Frustration brews as Daniel Stenberg critiques AI tools in security bug detection, emphasizing the need for human oversight. Brian Birtles shares bizarre web development beliefs that engineers hold, highlighted by a chaotic npm prank. Rob Pike offers insights into the successes and failures of the Go programming language. Meanwhile, Gavin Howard challenges the notion that all code is technical debt, insisting it's time to rethink our approaches to tech debt, suggesting some problems might be due to malpractice rather than mere financial issues.
AI tooling may not be effective for finding security bugs in software development and human intervention is still crucial for better results.
Returning to full-time web development, Brian Birtles highlights the value of previously mocked frameworks and techniques, as well as the unexpected notions held by web developers.
Deep dives
Frustration with AI Tooling Advancements in Curl
Daniel Stenberg, creator and maintainer of Curl, expresses his frustration with recent AI tooling advancements. He believes that generative AI tooling hasn't provided much value for Curl and that its use for fighting security problems may not always be effective. Daniel remains open to the idea that future AI tools could be beneficial, but emphasizes the importance of human intervention for better results.
Surprising Discoveries in Web Development
Brian Bertels, a former browser engineer, reveals his surprises after returning to full-time web development. He acknowledges the difficulty of web development and admits that some frameworks and techniques previously mocked by browser engineers are actually valuable. Brian identifies eight unexpected notions from web developers, including the idea that all sites should work without JavaScript and the belief that web development should not require a build step.
Daniel Stenberg is frustrated with the state of AI tooling for finding security bugs, Brian Birtles is surprised by weird things engineers believe about web dev, Feross Aboukhadijeh details the fallout from a nasty npm prank, Rob Pike shares what he thinks they got right and wrong with Go & Gavin Howard writes up why he believes “all code is tech debt” is all wrong.