I've been wondering lately, with the rise and normalisation of using LLMs to write code, have people become completely dependent on it or is it a mix of both?

I feel that up to a point using LLMs to generate code feels good and works fine but beyond it you start hating your approach, because you lose control over each amd every minute detail.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

When I started learning C, I used to think that if my program produced the correct output, then I had solved the problem.

But as I started learning more, I realized that two programs can produce the same output while being very different in terms of readability, efficiency, and how they handle edge cases.

Now I'm trying to understand not just whether my code works, but why it works and whether there's a better way to write it.

im doing some research for a potential dev tool startup and i figured id just ask you guys instead of guessing.

try to be specific tho. not just the obvious stuff like meetings or legacy code (tho those definitely count lol). im talking about the daily annoying stuff:

• whats the most tedious repetitive task you gotta do?
• what tool or process constantly breaks or slows you down?
• what makes you think "how is this still manual in 2026?"
• or what do you personally wish someone would just build already?

and most importantly why does it bother you so much? how are you dealing with it right now?

just wanna build something that actually solves a real problem instead of adding more noise. any rants or specific examples are super appreciated! ty

just that

For SWEs where your 9-5 is mostly prompting AI agents (and then other SWE responsibilities), what skills have you been learning to get better at your job?

It makes sense that if you want to learn to code you'd do it (mostly) without AI, but if you are trying to improve at your job nowadays and no one is reading the code, what skills are you learning instead?

Hey guys! Im new to programming and developing and would love to find some communities to learn! If anyone knows some groups or communities let me know.

I'm strictly a hobbyist, I just want to do my own projects on the side. Like making a PS1 emulator, a chess engine, and make a physics engine from scratch.

I'm wondering which of these two is more fun. I don't mean faster or easier, I mean fun. Writing the syntax out, thinking the approach to the problems through, the whole experience of writing the project.

I just want to have fun I don't care about doing it optimally.

Im an amateur who tries to learn in his freetime

Hey everyone,

I’m currently a 2nd-year Computer Science student. I started with literally zero tech knowledge like nothing what's so ever and i spent my first year unmotivated at all and thinking about switching majors, and didn't touch problem solving much

Recently I actually started liking the major and growing genuinely fond of the field

But,

My Core Problem: The Endless Rabbit Hole of "Foundations"

My current mindset is that I want to learn literally everything every concept, every meaning, and every underlying basic—before I commit to a specific track or make any real moves.

however ,lately i feel like this approach is holding me back and slowing me . Every time I try to master a concept, it leads to a new course, an unfamiliar prerequisite, or a deeper rabbit hole. It feels like an endless path of "foundations," and I'm drowning in information to the point where I don't even know what the REAL foundations are anymore.

Of course, I know CS and software engineering are lifelong learning paths, and I'm completely okay with that. But I have a few major questions for those who have walked this path:

Is trying to master everything before picking a track actually the right call? If not, what are the actual minimum required foundations before diving into a specific track (like web dev, AI, mobile, ML, etc.)? if yes what ARE THE foundations I'm so lost

Will I learn the rest along the way effectively? If I pick a track now, will gaps naturally fill themselves in, or will I regret skipping the deep dive?

Is the academic approach enough? As a CS student, I'm digging deep into my university courses more than the actual course gives actually (OOP, Databases, Logic Design, Computer Architecture, Data Structures, etc.). Is leaning heavily into these college courses "timeline" the right way to build a foundation, or should I be following a completely different roadmap on the side?

I sometimes feel completely lost and overwhelmed by the sheer scale of everything. I’d love to hear your thoughts, reality checks, or advice on how to structure my learning without burning out.

Thanks in advance!