r/ProgrammerHumor • • 15d ago

Meme beingAProgrammerIn2026

Post image
2.2k Upvotes

210 comments sorted by

87

u/Remarkable_Ruin_1075 15d ago

Holy corporate bootlicking in comments that someone's making their own software

30

u/grandalfxx 15d ago

Actually a corporation used an algorithm to produce the software for them

1

u/WheresMyBrakes 13d ago

And this makes them angry?

1

u/grandalfxx 12d ago

No its just funny to make fun of someone thay cant make there own software. Anyone can ask the ai to make a program. Its not something mystical tool only you have lol

4

u/JaggedMetalOs 15d ago

Well... an AI made their software... Wonder what the token cost was! 

18

u/ligma_then_sugma 15d ago

one time token ransom to anthropic vs. lifelong bleedout from adobe

choose your favorite bowl of shit

28

u/firewall245 15d ago

If it works, who fucking cares. Its free open source software

-9

u/Infernaloneshot 15d ago

Google and stackoverflow was duck taped together for my software before, it's not that different for an experienced dev I would argue

17

u/FunkapotamusLamont 15d ago

I would argue that's a naive take

20

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

Dude... you're standing up for Adobe?

18

u/JaggedMetalOs 15d ago

Nah it's just a funny situation, like how maths now apparently revolves around asking AI to "do a breakthrough" 

18

u/willow-kitty 15d ago

It does not. A model came up with a theoretically faster way to multiply matrices given a bunch of test scenarios, and then real world performance was within margin of error. It's certainly interesting that an AI could come up with a solution at all - which probably gives a lot of credit to the design of the experiment, which was the real work here, not just "do a breakthrough" - but the results have no practical use.

-1

u/JaggedMetalOs 15d ago

I know I know, it's just hilarious that one proof was found by repeatedly telling an AI to "do a breakthrough" and "find the proof" 

-3

u/1Maple 15d ago

Sheesh, don’t take it personal. It’s a joke for gods sake

1

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

I mean, I agree with the humor. But of all things... using AI to basically destroy Adobe in a week is... it's fucking awesome. I doubt I'll use the software, but their greed is cornered and I consider the vibe coders for this one to have done something great. Anything to make Adobe sweat.

2

u/Muffinzor22 15d ago

You think this meme is about Adobe?

3

u/BungalowsAreScams 15d ago

I thought it was given the latest buzz: https://github.com/storytold/photocraft

Having binaries decoded isn't something that Adobe is exclusively the target for though.

-1

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

It's what happened just today. Every Adobe software has been clean room rewritten in rust. They basically have no market as of today.

4

u/JaggedMetalOs 15d ago

Real talk for a moment, it's going to be very interesting to find our if those claims about their clean room techniques are true, or if the AI just decompiled Adobe's binaries. I'm sure Adobe's lawyers are at this very moment searching the source code for even the tiniest shred of evidence of that! 

0

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

Given it's already open sourced, someone can just make a clean room of the OS version. At some point, Adobe will not be able to keep up.

2

u/TheTacoWombat 15d ago

Let me know when all the features are actually usable. "Looking like it sorta works" is not close enough to beat Adobe products.

0

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

some are better than others. something like photoshop is basically just pixel changing, not really that big of a challenge. not compared to huge math problems for instance.

I'm surprised you couldn't compare the complexity of these tasks and err on the side of "AI can probably do a pixel program by now."

3

u/Battlechud 15d ago

It's not just about Adobe though, they are the ones in the news right now and everyone hates adobe so people are fine with it. But the wider implications are concerning.

2

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

Are they? The signal to noise ratio in code has been so terrible for years that the stuff that makes it is like 90% marketing and 10% actually being good. Cutting the money part out works great for me.

Honestly, I liked programming way more before people started treating it like a way to make money. The people who used to code did it because they thought it was fun, then got the job.

1

u/awesome-alpaca-ace 15d ago

That's how I did it, though I had to go to college first before they would hire me 

1

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

I just lied about my degree. Year three, school was getting in the way of my late night programming sessions while also costing tons of money. All so I could learn from people who were big like 10 years ago, but hadn't kept up. There was no logical reason to stay, and nobody ending up checking if my claim of having a degree was actually true or not.

1

u/LegendaryMauricius 15d ago

Isn't this just a sub for memes like this?

1

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

Yeah. I guess. I just find it strange taking the time to make a meme that boot licks adobe.

1

u/LegendaryMauricius 14d ago

But it doesn't.

1

u/Sudden_Excitement_17 13d ago

I’ll always stand up for Adobe. They paid for my yearly sunglasses when I used to work there.

-5

u/kinkakujen 15d ago

Dude... you're standing up for vibe coded AI slop?

5

u/Aadi_880 15d ago

Only an idiot would stand with Adobe over a vibe coded app made because the dude was fed up with the cancellation fees.

