alt Hacker NewsThis what I really wonder, what is even the cost of code? Or what is real code quality.
I know that things like “clean code” exists but I always felt that actual code quality only shows when you try adding or changing existing code. Not by looking at it.
And the ability to judge code quality on a system scale is something I don’t think LLMs can do. But they may support developers in their judgment.
I don't know why people think SWEs are aesthetic snobs when we talk about "clean code"--the point of code is not to be pretty, it's to be understandable and predictable.
Quality doesn't matter if you're writing throwaway code or you need your startup to find a market before you run out of cash.
But once it matters, it matters a lot.