AI-first Engineering: Simply Better Code
AI-first developers look for every opportunity to create straight lines between requirements and good production code.
This developer makes some excellent points.
In stories, you will often find the motif of a powerful demon that can be controlled only by knowing its true name. Once the hero finds out that name, through cunning dialogue or by investigating ancient tomes, they can turn things around and banish the demon!
I firmly believe writing code is not much different: through finding good names for functions, variables, and other constructs, we truly recognize the essence of the problem we are solving. The consequence of clarity gained is not just good names but also cleaner code and improved architecture.
As the author makes clear, naming conventions are crucial in software development. Lacking naming conventions, your software holds a future riddled with a shitshow of inconsistencies and poorly documented solutions that work, but good luck to the poor bastard who must update it long after you’ve left.
While the article referenced is comprehensive and a significant investment in time, you needn’t read it or worry about it if you use generative AI built into your development tool stack.
Given this code (his example), we can see that it has several variables representing values that are not immediately understood until you read and process the logic in your head. There are no naming standards used in this code.
What would a considerate developer do to give it more consistent naming standards?
I certainly wouldn’t do all the stuff in the article. It’s a massive list of considerations that require mental awareness and manual tasks that are heaped on the engineer without deference to cost or distractions. I don’t advise anyone to follow this advice, given today’s AI-based alternatives.
Instead…
Highlight the code in your generative AI-enhanced editor and ask it to create a new version of the code with good naming conventions. Even better, configure your copilot to suggest changes that conform to good naming conventions as you create your code.
This is what it means to become an AI-first developer.