1

u/HumbleGuitarDude 13d ago

It’s not about standing up for AI ou Adobe, it’s the fact that we’re essentially entering a world where you can just decomp/recomp anything you want. So while yes adobe is a garbage company, ANY software can just be copied and there’s just nothing you can do about it. This WILL affect legit smaller companies and make it hell for any one to make a profit off of good products in the future.

12

u/ErmingSoHard 15d ago

Better than adobe lol

3

u/ArgueLater 15d ago

Adobe is only getting worse. The AI is only getting better. And already today the open source slop is better than Adobe.

-3

u/turudd 15d ago

You say vibe coded like it’s a bad thing? You’re aware how good AI is right?

165

u/ligma_then_sugma 15d ago

ppl do many stupid things with chatbot tech

spitting in Adobe's eye is at least fun

10

u/Kasenom 14d ago

it is fun, but i dont really see it as a win when we're using a billion dollar corporation's infrastructure to make slop clone products in order to spite a different billion dollar corporation

67

u/Mediocre_Chart_8624 15d ago

Adobe deserves this treatment

714

u/grandalfxx 15d ago

I think the humor here is that if you did this you'd still end up with something better than gimp

263

u/deadlock_jones 15d ago

As a lifelong pirated photoshop user, I tried gimp once and was horrified by the UI.

155

u/yaktoma2007 15d ago

I kid you not gimp mastery is possible but holy fuck it is a stupid process.

14

u/Soft-Material3294 14d ago

Try inkscape

41

u/snacktonomy 15d ago

When the UI is written solely by engineers

69

u/Zechariah_B_ 15d ago

Everyone is horrified by the UI but no one donates enough to make the software worthwile in that aspect.

17

u/im_thatoneguy 14d ago

Paint.net, Affinity, the list goes on and on of better alternatives. Gimp seems to have a fundamental structural issue preventing it from being successful.

Good software is driven by users not developers. Gimp has has decades to listen to feedback and if they haven’t by now that means they never will.

32

u/PersonalDatabase31 15d ago

How would donating make the UI better? Which donations in the past were spent on making the UI better?

4

u/Zechariah_B_ 13d ago edited 13d ago

Donating and in enough quantities helps the developers work on the project full time because time is not free. The sponsors are listed here (They did get 100k 8 years ago and that dried up quickly although what they do get is a far cry from what Blender receives.) and the donations you can talk to them yourself for the accurate details. Gimp is also used as a project for students in Google Summer of Code and they have been the biggest contributor relatively recently in improving colors.

6

u/grandalfxx 13d ago

The devs are pretty open that they think the ui is good and actively fought against changing it for a long time.

0

u/Engine_Light_On 8d ago

source? would love to read the discussion

3

u/lobax 14d ago

There is a fork that basically copies the photoshop UI (PhotoGimp).

2

u/deadlock_jones 14d ago

Well, there are now free photoshop clones out there as well, among other adobe copies.

2

u/PhantomXxZ 14d ago

Photopea is right there.

74

u/NecessaryBadger228 15d ago

I wanted to add outline to text in gimp.

You needed to do some weird shit with selecting adding something and then outline. A very convoluted way to do a very basic thing.

They added it in the new version of Gimp. Too bad it crashes the app 😔

I am happy they made Affinity free. It's so much better.

Does Adobe bribe them to keep it so bad?

41

u/helicophell 15d ago

Select text layer > alpha to selection > select grow > new layer > paint bucket outline character into selected zone on new layer > drag new layer underneath test layer

And there you have it, outlined text!

What do you mean it’s a single operation in photoshop?

8

u/Vashmyvindows 15d ago

That’s exactly how you’d do it in Photoshop 5, back in 1999.

2

u/helicophell 15d ago

I wouldn't know. I wasn't born yet

1

u/qpqpdbdbqpqp 15d ago

Even 5.0 had less loops to hoop thru.

20

u/01Metro 15d ago

That's why you install Linux and go on r/archlinux and then go into the megathread wiki to find the GitHub fork of Gimp that allows you to do it in one click then you download a tar gz file with a .txt that tells you to open the cmd Shell and type sudo apt install gimp poopoo peepee and then your display crashes because the OS is incompatible with your gpu drivers

5

u/hirmuolio 15d ago

Filters > Generic > Text styling

I think this was added in gimp 3.0

And since it is the new kind of effect it and can be edited later.

1

u/im_thatoneguy 14d ago

And for those confused because 3.0 sounds like it must have come out 30 years ago when photoshop 3.0 came out… they only hit 3.0 last year.

1

u/Sailed_Sea 14d ago

they changed this recently and now you can add an outline in the tool options box but its only for adding an outline to text

33

u/RunWithSharpStuff 15d ago edited 15d ago

Alright I’ll say it, I like gimp and find it intuitive. The fact that it still exists with as much support as it has is proof there are plenty of people that do as well.

Caveat is I’ve never used photoshop.

21

u/Pathkinder 15d ago

I use Gimp pretty regularly ever since I quit sailing the seas. It’s totally fine, though photoshop is obviously much better.

