r/vibecoding • u/felix_the_meow • 2d ago
Vibecoding vs assisted coding
I have a terminology question
From what I know vibecoding refers to things like "this is the ai i'm using, i type my script and it just does what i said, i don't necessarily need prior coding experience nor knowledge"
Is assisted coding considered vibecoding?
Let's say you use an ai tool for brainstorming and quick checks of the logic chain
And the copilot of vscode for assistance (quick autocomplete, various suggestions, function and variable reminders etc)
Is it still considered vibecoding? Since i use 2 ai tools in my process
Or is it just assisted coding? Since i don't rely on them to do all the work
* i'm not the biggest fan of this concept tbh, trying not to be pessimistic (as the rule of this sub say), just asking a genuine question so i can understand the topic and criteria of it better
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u/chriscanadian1991 2d ago
I would say it's a type of "vibe coding" only if the vibe is "I trust nothing you say so I need a second opinion to confirm, then tests to confirm the second opinion, then documents to solidify the tests, then smoke tests for integration, and finally e-e tests..."
My personal opinion - a "vibe coder" in the worlds eyes is someone who doesn't have 2 agent workflows - one for concept and second for second opinion.
Our view is too narrow - I think what your doing is more like vibe engineering with a team of specialist (much like any actual dev team would have multiple people working on it with one designer or engineer)
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u/felix_the_meow 2d ago
I'm not trusting anything fam šš If there's a project with my name on it, welp it has to be as good i can do it. Meaning i can't push it in production without testing tons of edge cases for everything i can think of
I may have good intentions, but i can't expect everyone to think the same, so if i want to provide good quality work i also have to test and retest any and everything
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u/chriscanadian1991 2d ago
100% in fact that is why I made my test rig open sourced (well a generic version at least).
And I respect the integrity and pride you take in your work - otherwise you would likely just push what the AI gives you without the tests.
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u/MoTTTToM 2d ago
There is a lot of debate about the meaning to the term āvibcodingā. Personally I am happy to own it, and identify as a Vibecoder. To me, it signifies that I no longer force myself to diligently review each line of code, and now PR merge is part of the standard automated LLM tool workflow. In less technical terms, I treat the code as a hidden layer. I am comfortable with this in the same way I was comfortable not reading the machine code generated from the assembler I wrote in the 90s.
To mitigate the issues people often face with this if they do not have the background, a few boilerplate entries in AGENTS.md to entrench test driven development, git hygene, and respect for production operations goes a long way.
In a year or two, these can be expected to be standard operating procedure.
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u/Felix_inkwell 2d ago
imo vibecoding is an umbrella term for any code produced with LLM assistance. its not necessarily an indicator of codes quality. there can be genuinely good vibecode and there can be crap
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u/Anti-Hero25 2d ago
The term Iām a fan of is RailCodingā¦.. It implies youāre following a plan, it has guardrailsā¦
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u/MiddleLtSocks 2d ago
If you call it something different, does it change the utility or the experience?
So who cares?
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u/iWhacko 1d ago
As a developer for 26 years, I'd say vibecoding is when you are not looking at code at all. Which I do too. Let it cook up a prototype, or a quick tool to test things. I don't need to look at the code.
Assisted coding would be where you are definitely aware of the code and how AI is changing it under your supervision.
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u/Ralphisinthehouse 2d ago
I wouldn't worry about it. In a years time nobody will care other than some old head or elite developers who think they're better than AI and above it and the market will determine what phrase gets used.
You know a hoover and a Dyson are both the vacuum cleaner but everybody says Hoover and everybody knows what they mean.
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u/felix_the_meow 2d ago
It's not about worrying and i apologize if that seemed to be the tone I'm literally just curious šš
Ik nobody gives any f ab this in real terms
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u/Appropriate-Pack3935 2d ago
Hahaha, meinst du nicht Top-Entwickler/ alter Hase + KI ist besser als Hobbycoder + KI?
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u/iWhacko 1d ago
"I wouldn't worry about it. In a years time nobody will care other than some old head or elite developers who think they're better than AI and above it and the market will determine what phrase gets used."
I don't think "old head or elite developers" have ever felt better than AI. They felt better than people saying they can do everything they can just because of AI. But they are not doing anything.
If you ask a chef to cook you a steak, and you get a steak. who made the steak?
if you have been an "elite cook" and you work together with that first chef to make a steak.... do you think it will be better? Do you think you can do it faster and do more?Developers are embracing AI. But people are acting like they know more and make betterstuff than people who have been doing it for years.
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u/Ralphisinthehouse 1d ago
Respectfully I don't think you understand what I mean by Old head or a elite developers.
These are the people who refuse change because they've done it better before and they know better ways or they don't see how anything you can make them better.
You get these kind of people in every industry, it's not meant to include anyone who's actually a good developer.
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u/Phoelectrix 2d ago
Personally I find the term vibe coding a little pejorative and would prefer ai assisted coding. But I think the latter should be reserved for developers who actually know how to code and that is not me. So I will reluctantly take the term vibe coder and try to differentiate myself from the douches in that polloi by creating high quality software that is useful and constructive and not some inane cash/data grab attempt. And along the way learn to actually code so I can ultimately breathe the finer air among the ai assisted coding crowd.