Re:Ask HN: How can I get better at using AI for programming?
by gregoryl on Saturday December 13, 2025 @10:30PM
(#46260538)
I find it quite interesting; there seems to be a set of AI enthusiasts who heavily offload thinking onto the LLM. There has to be difference in how they function, as I find as soon as I drift into letting the LLM think for me, productivity plummets.
Re:Ask HN: How can I get better at using AI for programming?
by handoflixue on Sunday December 14, 2025 @07:26AM
(#46262567)
> What’s more concise than code?
The word "Tetris" is significantly more concise than the source code for Tetris.
"Create a Tetris clone" is a valid four-word prompt. It's not going to produce a perfect one shot, but it'll get you 90% of the way there.
> I could have done it myself. Typing isn’t a hard part.
No, but it is slow. Claude can put together Tetris in 5 minutes. I most definitely cannot.
Re:Ask HN: How can I get better at using AI for programming?
by 9rx on Sunday December 14, 2025 @09:45AM
(#46263373)
A traditional programming language still wins there. "git clone $TETRIS_CLONE_REPO" is fewer words, gets you 100% of the way, and only takes seconds to produce the result.
But the topic at hand is about novel problems. Can you describe your novel solution to an LLM in a natural language with less effort than a programming language that is already designed for describing novel solutions as clearly and concisely as possible?
What’s more concise than code? From my experience, by the time I’ve gotten an English with code description accurate enough for an agent I could have done it myself. Typing isn’t a hard part.
LLMs/agents have many other uses, but if you’re not offloading your thinking you’re not really going any faster wrt letting them write code via a prompt.