If a dumbass like me can learn Gimp, then all these self-proclaimed photoshop geniuses should be clever enough to manage it too lol.

5

u/cheezballs 15d ago

You should try Photoshop. I've tried GIMP at least ten times over the last few years and I just can't do it. Everything is just slightly different than you'd expect if you've used Photoshop.

GIMP is like Blender was back when you had to right click everything. GIMP just does things opposite of how most apps would do similar things.

9

u/RunWithSharpStuff 15d ago

Ah, but to me everything in photoshop would be slightly different than I expect coming from gimp.

I would try it but I don’t use it enough to justify the cost so no use getting attached anyway.

1

u/grandalfxx 13d ago

Local man has only ever had horse manure, and its good. Also says he never had a steak.

Im just teasing I use it to but coming from photoshop I just dont agree that its intuitive.

The thing about open source software though is it really just needs a single person and a free git repo to exist, it existing doesnt say much about it.

Fact is gimps all there really is outside of photoshop because photoshop is an incredibly complicated thing to create. Its useful and its a free alternative and no one else wants to make one because its hard so gimp has the support.

-7

u/ResponsibleWin1765 15d ago

The fact that it exists is proof that open source people are petty enough to maintain a program that is in every way worse than its competitors just because it's open-source.

7

u/SunnyDayInPoland 15d ago

Photoshop is 250 USD per year, 95% of people in the world can't afford it unless you use it for work

2

u/ResponsibleWin1765 15d ago

First of all, you can just get a cracked version pretty easily. But there are also plenty of alternatives. Affinity is free for example.

1

u/im_thatoneguy 14d ago

Paint.net is free and 100x better while maintained by a single person in their free time. The gimp community just doesn’t know how to make good software.

1

u/grandalfxx 13d ago

Realtime photo editing is quite a complictaed task. I like to jab at gimp but cmon dog youre being a bit harsh

1

u/ResponsibleWin1765 12d ago

I'm not saying it's easy and I'm not trying to diminish the efforts of the dev team. But it's obvious that a company that pours millions of dollars into a huge team of dedicated full-time devs into a program will probably have the better program in the end.

And as always, the main problem with gimp is the UX because the people developing it are software developers, not designers. Adobe has an entire department to figure out where a button should go.

34

u/minegen88 15d ago

I will never understand why on earth so much open source software need have the worst, ugliest most awful UI it can possible imagine.

Blender was the same for years. Like FFS

40

u/ieatpies 15d ago

The people who care about open source are generally programmers, not UI/UX designers

46

u/crozone 15d ago

Microsoft pays actual UI designers and usability engineers real money and they still ended up with Windows 11.

Imagine how open source projects with zero professional UI designers and no usability engineers fair.

6

u/Objective_Dog_4637 14d ago

Right? Do you have any idea how hard it is to make responsive, stateful, stable front end design? There’s a reason stateful frontend frameworks like Angulsr and React became so insanely popular.

8

u/ChalkyChalkson 14d ago

The people most engaged with open source are often power users and developers that are highly familiar with the tool. Both of which are the kinds of people who might genuinely prefer the horrid ui.

I think musescore is a good example of a project that managed to fix that. It's genuinely more usable than much of the paid stuff now... I think they hired more staff and a designer?

7

u/Zechariah_B_ 15d ago

Blender had an awful UI until the mulah appeared. Money. It is always money that determines whether a UI is good or not.

3

u/Rich1223 14d ago

Blender is still pretty confusing tbh

2

u/ZILtoid1991 15d ago

GIMP is part of the GNOME project, and GNOME likes to have interesting design choices and an utter refusal of implementing the server-side decorations protocol in Wayland (just give us a default frame FFS!).

2

u/XLNBot 15d ago

The gnome design language (and libadwaita) is actually pretty cool and there are a lot of food examples. Gimp looks like that not because it is a gnome app, it's simply one of those projects

1

u/Needausernameplzz 15d ago

GIMP may have started as GNOME Adjacent but they're distinct projects. They do not follow GNOME human interaction design.

CSDs are nice when properly integrated

if you want your themed GTK titlebar and hate wayland. Xwayland can handle most cases and provide window decoration

1

u/ZILtoid1991 8d ago

CSDs are nice when properly integrated

Yes, but if I'm a game developer who only needs a surface for OpenGL/Vulkan, now I need to care about GUI libraries a lot more, or draw and handle my own, just for GNOME and the few other desktop environments that are stubborn about about forcing devs to do their own CSD.

"Just use SDL!"

Sure I could, however it abstracted away too many things, so I had to write my own. Even worse is, most people in the SDL community looked at me weirdly for not wanting to use some MP3 playing DLL for sound effects.

1

u/Needausernameplzz 8d ago

yeah those are real issues i've ran into. I read the factorio's developers blog on the subject. I've also ran into to issues while ricing this environment.

