment on Vibe coding is to coding what microwaving is to cooking.
kescusay@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I’m of two minds on this.
On the one hand, I find tools like Copilot integrated into VS Code to be useful for taking some of the drudgery out of coding. Case in point: If I need to create a new schema for an ORM, having Copilot generate it according to my specifications is speedy and helpful. It will be more complete and thorough than the first draft I’d come up with on my own.
On the other, the actual code produced by Copilot is always rife with errors and bloat, it’s never DRY, and if you’re not already a competent developer and try to “vibe” your way to usablility, what you’ll end up with will frankly suck, even if you get it into a state where it technically “works.”
Leaning into the microwave analogy, it’s the difference between being a chef who happens to have a microwave as one of their kitchen tools, and being a “chef” who only knows how to follow microwave instructions on prepackaged meals. “Vibe coders” aren’t coders at all and have no real grasp of what they’re creating or why it’s not as good as what real coders build, even if both make use of the same tools.
I mean, people also said that of the first generations of rockers who didn’t know shit about solfeggio. Then they said the same about computer assisted music production.
I think we don’t give the new generations enough credit. They might come at skills from a direction we find stupid, but they’re not stupid and they can develop critical skills just like we did.
I don’t think that comparison is apt. Unlike with music, there are objectively inefficient and badly-executed ways for a program to function, and if you’re only “vibing,” you’re not going to know the difference between such code and clean, efficient code.
Case in point: Typescript. Typescript is a language built on top of JavaScript with the intent of bringing strong and static type-checking sanity to it. Using Copilot, it’s possible to create a Typescript application without actually knowing the language. However, what you’ll end up with will almost certainly be full of the any type, which turns off type-checking and negates the benefits of using Typescript in the first place. Your code will be much harder to maintain and fix bugs in. And you won’t know that, because you’re not a Typescript developer, you’re a Copilot “developer.”
I’m not trying to downplay the benefits of using Copilot. Like I said, it’s something I use myself, and it’s a really helpful tool in the developer toolbox. But it’s not the only tool in the toolbox for anyone but “vibe coders.”
Eyekaytee@aussie.zone 5 days ago
your corporate IT department stick you with copilot as well eh?
rmuk@feddit.uk 4 days ago
As someone who oversees a shop like that, I’ll just say: if there was an even vaguely competitive option, I’d jump at it.
porous_grey_matter@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
The github copilot in vscode is a little less shit than the generic ms copilot (but it still sucks ass compared to just writing anything yourself)