Why do you need an LLM if you know what you want it to do? Just write the code rather than wrangling with the LLM, it isn't like writing code take much time when you know what it should do.
Not op but my response: Because I am lazy and would like to save the 1-5 minutes it would take me to actually write it. When there are dozens of these small things a day the saved time really adds.
For me, it depends on the problem. I avoid LLMs for anything complex, cause I prefer to think it through myself. But there are often times when you know exactly what you want and you know how it should look like. Let's say you need a simple web API to help you with a task. These days I'd typically ask an LLM to write the app. It will usually get some stuff wrong, but after a quick glance I can steer it to fix the problems (like: you didn't handle errors etc).
That way I can generate a simple few hundred lines of code app in minutes. There is no way I could type that fast even if I exactly know what characters to write and it's not always the case. Like, oftentimes I know exactly what to do and I know if it's OK when I see the code, but writing it would require me to look into the docs here and there.
- Getting over the blank canvas hurdle, this is great for kick starting a small project and even if the code isn't amazing, it gets my brain to the "start writing code and thinking about algo/data-structures/interesting-problem" rather than being held up at the "Where to begin?" Metaphorically where to place my first stroke, this helps somewhat.
- Sometimes LLM has helped when stuck on issues but this is hit and miss, more specifically it will often show a solution that jogs my brain and gets me there, "oh yeah of course" however I've noticed I'm more in than state when tired and need sleep, so the LLM might let me push a bit longer making up for tired brain. However this is more harmful to be honest without the LLM I go to sleep and then magically like brains do solve 4 hours of issues in 20 minutes after waking up.
So LLM might be helping in ways that actually indicate you should sleep as brain is slooooowwwwing down
Yes, this. I was skeptical and disgusted at a lot of what was being done or promised by using LLMs, but this was because I initially saw a lot of wholesale: "Make thing for me," being hyped or discussed.
In practice, I have found them to be good tools for getting going or un-stuck, and use them more like an inspiration engine, or brain kick-starter.
- Getting over the blank canvas hurdle, this is great for kick starting a small project and even if the code isn't amazing, it gets my brain to the "start writing code and thinking about algo/data-structures/interesting-problem" rather than being held up at the "Where to begin?" Metaphorically where to place my first stroke, this helps somewhat.
- Sometimes LLM has helped when stuck on issues but this is hit and miss, more specifically it will often show a solution that jogs my brain and gets me there, "oh yeah of course" however I've noticed I'm more in than state when tired and need sleep, so the LLM might let me push a bit longer making up for tired brain. However this is more harmful to be honest without the LLM I go to sleep and then magically like brains do solve 4 hours of issues in 20 minutes after waking up.
So LLM might be helping in ways that actually indicate you should sleep as brain is slooooowwwwing down
I know it’s not a completely fair comparison, but to me this question is kind of missing the point. It’s like asking “Why take a cab if you know where you want to go?”
It's such a poor comparison it's ridiculous. A better analogy is "why take a cab if you know where you want to go and provide the car and instructions on how to drive"
No, it's like saying "why take a cab where you have to provide the driver so much guidance on driving as to be equal or greater than the effort of driving yourself."