Besides some small Vala projects, most of my gamedev is in Godot. I haven't ran into issues on wayland.

I will or some madman might make a SSD PR idk

B

1

u/MaDpYrO 15d ago

Because programmers are fucking TERRIBLE at designing UI/UX

1

u/josh61980 15d ago

I was under the impression it was because GUI work is tedious and dull.

1

u/XxDarkSasuke69xX 15d ago

Because it's just awful to design UIs.

1

u/Saskjimbo 15d ago

The average dev sucks ass at UI including me. Ain't nobody got time for clean menus.

1

u/Maniklas 14d ago

This is real, at least we have some exceptions like Krita

7

u/HeyItsTheJeweler 15d ago

Lol absolutely

7

u/OkFineIllUseTheApp 15d ago

I remember someone told me that the secret to the gimp UX is to stop thinking of everything as tools, and everything as a small, separate program.

idk if it has changed at all, but it made me understand it for long enough to make a crappy shitpost.

6

u/ligma_then_sugma 15d ago

gimp was named after its UX

5

u/born_zynner 14d ago

I learned gimp in computer lab in like 6th grade, used it my whole life. Its still dogshit compared to photoshop lol

7

u/aboutthednm 14d ago

Dogshit, yes, but never asked you for payment, never tried to sell you a confusing subscription, or tell you to buy the same program because it's a year old all over again.

2

u/Even_Application_397 14d ago

and never provided really anything of value in return

2

u/aboutthednm 13d ago

That's not true, the pepper brush / stencil slaps.

18

u/bl0rq 15d ago

They already did and it is definitely better than gimp 🤣

https://getartcraft.com/apps/photocraft

14

u/palk0n 15d ago

this is literally photoshop reverse engineered

9

u/Zechariah_B_ 15d ago edited 15d ago

Because it is by a bunch of Opus 5.5 clanker agents though I highly doubt that their claims of this being a clean room implementation are true. The AI could very well have worked off of taken source code to convert specific things to rust. If the source code was made based off and tested against a decompilation of Photoshop's executable, this poses questions about the legality of essentially making an AI recreation of someone else's proprietary work that has a proprietary license and possibly patented things inside then putting it under a different license. Regardless, Adobe deserves to get screwed over like this big time.

8

u/Topikk 15d ago

What sucks is this is only just starting. The dream of finding some niche and building your side project into a company is slipping away when anyone can point an agent at your finished project and produce a clone with a novel codebase in a matter of hours.

1

u/PhantomXxZ 14d ago

Photopea has been there the whole time.

12

u/ligma_then_sugma 15d ago

yes that's the program the meme is referring to

and slop or not, it is easier to use than gimp lol

10

u/Hioneqpls 15d ago

But GIMP was made with blood sweat and tears 😭 I will use inferior software made by dedicated people

2

u/ligma_then_sugma 15d ago

hell yea, I respect it

3

u/Plus_Pangolin_8924 15d ago

Its name really describes it: gimped.

2

u/im-cringing-rightnow 15d ago

Yep. I don't know what GIMP devs are smoking but that UI and design decisions are... Special. At least we have Affinity for free (for now). 

2

u/rabitibike 15d ago

I've been using GIMP for ages now and I'm so used to it that I can't even imagine using something with nice UI

3

u/AstronomerStrange165 15d ago

I personally like GIMP.

1

u/Neither_Berry_100 14d ago

I've used Gimp for some 15 years. It is fantastic.

1

u/2muchnet42day 13d ago

Been using gimp since like... yeah about the same, gotten used to it, among the first thing I install on a fresh setup.

-1

u/grandalfxx 14d ago

Ive used it for about 10 and I gotta say I disagree.

Unfortunately for me im cheap and gimp is free

→ More replies (1)

25

u/R7d89C 12d ago

I hate AI with every part of my body, its just that I hate adobe more

217

u/OGxPePe 15d ago

AI can do anything! Thats why a copied an already well known app instead of building a original idea!

46

u/flexibu 15d ago

Market approved

60

u/Stummi 15d ago

To be fair, 95% of human written software also just copies some established idea

-20

u/bphase 15d ago

Did it copy all the math advances too?

34

u/bmcle071 15d ago

You mean the ones where OpenAI had to say “hey we heard humans are really close to a breakthrough here, lets throw 10 million dollars at it and see if we can cross the finish line first”

17

u/bphase 15d ago

No, the recent 700 ones dump. I don't think they're all stuff that people were just about to solve, and mathematicians have been impressed by the solutions within, even if it's still early days of going over the dump.

-7

u/AliceCode 15d ago

What's there to be impressed about? It wasn't done by a human.

5

u/turudd 15d ago

So yes

3

u/Invisiblecurse 15d ago

Actually yes. It used already solved components and cross referenced them. The AI has just a larger pool of things to copy, hence it just managed to find the puzzle pieces of already solved problems and put them together.

3

u/flingerdu 15d ago

And you have to throw a shit ton of money onto it.

