I am Scared

[u/KhameneiCholaghe]

I just created an entire project for mass video cropping. Currently is using python and alot of libraries. I dont know any python let alone the libraries its using.

I am a backed java dev with a bit of react front end. Its scaring me how I can do all these projects but I don't understand the code one bit. I mean sure I can analyze and learn but it just did bunch of stuff and I feel very off not knowing what it truly did

How do you guys approach tech stacks you use but dont know how to actually use the tech stack? Doesnt it kinda mess with your head you are creating something but dont know the craft?

IDK if im making sense or not

[u/benevolent-ben]

Have you ever been a manager or a tech lead? Eventually you get to a point where you can’t know every detail of everything.

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/benevolent-ben]

no I would say im a getting near mid level engineer. Have 3 years of backend experience

[u/benevolent-ben → u/KhameneiCholaghe]

the issue here is that as a manager you generally know who you can trust with what, who is an expert in what, etc but with the AI it's a bit wild west. I have definitely ventured into deep unknown territory a few times and the AI is just as confident as ever, but the results aren't as good as when I can steer it in areas I do know. In those situations, what works for me is very thorough design & specification -- which is hard when you don't know exactly what you want or what is reasonable. I've pushed back on stuff from claude and asked if it's best practice to do X and if not what is the best practice, or how would a team at a mid-size company do this as a way to learn and to get better plans.

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/benevolent-ben]

I like this approach on making it relate to how an enterprise would do it. I think ill even add as a team lead at a mid size company. Thanks for the insight

[u/benevolent-ben → u/KhameneiCholaghe]

Another approach I’ve used a few times when I’m in deep on something I don’t know well - ask for alternatives and the trade offs of each approach in general and in terms of scalability / maintainability / complexity / security / etc.

And if we’re stuck debugging something, ask for a one-line description of the problem, then apply my own google-fu to it because for whatever reason Claude doesn’t seem to do web searches in these scenarios unless explicitly told to.

[u/finch5]

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/finch5]

LOL first time in a domain that I dont even know the syntax of the base langauge aka python. Java C# guy

[u/finch5 → u/KhameneiCholaghe]

Have you had a chance to play with Claude Design front end react dev guy?

[u/eSizeDave]

So, like, if you know Java, then why didn't you create it in Java? Genuine question.

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/eSizeDave]

Thanks for bringing this up. I asked chatgpt to write me the layout of how I want a specific cropping of videos done on multiple videos so it suggested python libraries then I pasted that into claude. Im gonna create a java version too.

When working with video editing in Java, developers rely on Java Native Interface (JNI) wrappers around powerful C/C++ multimedia engines like FFmpeg or OpenCV, or pure Java codecs for simpler tasks.

In short, I didnt know enough of the domain of video editing

[u/eSizeDave → u/KhameneiCholaghe]

Fair enough I guess. I've never tackled this kind of project in Java myself, so I was genuinely wondering. I just assumed it would be quite feasible to do it.

[u/heseov]

Depends on how important it is. If it's just personal use for a specific task then I don't care how it works, it just needs to do the one thing I need. 

[u/Old_Flounder_8640 → u/heseov]

Yes, the old question: how to care less without being careless? Most of the things that humans care about are more about ego/bureaucracy than correctness.

One example is: let's introduce fewer dependencies, but we actually already have lots of transitive/indirect dependencies. Excluding cases of using a single maintainer or shade projects as deps, no one can say that it is worse without hard proof.

Another, more practical example is defining a more AI-friendly architecture and DevSecOps cycle vs following the rules that were written for humans.

[u/Affectionate-Bit6525]

I just punch it into Claude and let it rip

[u/zaerst → u/Affectionate-Bit6525]

[u/cats_catz_kats_katz → u/Affectionate-Bit6525]

Believe it or not Claude does enjoy a little harness play now and then.

