I'm more a fan of just a sql template string handler... in C#/.Net I rely on Dapper... for node, I like being able to do things like...
const results = await query`
SELECT...
FROM...
WHERE x = ${varname}
`;
Note: This is not sql injection, the query is a string template handler that creates a parameterized query and returns the results asynchronously. There's adapters for most DBs, or it's easy enough to write one in a couple dozen lines of code or less.
ORMs not only help with the result of the query but but also when writing queries. When I wrote SQL I was constantly checking table names, columns, and enums. With a good ORM like EF Core not only you get autocomplete, type checking, etc but dealing with relationships is much less tedious than with SQL. You can read or insert deeply nested entities very easily.
Obviously ORMs and query builders won't solve 100% of your queries but they will solve probably +90% with much better DX.
For years I used to be in the SQL-only camp but my productivity has increased substantially since I tried EF for C# and Drizzle for TS.
VS Code plugs into my DB just fine for writing SQL queries...
With an ORM, you can also over-query deeply nested related entities very easy... worse, you can then shove a 100mb+ json payload to the web client to use a fraction of.
No, but it does put you closer to the actual database and makes you think about what you're actually writing. You also aren't adding unnecessary latency and overhead to every query.
Also the overhead of good ORMs is pretty minimal and won't make a difference in the vast majority of cases. If you find a bottleneck you can always use SQL.
Bit of a plug but I just started working on a drizzle-esque ORM[1] for Python a few days ago and it seems somewhat appropriate for this thread. Curious whether anyone thinks this is a worthwhile effort and/or a good starting point syntax-wise.
It depends what environment you're operating within.
I've used LLMs for code gen at work as well as for personal stuff.
At work primarily for quick and dirty internal UIs / tools / CLIs it's been fantastic, but we've not unleashed it on our core codebases. It's worth noting all the stuff we've got out of out are things we'd not normally have the time to work on - so a net positive there.
Outside of work I've built some bespoke software almost entirely generated with human tweaks here and there - again, super useful software for me and some friends to use for planning and managing music events we put on that I'd never normally have the time to build.
So in those ways I see it as massively increasing productivity - to build lower stakes things that would normally just never get done due to lack of time.
I do wonder about the second order effects of the second bit.
A lot of open source tooling gets created to solve those random "silly" things that are personal annoyances or needs. Then you find out others have the same or similar problem and entire standard tooling or libraries come into existence.
I have pontificated on how easy access to immediate "one offs" will kill this idea exchange? Instead of one tool maintained by hundreds to fulfill a common need, we will end up with millions of one-off LLM generated that are not shared with anyone else.
Might be a net win, or a net loss. I'm really not sure!
If you bought even a small bluetooth speaker that sounded the same as an MBP, you'd think "this thing kinda sucks... no bass, but at least it's small; what do you expect". Either that or you aren't someone who cares about sound (which is fine)
I have a stereo system with a DSP which I've spent quite a bit of time adjusting with tools like REW. I do care. I'm obviously adjusting my expectations because the laptop is indeed small but it really does sound great and I prefer it to typically boomy resonating bass-heavy tuning of small speakers. It's also very good at stereo separation, can even do behind-the-listener flyby from a Dolby Atmos test file.
> I’ll wager you have not listened to high-quality music or movies on a recent MacBook Pro.
Because of this conversation, I just watched Ne Zha (the first one, from 2019) on my M1-generation MacBook Pro. It sounded okay. I didn't hate it like I'd hate listening on a tablet or something. But...
> I’ve never heard a BT speaker of any size sound that good.
My MacBook Pro didn't sound as good as the smallest bluetooth speaker that I personally own and use (Marshall Kilburn), which is battery powered and whose primary daily use in my life is playing podcasts while I shower. It definitely didn't sound as good as the budget brand PC speakers I use with my TV (Edifier 1700BTs), either-- with or without a subwoofer. It didn't even sound as good as my wireless earbuds, let alone my headphones.
I don't think my tastes are that fancy. I've never had a surround sound setup. I've never tried a pair of IEMs. I've never owned or pursued a "audiophile"-grade equipment. I'm not a basshead, either.
I can appreciate some of the nice qualities of my MacBook's speakers relative to the form factor. But at the end of the day it still clearly falls in the "not real speakers" bucket. They're laptop speakers, not magic.
I have a couple projects I could see this being really useful in, at least as an option instead of pure plain text. I still feel like consumers don't like markdown though, it's frustrating.
One thing I noticed, when doing a list (bullet, numbered etc) it would be great if the list continued on barrage return (enter) - most general users would expect that I think.
There are lots and lots and lots of us that don't like using VSCode, want to use our own IDE of choice and use Claude Code. Terminal / standalone app is best for me there or even better an IDE plugin.
A tiny island is fine for a tool like this - not everything needs an 'ecosystem'.
The thing about tiny islands isn't that every tool needs a sprawling ecosystem to thrive. It's that applications that don't develop a userbase tend to die. This is as true of open source apps as it is commercial ones.
Typically, applications develop a userbase when they offer something that people can't find elsewhere.
What I'm saying isn't "everyone should be using VScode extensions for this"; it's "I see nothing to distinguish this from a bunch of other functionally identical applications and people just keep building them." I literally don't see a single unique feature promoted on the landing page.
My fundamental point is that we're in a gold rush phase where people are all building the same thing. We'll eventually see a handful of apps get popular and effort swell around those instead of everyone reimplementing the same thing. And my money is on that looking a lot like it usually does: the winners will be the apps that find some way to differentiate themselves.
You're describing superficial behavior -- akin to taking the first match on Google or SO and saying that people are only doing that regarding AI prompts.
Good prompting _does_ require engagement and, for most cases, some research, just like SO or Google.
Sure, you can throw out idle or lazy queries. The results will be worse generally.
They can get away with not implementing even basic stuff, becauase their core feature is all 99% of the users even care about.
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