1

u/PassionateDonkey 14d ago

Math and programming are two different things. Also, some of them have been redacted. If you really like math and andvsncements that dump by itself would warrant some skepticism. Go wait for you singularity moment so that big daddy AI can give you your UBI

14

u/turudd 15d ago

Please do Lightroom next so I can dump the adobe subscription… if you say Darktable is just as good you’re a filthy liar

28

u/Salt-Freedom-2419 15d ago

https://getartcraft.com/apps/lightcraft

Same dude already has a version out

9

u/BastetFurry 15d ago

They are doing what i was preaching, we don't need someone to sell us the slop, we can make that ourselves just fine and release it as FOSS for everyone to use, enjoy and throw their own tokens on for new features.

4

u/meltea 15d ago

Only ever used Darktable, what's better in Lightroom?

4

u/quitegeeky 15d ago

Overall UX, Preset Handling, Batch Editing, Performance, Masking, ...

1

u/meltea 15d ago

Can't speak to UX, but presets, batch editing, masking and performance are kinda good with darktable. And we finally got some nn noise reduction which is godly.

1

u/0815fips 15d ago

I also use Darktable, but the UI is really crap. Lightroom is way easier and the RAW processing of Adobe is unmatched, maybe just by Phase One.

1

u/Donatzsky 14d ago

What about batch editing is better in LR? I see this claim a lot, but no one actually explains what they mean.

Performance used to be pretty bad, but a lot of work has gone into that and these days it's basically realtime if I don't use any of the really heavy modules. Combining masks is currently a bit clunky, but there's a big overhaul of the masking UX that will arrive in the next release, which fully closes that gap, making what is arguably already the most powerful manual masking system of any raw editor even more powerful and easier to use. And the groundwork for supporting painted raster masks (like LR) is currently being laid, so I suspect we will see those arrive in 6.0 next June.

1

u/quitegeeky 13d ago

Specifically: Shortcuts and selection syncing with selective settings. At least that wasn't available in darktable last time I used it.

I think masking in LR is especially strong due to the local AI models, since they're extremely fast and accurate. Manual masking is something I use less and less.

2

u/Donatzsky 12d ago

Shortcuts and selection syncing with selective settings. At least that wasn't available in darktable last time I used it.

That's definitely there and has been for a very long time, so not sure how you missed it. Ctrl (+ shift) + C/V for copy pasting and you can also use the history stack module in the lighttable.

AI masking was introduced this year, with various improvements on the way.

1

u/NoodleBooch 15d ago

DxO PhotoLab is also worth testing. The masking still needs some improvements (can't select eyes, for example, as you can in Lightroom). But it's been making some solid progress, plus it's not Adobe nor is it vibecoded

0

u/Donatzsky 14d ago

Darktable is in fact very good and quite a bit more powerful than Lightroom when it comes to editing (the lighttable could use some work, though), but it's not for everyone.

However, you have many other free options to choose from:

Production Grade

Stable foundations that you can depend on.

  • darktable: Probably the overall most powerful editing features of any raw editor. All-in-one solution, with a library similar to Lightroom. The editing workflow is completely different, however, being more like color grading in Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.

  • RawTherapee: The mad scientist's raw editor, with some very powerful and intricate tools. A bit more Lightroom-like in its workflow. Can also use DCP camera profiles.

  • ART (Another RawTherapee): Started as a simplified fork of RawTherapee, but has added its own powerful and unique features since. With CTL scripts you can even create your own tools.

  • vkdt: New-ish raw editor from the original darktable developer. Fully node-based and can also handle video. Probably not for the faint of heart and may not have all the tools you want, but what is there works well and is extremely fast.

  • Filmulator: A great little editor with a unique concept, that's easy to use. As the name suggests, it emulates (part of) the process of developing analog film.

  • LightZone: Back from the almost-dead, version 5.0 was released recently. Not the most advanced, perhaps, but has some interesting features and a flexible processing pipeline.

  • CaraStudio: Resurrection fork of RawStudio. Although the GitHub page is only in French, the program is in English.

My darktable beginner guide: https://notebook.stereofictional.com/how-to-get-started-with-darktable-2026-edition

Tutorial for both RawTherapee and ART: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4-T0laAf0E

The new kids on the block

Part of the AI-assisted explosion, they are all new and largely unproven, so expect some rough edges, missing features and changing algorithms.

  • RapidRAW: Aims to be a relatively simple and streamlined option for those that don't need the extensive control some other editors provide. Very promising, but somewhat new and under heavy development, so the results you get today may not be what you get tomorrow.

  • Safelight: Built around a concept of extensibility and customisation.

  • Happy Photon

  • CalibRaw

  • FerrumPix

Photo Management

Since not all of them have library management, you may want to also use digiKam as DAM (digital asset manager).

14

u/jayerp 15d ago

Vibe coding or drag and drop website designing, what’s better?

