alt Hacker NewsI’m 63 (almost 64), and I’m rewriting an app (server and native client), that took a couple of years to originally write.
Been working for about a month, and I’m halfway through. The server’s done (but I’m sure that I’ll still need to tweak and fix bugs), and I’m developing the communication layer and client model, now. It took seven months to write the first version of the server, and about six months to write a less-capable communication driver, the first time.
This is not a “vibe-coded” toy for personal use. It’s a high-Quality shipping app, with thousands of users. There’s still a ton of work, ahead, but it looks like an achievable goal. I do feel as if my experience, writing shipping software, is crucial to using the LLM to develop something that can be shipped.
I’ve had to learn how to work with an LLM, but I think I’ve found my stride. I certainly could not do this, without an LLM.
The thing that most upset me, since retirement, has been the lack of folks willing to work with me. I spent my entire career, working in teams, and being forced to work alone, reduced my scope. I feel as if LLMs have allowed me to dream big, again.
The isolation of being a retired programmer is a real bitch. I think back to the days of a few young programmers with me at the whiteboard, the fast back and forth, the satisfaction of seeing ideas come together. I really missed that.
I'm not allowed to feel like AI is an adequate replacement for fear that the critics will tell me I'm not healthy but, between you and me, as much as I miss the camaraderie of real humans, being able to brainstorm with an entity that knows pretty much everything and is able to execute my will without complaint is not bad.
And, it's nice to have someone, something, to talk to about technical ideas. It's a great time to be alive.