I Struggled to Get AI to Write Useful Code — Here's What Finally Worked
The author faced challenges in getting AI to generate useful code for API endpoints. After numerous frustrating attempts, they discovered that providing detailed instructions and examples significantly improved the AI's output. This article shares the effective prompting technique that led to successful code generation.
- ▪The author initially struggled with vague prompts and incorrect outputs from the AI.
- ▪They realized that treating the AI like a diligent intern, rather than a senior developer, was key to success.
- ▪By providing explicit input/output formats and few-shot examples, the AI began generating reliable code.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 3953783) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } zhongqiyue Posted on Jun 3 I Struggled to Get AI to Write Useful Code — Here's What Finally Worked #ai #webdev #productivity #python Last month, I had to build a dozen API endpoints for a new microservice. I knew the patterns – CRUD operations, SQLAlchemy models, Pydantic schemas – but typing out all that boilerplate felt soul-crushing. I turned to AI, hoping it would save me hours. What followed was a rollercoaster of bad outputs, hallucinations, and frustration.
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