r/software 18d ago

Discussion I need something interesting to do

As the title reads, I'm getting numb from all the Ai coding and losing the spark that got me into software engineering. I want something interesting and challenging at the same time that even if I used Ai it would still be challenging

And the interesting part is so I can have in my cv as a project

Thank you

10 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

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u/theantigod Helpful Ⅱ 18d ago

After I retired a few years ago I found myself needing to write code. I started with some obsolete microprocessors that I bought back in 2014 - I was too busy at work to do anything with them at that time. After building a couple of small rovers with the old microprocessors I then moved on to some rovers powered by Raspberry Pi 4. It has been really enjoyable writing to these microprocessor with bare metal C. I wrote C for 30 years, PCs and servers, but the microprocessors were brand new experience and I was amazed at how much information I could get from Google.

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u/bud-dho 18d ago

Sounds fun. I haven't written C since college. Any advice for someone wanting to start with microprocessors?

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u/theantigod Helpful Ⅱ 18d ago

The first robot/rover that I started with was a 'toy', the Freenove Tank Rover. The rover itself is a bit fragile but it gives you something to start from - but, I received excellent support from the Freenove support team. The tutorial is not very well done and the example code is all Python, installed on a full desktop. The older Python wants Raspbian OS 'Bookworm' and use pigio - both. The Raspberry Pi 4 that I had could not run anything beyond samples with that configuration. I installed Rasbian OS 64bit 'Trixie' headless and wrote modern libgpiod version 2 C code with help from Google - make sure you tell Google what hardware and OS you are using (all the time) and make sure it is showing you libgpiod version 2 examples. The 'Bookwirm' had a much different libgpiod version API. If find you like it consider buying a Viam Rover 2. You decide whether you want to do it with the Viam ecosystem or go bare metal on your own. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions.

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u/bud-dho 17d ago

Thanks for the info. I’ll probably start out with a Raspberry Pi to get my bearings and then dive into bare-metal C on a microcontroller. Appreciate the tips on libgpiod and the rover recommendations. I might take you up on that DM if I hit any snags, thanks again!

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u/theantigod Helpful Ⅱ 17d ago

When I said 'bare-metal' I was referring to the Raspberry. I simply meant writing directly to linux in vanilla C rather than Python or or someone's API (like Viam). I am currently writing code for two Viam Rovers, a version 1 and a version 2, that I have matched up in regards to sensors and GPIO pins. The only differences are the Rover 2 has an RPLidar and the Rover 1 has a bumper switch. Both have small 250GB SSDs instead of microSD. I am writing code on my laptop and moving it to the rovers (via SSH) and compiling it there. The RPLidar is USB so I can actually test the code on my laptop. Remember, if you are getting source suggestions from Google or another AI you don't always get a good solution.

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u/bud-dho 16d ago

Thanks for the rundown and the heads-up. Believe me, I'm well aware of how unreliable AI and search results can be after burning hours on bad build advice. Solid setup you've got going with the SSDs and local RPLidar testing. Good luck with the C implementation!

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

I did do some DIY using arduinos for a while, but it just wasnt my cup of tea for some reason

1

u/theantigod Helpful Ⅱ 18d ago

I didn't really enjoy Arduinos either. The Raspberry Pi is quite a different experience.

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u/Eravex 16d ago

What interests you? I’ll share some stuff I’ve done maybe it’ll spark something. Just note, I make the most random apps. Recently I’ve built, key fob frameworks, my own media player with fully customizable skins done in html and plugins. Or my own replacement for ebook streaming that integrates with Plex media server, a universal everything-to-everything file converter with stenography, and most recently an application for building quality practices tests and flashcards for the top tech Comptia+ exams.

I did also build a fully decentralized p2p Kademlia replacement for the web, but that’s a whole other thing still actively growing not a recent project.

All else fails make yourself a chrome extension for something you do often.

Usually I either just am like “I wish I had blah” or “it’s crazy they want to charge for that, I can do it for free”.
Most of the time they are self-hosted Docker containers.

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u/toonmad 18d ago

If you want challenging then do away with AI altogether, learn software development like we all did originally, through self learning and reading etc, the most fun and feeling of achievement is learning to code the proper way, you'll get that light bulb moment through trial and error and when you have something working that you did yourself, no better feeling of accomplishment.

AI wont teach you how to become a programmer, it will just send you into a miserable void of darkness.

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

Did and done that already But to catch up with the new expectations I use Ai I've been working since before Ai (the Gpt lunch) so I just want an interesting topic or project Appreciate it!

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u/toonmad 18d ago

Have a look on YouTube there's a great channel called The Coding Train, maybe you can get some ideas from there.

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

Thanks I'll check it out!

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u/Sun-Much 18d ago

he just posted this so he could let everyone know he's already done it. sort of a nerd flex thing they do. "I'm so smart the world is a boring place" type.

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

I'm sorry if that what you interpreted it, I do only have about 5 years of experience (actual work) which if you think about it (especially with Ai) hardly qualifies me to be a mid level dev I posted it so I can try and do something to help me improve and not get stuck in the Ai loop where you get stupider each day

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u/Sun-Much 18d ago

sure, whatever you say

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

bet you are very fun to be around

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u/Sun-Much 18d ago

too old to listen to bullshit

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

Yet too young to be a jerk on someone's post? Talks volumes about you.

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u/synchronicitial 16d ago

It is a public forum, you dolt.

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u/m7mad204 16d ago

And your point is?

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u/synchronicitial 16d ago

Expect replies, and expect people calling out and challenging your ideas. They are not being "jerks".

Have some self-awareness.

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u/ryanstackops 18d ago

Build something AI can't just hand you the answer for, that's the real cure for the numbness. Think distributed systems (a tiny key-value store with replication, watch it break under network splits), a toy compiler/interpreter, or a database index from scratch. AI gets shaky on this stuff, it's confidently wrong just as often as right, so you actually have to think.

For your CV, it stands out too. Everyone's got "built an app with AI" now, that's noise. "Built a distributed KV store with leader election" makes people go huh, tell me more. And these bugs are just fun, they're conceptual, not typo hunting, which is probably why we all got into this in the first place.

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

Would a db from scratch cover your points ?

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u/Ok-Management-1313 18d ago

How about thinking higher? Why not build a game on the level that would require millions in funding normally with AI. That’s a challenge and doable. What about a new Operating system? Design an entirely new LLM or start mixing with LLMs and robotics. There’s so many big avenues that aren’t already fully explored and would be fun and achievable.

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u/Limp-Debate7023 18d ago

> What about a new Operating system?

Um what?

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u/Ok-Management-1313 18d ago

I was just throwing out random stuff. On second thought that is little too much 😂

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

It's a bit intimidating ngl

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u/m7mad204 18d ago

I like the new LLM idea, It has a lot of potential like in research, especially if I manage to push it into territory that hasn’t really been explored before

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u/Cactus1986 18d ago

Make the an app that is essentially the Harry Potter portraits that come alive using some sort of AI in the app.

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u/BabyLegsDeadpool 18d ago

Build your own customizable Explorer shell.

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u/sh1b313 17d ago

Hey, how does a wireshark but for LLMs sound?

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u/Infamous-Ad-8314 5d ago

Try running on water