Sue SmithSep 13, 2025

This is why I believe we're going to need better tools for reading and exploring codebases

"Writing code is easy. Once you have a solution in mind, and have mastered the syntax of your favorite programming language, writing code is easy. Having an LLM write entire functions for you? Even easier. But the hard part isn’t the writing. It’s the reading. It’s the time it takes to load the mental model of the system into your head. That’s where all the cost really is."

https://idiallo.com/blog/writing-code-is-easy-reading-is-hard

Writing Code Is Easy. Reading It Isn’t.

Writing code is easy. Once you have a solution in mind, and have mastered the syntax of your favorite programming language, writing code is easy. Having an LLM write entire functions for you? Even eas

Ibrahim Diallo Blog
Show threadBen Judson
@sue tbf most of the LLM coding tools have “explain this code to me” features. of course there’s a risk that relying on this too much will give you a warped or shallow mental model. but i don’t think it’s true that the tool designers have not thought about how to help with understanding.
Sep 13, 2025 at 1:50pmWeb
Show threadSue SmithSep 13, 2025
@shiftingedges I do think those features are helpful but asking a chat prompt to explain a codebase only takes you a tiny fraction of the way towards understanding it
Show threadBen JudsonSep 13, 2025
@sue yeah sometimes i think of LLM-assisted coding as more akin to the introduction of stack overflow than as a phase shift in the craft. it really can save hours of frustration and confusion! but it can’t save you from having to think about what you’re doing. more than half the battle is learning to ask the right questions.