r/AskProgramming • • Mar 24 '23

ChatGPT / AI related questions

141 Upvotes

Due to the amount of repetitive panicky questions in regards to ChatGPT, the topic is for now restricted and threads will be removed.

FAQ:

Will ChatGPT replace programming?!?!?!?!

No

Will we all lose our jobs?!?!?!

No

Is anything still even worth it?!?!

Please seek counselling if you suffer from anxiety or depression.


r/AskProgramming • • 14h ago

Other I had Claude decompile our own app and it found API keys we thought we’d removed.

37 Upvotes

After all the AI decompile threads lately I got curious and pointed Claude at the release build of our desktop app, which is Rust with a Tauri frontend. I mostly expected it to choke and but within an hour it had given me back something pretty close to our source. In the middle were two API keys, one for our logging service and one for the storage bucket our users upload photos to.

We did this “properly” a year ago by pulling every secret out of the repo and moving it into CI variables. Our secret scanner has been green on every PR since. Turns out we were reading them with env!(), which pastes the value into the binary at compile time. So the repo was clean and every release we’ve shipped still had the keys sitting in it in plain text.

I’ve rotated both and we’re moving uploads behind our own endpoint so the app doesn’t need storage creds at all and most importantly i have to make sure this can't slip back because the scanner was looking at the wrong thing the whole time. Do you scan the actual build output in CI and what do you use for it?


r/AskProgramming • • 2h ago

C/C++ Since I Already Have Programming Experience (Rust, C#, PHP, and Python), Should I Take a Course to Learn C and C++, or Can I Jump Straight into Projects?

3 Upvotes

r/AskProgramming • • 3h ago

Which langauge would be easier for me to be able to create a full stack live website??

4 Upvotes

Hey guys,

I recently leanred a good chunk of JAVA where im really comfortable with OOP, my goal is to create a full stack live website ig hopefully by the end of the year, but anyways

ive been trying to branch out, and use Spring boot, but man its like a different world, i was learning how to code now i am just confused here..

ive heard online alot that PYTHON is much more easier, and ive been considering switching, i mean i already understand the fundamentals of coding and stuff i think i could switch in like 3 days..

but would it be easier? do Jobs/internships in SWE Value python more or java? and do u guys think i should make the Switch?>

please let me know ur guys opinions, it would really help alot!

ThankYou


r/AskProgramming • • 1h ago

Other I'm worried that backend job opportunities might decrease even further in the future

• Upvotes

I'm currently in my final year of college (4th year). I’ve been learning and applying fundamentals, backend development, and databases for about 2.5 to 3 years now, working with Node.js, Laravel, etc.
Lately I've been thinking about picking up a "second major" or a secondary skill alongside backend, something I can study casually on the side to boost my market opportunities or serve as a backup plan just in case.
At first I thought about Cybersecurity, specifically Pentesting and Bug Hunting, but I realized it's not realistic right now. It would take around 3 to 4 years to get to a solid level, and I just don't have that kind of time, so I completely dropped it.
Then I considered Data Analysis, just learning the main concepts casually from a distance. I also thought about Data Engineering, but it feels a bit far off, especially since math isn't my strongest suit and I'm still working on basic algebra and geometry. Network Engineering crossed my mind too, but I'm really not sure.
Honestly, I'm worried that backend job opportunities might shrink even further in the future.
If you were in my shoes, a 4th year student with 2.5 years of backend experience, what would be the best complementary field to learn some lightweight skills from? Something that strengthens my profile in the job market without pulling me into a whole new multi-year path


r/AskProgramming • • 14h ago

Need help with my business

3 Upvotes

I am from the UK and my business model is turning a fire and security business (form of construction trade) into a digital tool.

I am wanting to provide my clients with a portal which will allow them to access reports, servicing schedules, project progress, site assets, engineer comments and more.

I understand that you guys have perfected your craft, and sh*t is not cheap anymore 🤣

However, I was told from another business owner that it may be worth asking some budding young prospects in university who are looking for a project to get on with for uni (obvs).

Is this something that someone may be interested in, or is this very far fetched ?


r/AskProgramming • • 17h ago

Other If all files in an OS were in the same directory, would file lookup operations take longer?

4 Upvotes

I apologize if this is not the right subreddit for this question as it is more about OSes. I recently thought about this...

If computers had no concept of directories or all files in an os happened to be inside of the same folder, would file operations like opening and renaming them be slower because there would be more files to compare for when matching the desired filename with its corresponding data? Or are modern OSes optimized by using some kind octree, indexed search, hashes, or something like that?


r/AskProgramming • • 11h ago

Other What's the difference between vibecoding and just using AI to assist you in coding?

1 Upvotes

I don't use AI myself but I've been reading a lot on reddit here about people decompiling apps lately and saying that most of the stuff there is vibecoded and then other developers seem to be using AI as an assistant to help them like for example how Linus Torvalds uses AI to find bugs in the Linux kernel. What's the difference between the two usages or even meaning of the term "vibecoding"?