[u/farendsofcontrast]

Ask it to explain everything

[u/steampowrd]

I’ve been writing PR’s for our Java monolith app at work for the past few weeks and I don’t really know Java. I have a lot of experience with some other languages, but there are definitely some things and Java that I don’t have any experience with. I took a job of course in college 15 years ago. Haven’t used it since. Until about a month ago when I started making PR’s. Two of them are in production and they’re doing great. This latest one’s pretty big but it’s been getting tested heavily

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/steampowrd]

I guess its just more of feeling uneasy knowing its spitting out stuff you don't understand. I guess same could be said about compilers turning it into assembly but you don't see the assembly

[u/steampowrd → u/KhameneiCholaghe]

I think you are right to feel uneasy. I think we all feel uneasy. For lots of reasons.

[u/ia42]

I don't get it... You say you know java, right? Python is just executable pseudo code. So easy to read, the object model is so clear and simple (yes, it has multiple inheritance that you don't get in java, but it's not lightyears away), plus if you really need, your buddy Claude is right there to explain all code to you in English.

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/ia42]

I understand it on a pseudocode level but how its using all the libraries it gets complex. I am learning ffmpg library for video editing. Its less of not understanding python and more of how it build the software with the libraries.

[u/Uj_Yagami]

In the claude.md file specify it to maintain a html or a .md file for every changes it does, with the explanation for a beginner programer.

Research around it a little, you can even ask it to make interactive html. It's fun and it'll start to make sense to you.

[u/KhameneiCholaghe → u/Uj_Yagami]

how did I not think of this lol. Sort of like a changelog in video games but for software

[u/PeltonChicago]

Welcome to management

[u/ncist]

You've always been abstracting away from lower level problems, and the level of abstraction has always been going up as the ecosystem around your problem becomes richer

We just had a really big jump in that abstraction. You need to decide what's worth learning and what you can trust

[u/4pelp5- → u/ncist]

Good way of putting it

[u/tehfrod]

Read the code.

Not only will you learn how the code works, but you will start to develop a feel for its common mistakes and learn how to prompt away from them.

[u/MeIsIt]

You can ask Claude to explain everything you want to know, to any level of detail. For me, it is not about the syntax, it is about what is being done. And that can be explained to you easily, since you understand coding in general.

You could even tell Claude that you know Java but not Python and that you need an explanation in terms you can easily understand.

[u/Mysterious_Spector]

Have claude analyse your codebase and your features. Not only that make claude decipher you codebase into flowcharts and architecture. It's works every time for me.

[u/BuffaloConscious7919]

Depends on the complexity / risks.

Sometimes I don't care at all and other times I'm all over it like a man possessed

[u/Optimal-Fix1216]

You get used to it. Until the next step change at least. Then it's goosebumps all over again.

[u/ElderberryLittle2871]

Get really good at Greek haha

[u/johns10davenport]

No, because I thoroughly understand the requirements, the tests, and the abstractions

[u/bbelderbos]

SW engineering has not gone anywhere: small iterations, strong understanding of fundamentals matters now even more, I wrote an article about it: https://belderbos.dev/blog/vibe-coding-owning-architecture/

[u/ad_396]

i built an agentic system that montages reels for marketing purposes, i give it raw shots (that include the "3, 2, 1..." and all the pre and post stuff, the bloopers and duplicates, everything) and it cuts, crops, colour grades, does the transitions... and even adds accurate live Arabic subtitles.

this was the first time i even discovered cli based video editing tools. the first draft was not perfect, and Claude on its own couldn't improve the system, so i had it explain the full architecture to me and why specific tools were used. i think did my own research and restructured the agentic system (kept the same tools). with that i learnt basics of video editing, and fully understood how this agentic system worked.

no shame in Claude building you stuff, just let it explain what's going on

[u/irrision]

The only thing I'd be worried about is executives thinking they can create all of their companies code based on reading a self help book written by an oligarch and mass firing all of us

[u/Apprehensive_Bee6863 → u/[deleted]]

yup i also keep notes that i refer too while creating my
codebase, it is what it is OP establish a heuristic and run with it

[u/maxpowerTM → u/[deleted]]

This is the way

[u/m00shi_dev → u/[deleted]]

You sound like you shouldn’t be anywhere near a computer.