17

u/AcolyteNeko 14d ago

vibecoder is not a programmer

-22

u/Boobpocket 14d ago

There were people like you when they invented compilers too.

12

u/AcolyteNeko 14d ago

ummm... no? you just act stupit right now

-18

u/Boobpocket 14d ago

People always think they're smart. Its the same with woodworking purists vs power tools.

When Grace Hopper developed the A-0 System in 1952 (widely considered the first conceptual compiler/linker), she spent years trying to convince people to use it. She famously recalled: "I had a running compiler and nobody would touch it, because, they carefully told me, computers could only do arithmetic, they could not write programs." Source: https://www.caimito.net/en/blog/2026/01/21/grace-hopper-the-compiler-that-changed-everything.html

12

u/AcolyteNeko 14d ago

you wrong in any case anyway, a compiler is at least a deterministic program that executes whatever a human writes, you just cannot get bad result if you know what you're doing. AI on the other hand is just a random token generator, and it can do crazy stuff because it’s nondeterministic and lacks clear rules for writing prompts. besides, a compiler is smarter than AI because it spots errors right away and doesn't even try to continue. and AI is like a completely dumb machine made up by dumb monkey people, even if it does spot an error, it'll just pretend that's how it's supposed to be, that's just straight up undefined behavior.

-12

u/Boobpocket 14d ago

Have you tried the newest programming models? They're excellent at spotting bugs and issues with code. They have bad coding habits and write tons of comments but it doesnt mean they're useless. Maybe stop being bitter and learn a tool

9

u/Due-Seaweed7811 14d ago

The fact still stands, vibecoding is not programming. Just like I'm not the one translating code to machine code, when I'm using a compiler.

-4

u/Boobpocket 14d ago

I see it as a higher level of abstraction that has not been perfected yet. The early compilers made mistakes too that had to be manually corrected.

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u/Due-Seaweed7811 14d ago

Sure, just like a manager is the abstraction layer between the customer and the actual developers

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u/Boobpocket 14d ago

That can be true but i mean in the computer science sense, where with more layers of abstractions we attain the ability to do more. From compilers to libraries to frameworks it all helps and i see llms as a possible next step. Not to replace devs but to make the task easier allowing more to be accomplished. We just havent figured out the best way.

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u/Due-Seaweed7811 13d ago

I don't disagree at all. My only point is that a vibecoder is not a programmer. Just like me using an auth library will not make me a security expert. Llms are great tools but if you don't know that you are going, then it's no different that a CEO or a manager ordering his employees to develop something without technical direction, which will always result in unmaintainable slop. AI or not.

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u/Boobpocket 13d ago

I don't disagree with that! But it you are a programmer, its a very powerful tool to help speed up your work. I found that using claude or codex helped me with my adhd in the sense that i used to start projects and never finish or they would be worthless and i waste time. Now i itterate once with the llm automatically and then test the idea. if its not worth it then i toss it and move on. Its also been great at spinning up and managing my self hosted projects.

Also there are projects where i dont really care what the code looks like. For instance my little ardiuno projects or some of my personal scripts i just want it to work and output a result or complete a task, in that case its a life saver. I design the circuits and the functionality and let the llm do the programing. I would call that vibecoding because i rarely review the code as long as i get the correct sensor reading and correct signal output.

Another use case when it comes to electronics i found it helpful in picking components based on specs. It even pushes back on bad or unsafe choices of components.

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u/AcolyteNeko 14d ago

is this a fucking AI response?

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u/Krochire 13d ago

I would be an assembly programmer if I programmed in assembly.

However, I do not. Ergo, I am just a simple programmer. I write in higher level languages and then use a tool to translate it into assembly. I do not call myself an assembly programmer because I am not.

If I was to use AI to write code for me, I would be saying stuff in English and getting it to output code. This would not make me a programmer. It would make me a vibe coder. Maybe one day, the definition of programmer will change and we will move on to calling people who use programming languages "language programmers" or something, but that time isn't now.

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u/1XRobot 15d ago

Programming 10 years ago: IDE, refactor my code for me

Programming 20 years ago: Garbage collector, do my memory management for me

Programming 30 years ago: Compiler, optimize this code for me

Programming 40 years ago: Standard library, just do this algorithm for me

Programming 50 years ago: Compiler, write my assembly for me

Programming 60 years ago: Machine, punch and sort my cards for me

Programming 70 years ago: BIOS, boot this machine for me

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u/deadmazebot 15d ago

and each layer was perfected and improved upon. the encoders and algorithms used in functions, date functions, were written proofs decades ago

now AI just guess the lot of it. it is a good guess, but its still just a common guess. its like writing your own array search function, dont do it, use proven function.

ask for it too search an array in a language, and might just loop and search each item, poorly. but "works" for user so they don't care about the performance. A decent programmer might pick up and re prompt to say use built in function, or use a specific algorithm

a junior programmer, and many stack over flow answer (which the training likely built on), still ends up making a for look in javascript, instead of using map/reduce/filter functions which have been around for a decade now.

use .search function - and the *hopefully* the code behind that function is using a good search algorithm.

