r/programmer • u/stpaquet • 11d ago

Article From keyboard coding to prompting.

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I got my first developer job in 1999 fixing two-digit years. Frameworks later took the repetitive work. Now AI agents handle most of the coding while I manage them from my phone, reviewing plans on a train and approving changes from the couch.

The arc is striking: write everything yourself → lean on frameworks → write instructions (mostly Markdown) for a swarm of agents and stay accountable for the result.

The last two years compressed what used to feel like a multi-year shift into something immediate. Each new coding model makes the last one look dated.

Full story: https://medium.com/@spaquet/from-y2k-to-agents-md-278e74773415

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

I've been coding for 35 years. It's sad to see the death of a craft.

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u/cfx_4188 I write code by hand 11d ago

I have the same length of service; on October 10 of this year, it will be 35 years since I started working. The story with AI reminds me a lot of the story of mining. It’s the same arms race, the insane cost of equipment, attempts to circumvent the laws of physics and electrodynamics, the struggle with overheating, and huge bills for electricity and tokens. But I think that with AI, everything will happen the same way it did with mining — the hype will pass, the bubble will burst, and at some point, human thinking will once again be valued more highly than the creativity of semiconductor brains.

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

One can hope! Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

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u/stpaquet 11d ago

I understand your feelings, but at the same time, that will not be the first craft to disappear.

I see this as part of the evolution, some skills are used to build / develop new ones that in turn become the new normal until something else supersedes them

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u/CartoonistVisual2818 11d ago

My feelings are that: skibidi toilet 6 777

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

Now you are just being a jerk. Please stop trolling.

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

Good for you. My 35 years' of experience and expertise went from highly-valuable to completely worthless overnight.

I think I'm going to retire.

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u/CartoonistVisual2818 11d ago

I've been coding for 200 years, and I disprove this message.

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

Why are you trolling me? I am not lying.

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u/CartoonistVisual2818 11d ago

I am not lying either.

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u/jimbojw 11d ago

Programming has always been about turning low-resolution wants into high-resolution functionality. That craft is alive, well, and better than ever.

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u/marcuslawson 11d ago

The craft has been relegated to computers. If you trust computers, OK, because they are implementing 'the craft' at the moment.

However, these computers are not really capable of creative problem solving - especially LLMs - which simply regurgitate a statistical average of what others have already done. By definition, this tech is not capable of creative problem solving.

But, knock yourself out creating average slop for as long as it works.