That's still the best way to turn a spec into a program and comes with all the downsides it entails.

At the time "generating a program from a spec" was an idea floating around that you could come up with a "spec language" that was easier than regular programming languages but somehow still had the same power and could be compiled directly into a program. That's the crackpot idea that Joel is referencing - but that's not what a spec language used with an LLM is doing.

[1]: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/10/02/painless-functiona...

And because formal verification with LLMs is an active area of open research, I have some hope that the old idea of automated formal verification is starting to take shape. There is a lot to talk about here, but I'll leave a link to the 1968 NATO Software Engineering Conference [1] for those who are interested in where these thoughts originated. It goes deeply into the subject of "specification languages" and other related concepts. My understanding is that the historical split between computing science and software engineering has its roots in this 1968 conference.

[1]: http://homepages.cs.ncl.ac.uk/brian.randell/NATO/nato1968.PD...

To anticipate your objection: you can get over determinism now, or you can get over it later. You will get over it, though, if you intend to stay in this business.

What are you talking about? If an LLM is a compiler, then I'm a compiler. Are we going to redefine the meaning of words in order not to upset the LLM makers?

Over time, when digital computers became commonplace, the computing moved from the person to the machine. At this time, arguably the humans doing the programming of the machine were doing the work we now ask of a "compiler".

So yes, an LLM can be a compiler in some sense (from a high level abstract language into a programming language), and you too can be a compiler! But currently it's probably a good use of the LLM's time and probably not a good use of yours.

But your point stands. There is a period beyond which doing more than learning the fundamentals just becomes toil.

  import Mathlib
  def Goldbach := ∀ x : ℕ, Even x → x > 2 → ∃ (y z: ℕ), Nat.Prime y ∧ Nat.Prime z ∧ x = y + z

    theorem goldbach : Goldbach := *message truncated*

Advice given to Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackam, by an unnamed president of Michigan Savings Bank in 1903.

First, collect the following information from user: …. Second, send http request to the following endpoint with the certain payload…. If server returned error - report back to user.

It makes me crack every time I see that kind of stuff. Why on Earth you won’t just write a script for that purpose? 10x faster, zero tokens burned, 100% deterministic.

- Because your bash-fu may not be good enough

- Because parts of the process may not be amenable to scripting, especially if they require LLMs

- Because the inputs to some steps are fuzzy enough that only an LLM can handle them

- etc...

That being said, yes, anything amenable to being turned into scripts should be.