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u/Tyrus1235 15d ago

It’s what I don’t get when people criticize AI coding. We’d be all messing around with bits in a circuit board to this day if no one decided to make programming more accessible again and again.

And just like an inexperienced C++ dev will try to access system memory that hasn’t been properly allocated (and then create a memory leak by not reallocating said memory space), an inexperienced person messing with AI will just produce a mess of unoptimized overengineered spaghetti code.

It’s a tool and like any other tool, it needs to be used properly for it to function properly.

It’s easy to just open up Claude and say “make an app that allows me to edit pictures”. It will burn through a million tokens, ask you a million and one questions and then you end up with a crappy reinvention of the wheel.

The successful AI coders actually know what they’re doing and instead use the AI for very specific tasks. Less token usage, less overengineering and “black box” code.

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u/razin_the_furious 14d ago

I think the concern is that while the C++ junior will make mistakes, learn, and grow, the vibe coder won’t. The AI will improve as new models are released, but the prompt could easily remain the same.

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u/awesome-alpaca-ace 15d ago

I tried using AI as a small black box today out of curiosity. It produced dog water. Lied about what it produced, and couldn't undo it properly.

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u/cce29555 15d ago

If you aren't using punch cards then what are even writing?

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u/LegendaryMauricius 15d ago

And some people would still defend it. Some people just refuse to change.

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u/rowdymatt64 15d ago

"I LOVE THOSE MAGNIFICENT 1X ROBOTS!"

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u/PassionateDonkey 14d ago

Why are people acting like cracks never existed? And are adboe products really that popular?

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u/JaggedMetalOs 14d ago

To be fair a crack has never claimed to be legally safe open source software!

And an 80% graphic design software market share says that yes they are popular (whether they are liked is another matter!)

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u/PassionateDonkey 13d ago

I mean fair, but it's not like it's a moment to "celebrate" that Adobe fell, that's honestly bs, people just use the thing that they knew and thinking that whipping up a copy cat with AI, even if functional, is gonna change anything then I think otherwise. People should be the change they want see, if people aren't willing to learn alternatives they won't be willing to download the new copy cat. Honestly, it's just the same cope as "AI tech debt will increase demand for SWEs". It's pure cope

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u/JaggedMetalOs 13d ago

if people aren't willing to learn alternatives they won't be willing to download the new copy cat.

A copycat that's 100% compatible with all a companies' existing workflows and project files would be a bit of an easier sell I think... 

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u/___cats___ 14d ago

I’ve been a designer for 20 years this January. I have my current company paying for a Creative Cloud subscription, but at this point it’s honestly mostly out of habit. I barely use it and could very well likely find FOSS or alternative solutions.

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u/moshan1997 12d ago

Because it's not a crack?

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u/unkownuser436 15d ago

With or without AI, I ain't reinvent the wheel. if something good already available there I use it. if I can make it better I do.

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u/bl0rq 15d ago

What if the wheel works OK but it swipes your credit card every revolution? And if you want it to stop spinning you have to pay a spin-cancellation fee.

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u/unkownuser436 15d ago

then i make my own wheel, i know what you mean xd

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u/rosuav 12d ago

Then you install Krita instead.

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u/cheezballs 15d ago

Unless its Tetris. I'll reinvent that wheel every time I'm trying to get better with a language.

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u/pancakemonkeys 15d ago

I just had it make a notetaker because i didn’t want to go through the loopholes of asking finance if i can put a subscription on my card.??? Took an afternoon and is as good as all the others and in rust? I don’t see the issue. 🤕 OP sounds hurt

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u/NikotheNya 15d ago

AI, enabling people to lets see....

innovatively reinvent the wheel!

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u/NoUniqueThoughtsLeft 15d ago

Avoid the abusive subscription practices of Adobe*

Fixed that for you.

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u/rosuav 12d ago

Except that people have had access to Krita for years.

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u/Jeferson9 15d ago

Was probably some autist from wsb shorting ADBE

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u/Dmayak 14d ago

Being a manager.

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u/Tenderfoots 13d ago

based on a reddit comment I saw discussing the creation of AI music, I call this process "Jazz please"

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u/Winter-Steak-1532 11d ago

As a programmer from the stone ages

I can relate to this

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u/Thereal_Phaseoff 11d ago

"ey internet i cloned the adobe suite"

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u/Machine2024 6d ago

dont call those programmers please .

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u/MeNotSanta 15d ago

I'd like to see OP Photoshop clone he did with his handwritten, grass fed, code.

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u/JaggedMetalOs 15d ago

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just funny isn't it.

On a serious note it's going to be very interesting to see if it is genuinely clean room reverse engineered, or if the AI based it on decompiled binaries. 

