Re:AI in software engineering at Google: Progress and the pa...
by danpalmer on Monday June 10, 2024 @09:03AM
(#40633156)
I see your point, and maybe you're right, but I do think formatting tools are materially different. You can define correctness for a formatting tool and they're understood to be about enforcing a consistent style. That doesn't apply to code more generally where there's more open to interpretation, other "style" to consider, program behaviour, etc.
Also I would say that automatic formatters weren't popular until the mid 2010s from what I've experienced, despite being technically possible since pretty much the advent of programming. I even remember having to push hard for adoption of them in ~2018. Even if the AI tools were at the level (and they're definitely not yet, any of them), it could easily take a decade for it to become the norm or for it to be mandated.
Also I would say that automatic formatters weren't popular until the mid 2010s from what I've experienced, despite being technically possible since pretty much the advent of programming. I even remember having to push hard for adoption of them in ~2018. Even if the AI tools were at the level (and they're definitely not yet, any of them), it could easily take a decade for it to become the norm or for it to be mandated.