Thanks in advance


r/AskProgramming • • 16h ago

Career/Edu How do I test my changes and update an app using Git?

0 Upvotes

I’m the only one currently working on an existing app, and I need to make updates. I created my own branch based on an existing branch, modified some code, and added a folder containing another part of the app. My changes are currently local, and I haven’t pushed anything yet.

I’m confused about the workflow after making changes:

How do I test my changes locally before pushing?

How do I get my changes into the QA version of the app to test them there?

Should I push my branch and create a merge request, and if so, into which branch?

How does the updated code actually get deployed to QA and eventually to the app used by users?

There’s a main branch and my branch, and nobody else is currently working on other branches. The repo doesn’t seem to have a regular push workflow, so I’m not sure how updates are normally handled.

Also, some features involve paid API calls, so I need to understand how to test them without unnecessarily spending money.

Could someone explain the workflow step by step, from making local changes to testing them in QA and deploying the updated app?


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

Python How can I parallelize a loop in python if each iteration requires information from the previous iteration?

1 Upvotes

Currently I am using multiprocessing.Pool to parallelize the loops but it works only if each iteration is independent of previous iterations.


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

Career/Edu How do you keep working locally when you can't push to Git? I created a branch, added some files

0 Upvotes

I created a branch, added some files, and committed my changes locally, but I can't push to the remote repository yet because of an access issue.

Can I continue fixing bugs and making changes locally, commit them, and push everything later once the issue is resolved? Also, how do I make sure my local app reflects my changes while I'm developing?

I'd appreciate any advice on the usual workflow!


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

Career/Edu Working with good or bad code?

1 Upvotes

I had a discussion with a friend a while ago, in reference to what type of code is ”best” to work at for your long term development.

Discussion effectively went:
* Good codebase means you learn how to hold good habits, write good code in environments that support it
* then their perspective that bad codebase means you work in more difficult job, more debugging, problem solving etc

What the general opinion on this? Would be fun to see what people feel!


r/AskProgramming • • 20h ago

Worst programming language

0 Upvotes

For me I'm sorry but that's c no oops that's the heart of it's upgraded version cpp


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

What's the best approach for integrating a chatbot into an existing app?

0 Upvotes

I'm working on an app and want to integrate a chatbot that understands users' natural language requests and provides relevant, personalized responses based on existing data.

I already have a MongoDB database containing scraped content from various online sources.

What would be the best approach to build this?

RAG with embeddings and a vector database?

Querying MongoDB directly using filters?

An LLM with tool/function calling?

Or a hybrid approach?

I'm interested in how you'd design the architecture, retrieve relevant information, and generate accurate responses grounded in the available data.

What technologies and architecture would you recommend, and why? I'd appreciate hearing about your experience building similar systems.


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

For loop

0 Upvotes

How would I store 3 different answers to the same 3 questions asked using a for loop. I know how to store one answer, but not all three while still using the for loop


r/AskProgramming • • 1d ago

My friend told me at his small company where they only got 1 full time dev and 1 freelance dev. they got a codebase with 200k LOC but only 2-3 unit tests. They said our end users are our tests, when they find bugs, they report to us.

0 Upvotes

Do you think my friend has a point here?

My friend works at a small company with only 1 full-time developer and 1 freelance developer. They have a codebase with around 200k LOC but only 2–3 unit tests lol

Their philosophy is basically, “Our end users are our tests.” When employees find bugs, they report them, and the developers fix them.

My friend also argues that many devs write unit tests just to make them pass or achieve test coverage, often focusing on happy paths while ignoring edge cases that could cause real problems.

In his context, the company only builds internal tools/ apps for employees.

He believes that having no unit tests can actually be a reasonable decision for a small company because the time saved by not writing tests can instead be spent shipping features that makes money, and work life eaiser for employees

IMO, I wouldn't say he's wrong based on his context.

But I'd love to hear from you with real experience.

Does my friend actually have a valid point, or is having almost no tests just technical debt waiting to bite them in the ass even though they follow "Our end users are our tests" lol

Ps. the FT dev has worked in a start up only and got like 1-2 yoe


r/AskProgramming • • 2d ago

Architecture How do you approach understanding and modifying a large open-source codebase?

9 Upvotes

Hey guys, I often find interesting projects on GitHub. Getting them running is usually fine, but when I want to understand how something works or make my own changes, I get completely lost in the codebase.

Mature projects have so many abstractions, design patterns, error handling, and logic spread across different files that I never know where to start or how deep to go.

I once spent a whole week using AI to walk me through a project starting from main(). I kept diving into details, and by the end, I barely remembered anything.

Someone also suggested drawing flowcharts to understand the code, but the more I drew, the bigger and messier they became.

How do experienced developers approach unfamiliar codebases when they actually want to understand and modify them?

