Since we out here doing ad hominems: if you don't think the code you wrote a few months ago is shit, you're already cooked, and judging by that comment, I'm betting you're crispy.
Even the best code I've ever written rots, not because it changes but because I get better. Now... I know thinking out of the box is hard... but one can get better a lot of different ways, and call me an optimist, but I'm betting folks can get better at producing tool-assisted code, too. Assuming how we do it now is how it will be forever is silly.
We're in the middle of figuring out the next level of mediated engineering. You-know-what or get off the pot, but stop pretending being a dinosaur is still in vogue. It's gauche, and trust me, we've seen it all before...
... back in my day we didn't have that fancy IDE autocomplete; we memorized every function in a library. IDEs?! ... Back in my day we didn't even have debuggers; we just knew how the code worked. Pish posh, back in my day the compiler didn't even produce error messages that made sense. Compilers? The faux luxury of it all! Back in my day, if you actually cared about your code, you wrote the assembly by hand.
The code I write is pretty good, and it stays good throughout the years because it was already good. If you're frequently finding month old code to be shit, your code is just shit to begin with.
Or .. you are working in an unstable environment. If the system you take as a base changes frequently(like the web), your code becomes bad, outdated code, no matter how shiny it was before.
But if it was good, migration and maintaining it is easier.
Are you implying I should have switched to react 13 years ago, when it was just another framework who come and go?
And then my experience would have been stable?
(I kind of doubt it, when my unstable web experience was caused by changes into how canvas works, webrtc, indexeddb, webgl, webgpu. I don't make simple UI's)
Or well, just that "let" was introduced makes all my beautiful old code with only "var" bad code by modern standards.
My point is that the web is not really an unstable platform anymore, it's just something people say that used to be true. Also using var and other superceded constructions doesn't make the code bad; that's not what bad code is. I think you know this.
Let me put it like this, I believe there are holy sacred programmers out there, who always are in total control of their code, I just have not met them yet.
And no, not all my code is written at 5 am when I am close of passing out. But I say those who never experienced that flow to also do hacky things to get something done and if it takes till the morning, maybe did not capture the full spirit of a hacker site?
"holy sacred programmers" and writing "the same functions again and again" are two extremes. There's a point in the middle where you implement the same function twice perhaps and then on the third time feel like such a thing should already be there and so go look or maybe perhaps add some documentation or centralize functionality to a utilities library etc.
I believe the point being discussed is the scale of "badness" that vibe-coding introduces.
"There's a point in the middle where you implement the same function twice perhaps and then on the third time feel like such a thing should already be there and so go look or maybe perhaps add some documentation or centralize functionality to a utilities library etc."
Yes, my point was exactly about the middle ground. (And the double implemented functions were of a rather small kind, where rewriting them was faster than looking for the old ones. And it was hyperbole of course, I don't routinely do the same again and again for no reason. I remember maybe 2 or 3 instances of that happening)
I wrote bad code and good code in my life, depending on the project and depending on myself.
And where I wrote bad code in the past, AI is actually great with helping that. Finding duplicates, documentation out of order, etc.
"I believe the point being discussed is the scale of "badness" that vibe-coding introduces."
The point I was discussing is that code is not automatically understood, or good, just because a human wrote it.
So all in all, sure, Vibe coding enables a new universe of bad code (that pretends to look good). But if done right, it can also raise the bar. It is a powerful tool and up to us on how we use it.
I do something similar to your first approach just as I'm about to context switch (either because the day has ended or I have to work on something else).
I write a small summary of what I was doing and what were my next steps at the time, and I write this either directly in the code, in paper or sometimes in a text file. I call them ENDSNAPs (end snapshots).
You mean like Berlin, where you get max. 36k€ a year for Full Stack Dev and pay 13k€ for Rent? I think the main reason for Cities in Europe become tech hubs is the extreme low cost for Devs and other tech people.
Oh come on, you can't even get a junior for less than 45k in Berlin. Most of my professional circle are well over 60, 70. If you're getting 36 as a (good) full stack I'd seriously recommend switching jobs.
New grads can get 50k in Berlin. You'd be an idiot to move there for less than 60-70k these days. I'm constantly hit up by recruiters who're trying to lure me back for 80-90k.
Talked with dozens of Berlin's startups. I don't think that any of them offered more than 55-60k for mid/senior dev roles. Some were trying even to lowball below 50k. Businesses paying more flood the candidates with quizzes, assignments, and give post-contractual non-compete to sign. They suck the sweet labor desperation dry.
The lowest junior engineer job grade at my previous company started at 50k + 8% bonus, and salaries went up to 90k base + 15% bonus for a principal engineer, with a pretty linear progression for the titles in between (mid-level, senior, lead). This company pays above average, but it's not the best paying in town, not even close. There are few ones (Amazon, eBay, SAP, car makers... even a few startups with deep pockets) that pay more than that.
If single, you will have a blast in Berlin with 45k. If you're moving with a dependent, that's a bit tight (as a newcomer, you will never find the best deals regarding accommodation, there's a fair supply of newly built apartments in Berlin, but they aren't cheap).
That's an exaggeration. Most salaries are places in the 50-60k range and if you are a senior you'll get a salary from 60-70k.
As a new grad/junior, you'll be getting around 40-45k.
45k/year is enough for a single person or even a couple living more frugal.
It's bad here but it's not nearly that bad. If you're a good full stack dev you can easily make 50k, and 9k rent+utilities yearly will buy you a very reasonable lifestyle.
In Germany there are Places where you get paid very well, like Munich or Hamburg. But Berlin is like the Cheap and hyped City where you can pay less and find good employees who are willing to pay high rent, sometimes half of the monthly earnings, only to work for a Startup or a Big Name Company.
Those numbers feel really off.
13k/year rent means ~1100 € monthly rent. That's the average rent for a nice apartment in a nice area. If you're making 36k € yearly salary then it might make more sense to live in a shared room for 400/month or get a better (normal) paid job.
36K euros a year "Brut" (before social security) was my starting salary in the Paris area. I know that Berlin is a little bit cheaper (in term of rent) than Paris but I would expect it to be about the same as Paris in term of salary.
For information in Paris, currently I'm at ~50K a year "Brut", which means ~35K a year "Net" ("go home" salary).
I'm costing ~75K per year to my employer in term of salary (there are taxes on his side to).
My rent, for a small flat (22 square meters) in Paris is around 10K per year.
My taxes are around 6K per year.
I'm an SRE/software engineer with ~8 years experience.
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