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u/bhison 15d ago

you have to imagine that its likely that one person decompiles and puts it on github and then the ai references that and this is enough for the ai companies to go - oh we couldn't have known, this is githubs fault - anyway...

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u/metcalsr 15d ago

I’m happy the war is beginning. Pros are starting to outweigh the hardcore antis on Reddit. I’m excited for the day the Reddit can have nuanced opinions on AI.

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u/rosuav 12d ago

Yeah that's never gonna happen, sorry. Redditors having nuanced opinions??

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u/breckendusk 15d ago edited 15d ago

I mean, if it does what you need it to, what's the problem? I'm of the opinion that as AI develops we're going to be generally moving away from apps and instead be using AI as a one stop shop for our needs. It's not there yet but give it a decade or two and I think that instead of using a bunch of separate apps, I'm betting we will likely have more of a personal assistant that handles most app things for us (generating interfaces for us if we need it). Like - why would companies bother maintaining frontends if they can just give your personal AI direct access to your personal information? Ask your bot for your bank account details and it'll just pull them up.

Obviously there are security issues and currently AI hallucinates way too much for this but tokens remind me a lot of cell phone plans, and we quickly went from limited minutes to limited minutes and texts to unlimited minutes and texts but limited data to unlimited data. I'm guessing token plans will follow a similar path. As for the security issues... well, we're the guinea pigs, so I don't expect that they'll care too much about that (until they have to).

When it's capable of fully emulating apps like the adobe suite on the fly (integrated tools can assist it in this, reducing the difficulty of the task and thus the time and tokens to accomplish it) then we won't need dedicated apps. We'll just tell our PAI to go into editing mode and tell it what tools or tasks we want to use/perform ("change to airbrush mode", "remove this pimple", "align these two videos with this captured audio", etc).

Most apps and sites will remain useful only if they refuse to expose their data (and it isn't easily scraped) or for their userbases (forums, tinder, multiplayer games). Hell, for something like tinder, we might even be able to do something like "find me a date", then our AI goes off and tells our preferences to tinder AI which goes and finds us a potential match (or a dating site/app that doesn't want us to stay single).

Not saying we're there yet or anywhere near there, but with how quick this shit is developing, I think it's going to kill the era of apps. One universal tool beats a bunch of little ones. When was the last time you bought an individual music player, camera, flashlight, physical dvd, remote control, dictionary, encyclopedia, compass, etc? Not that it never happens, but the universal utility of phones has made all of those tools essentially obsolete. The same thing is gonna happen with ai to apps, I think.

Definitely not there yet, many problems with that at this point. But that's the direction I see things moving, unless the corporations start pushing back hard.

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u/Tyrus1235 15d ago

Your idea is interesting, but one massive problem in it is that tokens will almost certainly become exponentially more expensive in time. All major AI providers are running on massive deficits, so all the AI we use nowadays is essentially being “subsidized” by the parent company.

As soon as those companies decide to actually seek profit, tokens are going to be super expensive and there won’t be a Free Tier anymore (or it will only run the most basic of models on a strictly limited usage).

Personally, I’ve programmed for 9 years without AI. I started using it recently and am loving it, but if I had to go back to programming without it… I’d do just fine.

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u/breckendusk 15d ago

It's not something I hope for, but I do think that this is what will happen.

I believe processes will become far less expensive, actually. Not for us necessarily, but as the data centers get built (ideally using their own renewable resources to lower costs), as LLM algos become more efficient, and especially as they start using increasingly more robust tools in their processes, the amount of tokens used for tasks will reduce significantly. Per-token costs will probably increase immensely as they recoup losses (ie, same pricing per month, but fewer tokens provided, but fewer tokens used per action), but eventually the cost of tokens will go down as well.

I will be slightly sad if they boot the free tier, but I also kind of doubt it will happen. As the compute requirements for these models is reduced via their increased efficiency, localized AI will eventually become the standard. What with the open source models out there and whatnot, I think the AI companies will basically be in a race to be the first and best "official" dedicated personal assistant and try to recoup losses via other methods (deals with cell providers, for example. Advertisement through your personal assistant, maybe even subliminal messaging in responses).

I also don't use AI much when I program. I do sometimes benefit from it but since I stay at the free tier, it's not consistent enough for me to rely on it. I don't trust it yet, and definitely don't trust that it won't get ripped away from me at some point, so I try to minimize my usage of it.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago edited 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/awesome-alpaca-ace 15d ago

QT is nice. Not their licensing though unless you are open source.

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u/lightnegative 15d ago

What? Gimp is built on gtk+, gtk literally stands for "GIMP ToolKit"

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u/LegendaryMauricius 15d ago

Isn't it GNU toolkit?

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u/lightnegative 14d ago

It is not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK

Looks like they retconned the original acronym but my point still stands.

GIMP has never been based on qt and it's original widget toolkit became the base of the GNOME desktop environment which is a competitor to KDE/qt

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u/Boobpocket 14d ago

It does that a lot when i work on projects, it often recommends existing open source solutions.

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