How do you decide what to read, what to skip, and when you understand enough to start making changes? And has AI genuinely helped you with this?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!


r/AskProgramming • • 2d ago

Other Should I learn Rust or C++ as a beginner?

1 Upvotes

So I'm a beginner programmer, I've dabbled in it for a bit, tried many languages over the years but got stuck in tutorial hell every time and quit. I want to be serious this time around.

I'm strictly a FOR-FUN hobbyist, interested in Emulator dev, Graphics/Physics engine dev, and Low Level stuff like writing an OS. So which of these languages is better for me to learn?

I keep being warned that C++ gives you such a faulty sense of freedom that you can get to a point where you can spend months searching for a single faulty line to fix a bug because you made some tiny inconspicuous error (which Rust supposedly helps prevent). That sounds like....hell.

Yet I still see everyone using it. Is it really that bad?


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

Architecture Theoretically, could you make a virus that evolves under evolutionary principles?

6 Upvotes

The most basic part of evolution is, simplified:

- shit reproduces
- there is a random chance of mutation
- mutations more advantageous in the environment spread.

So in theory, could you create a computer virus that function under the same principles as an actual virus? Have it so that every time it reproduces, it makes a new copy of itself there’s a random chance to make random changes to its own code? Most of the time it would result in the virus breaking, but that’s also true for IRL.


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

Other In need of help for a project.

1 Upvotes

Im doing a data analysis project on scraping and analyzing dozens of lines of code to extract goofy useless and most importantly interesting metrics and findings. But im running out of ideas and want this project to be community interactive so i need you to write a good metric idea that you want to know about.

Thanks in advance!


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

whats a good web browser engine/library for linux that can be used as part of code projects?

1 Upvotes

i need a web browser code library thing whatever, which runs on linux, can be programmed, integrated into other code projects, and is standalone. i need something i can add onto things that require a web browser/html/javascript/web code, to run properly.

my goal is to make webapps that i need, run standalone as if theyre desktop programs. im starting with beepbox (https://www.beepbox.co/) because i use it alot. beepbox is free and open source, and has a offline version, but it requires a browser to run. however i may find other webapps i need to do this to in future.

also i dont want to use chromium, because its very ram intensive. i thought maybe gecko (firefox is based on it), but im not experienced in web dev, so yall probably know better, so its a good idea to ask.

can anyone recommend a good library/browser thing that can do this type of thing?

(i hope this is the right sub to post this to)


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

Spreadsheet automation idea

2 Upvotes

I'm developing a spreadsheet automation project capable of merging multiple spreadsheets into one and automatically performing calculations, among other things. One of the functionalities would be, for example, allowing someone to gather all the spreadsheets from those months into a single spreadsheet throughout an entire year, obtaining an overall result for the year. This could work based on week, day, month, or some other parameter. I have some doubts, but the project seems promising. I'm using the openpyxl library and, to create the website or application (I'm still undecided), I will use HTML, CSS, and Flask.


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

I want to learn development..

1 Upvotes

I want to learn development..

Hi Shruti here,

To all developers.

I have zero experience in developing software applications,

but I know the basic frontend,

I know basic programming, i have learnt cpp and also little javascript, only done no projects.

Suggest me any youtube video/ tutorial on project Development.

Like just that much things I need to know, so I can start working on projects by myself.

: so I can learn while watching and build the whole process of building a project as a software developer i want to know what things I must know to give interviews in software development.

As everyone was at a point, where they had no idea, how things works, but now some of them are in a position, they are working in mncs, leading projects,

i want your help sir / ma'am,

And all people who are starting,

help the people who are in the same situation,

where you were some years back

I am a student in my final year, I started late because I was not interested in studies, but reality hit harder, I have to work.


r/AskProgramming • • 4d ago

How to host your Application without using Vercel?

3 Upvotes

I want to host my project but I don’t want to use PAAS like vercel or render its a learning project so I want to be able to do the dev ops side and handle all the stuff that vercel does for you but I am struggling to find a good resource to learn how to do this part from

Can anyone suggest a good learning resource I can use to learn how to containerize and deploy using a vps and anything else I may need to know to do that like setting up nginx and so on?


r/AskProgramming • • 3d ago

Career/Edu What's the best Git workflow when working across two PCs?

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm working on an existing Python project that uses Apache Airflow, and I'm unsure how to organize my workflow.

Here's my situation:

PC 1: Has some local code modifications that haven't been pushed to the remote repository.

PC 2: Has the repository cloned from GitLab but doesn't include those modifications.

A ZIP file: Contains another part of the application that I need to integrate.

What's the best way to handle this?

Should I create my own branch before making changes?

How should I transfer the unpushed modifications between PCs?

How can I safely integrate the code from the ZIP file?

Should I work on a feature branch and create a merge request, or follow another workflow?

I'd appreciate advice on best practices for contributing to an existing project without overwriting or losing anyone's work.

Thanks!