Every new tool opens the door to new practices that were previously impossible, and LLMs have brought us Vibe Coding. The concept is simple: you describe an LLM what you want, and the LLM produces code. Then you play with your application, if it seems to work then you crack open a beer (or your beverage of choice); if it doesn't then you tell the LLM what the problem is and ask it to fix the code. It's a loop of refining the requirements over and over until the LLM gets it right without ever loo
  • calliope@retrolemmy.com
    21·
    4 days ago

    When I wrote Real-World Maintainable Software, I highlighted the fact that Dr. Winston W. Royce introduced the world to the concept of Waterfall Project Development with a stark warning: the implementation described is risky and invites failure

    Did the world heed this warning? No, we went full on Waterfall for decades, suffering failed project after failed project, never wondering if anything had to be changed.

    This is a breathtakingly naive point of view from the author of a book with such a lofty title.

    The idea that everyone went “full waterfall” is hilariously misinformed. And that it was “failed project after failed project” until waterfall went away is comical too. Where did all that software come from if every project failed? All software engineers did nothing for decades and still got work??

    I thought “oh, maybe I should take this guy seriously because he wrote a book with a title like that…?” Nah. It’s not that kind of book. It’s a glorified list in pamphlet form for junior developers who don’t know to buy something else.

    I know hubris is one of the qualities of a good programmer but he seems to have skipped the details of that one.