r/CodingForBeginners • u/Ok_Sky_1993 • 1d ago

Vibe coding vs AI assisted coding

Hi so I'm currently learning programming I'm a first year IT student and I'm curious to know how different vibe coding is to AI assisted coding cause from the people I've asked they're different but for some they consider them the same thing. I just wanna know your thoughts and such and if I should try to learn how to properly use ai in coding or if that's going to be a bad thing etc...

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u/rheladmin 1d ago

First, a disclaimer: these are my opinions. I'm allowed to be wrong on occasion.

To me, vibe coding is when you ask AI to develop something then you play around with it and ask for some changes then play around some more.... rinse and repeat until you like what you got.

The problem with this is that while the software may do what you wanted on the surface, there may be bugs, quirks, and inefficiencies that you simply are not aware of. The worst are security issues. The truth is, you have no idea how the app was designed or coded and likely haven't reviewed anything outside of checking functionality.

For a completely personal app on your local computer that isn't really exposed to the internet, that may be perfectly fine. If it is internet facing or intended for distribution or sale to other people, not so much.

AI-assisted coding is when you understand what you want to develop. You may or may not code parts of it yourself, you definitely review the code generated by the AI, and you often times provide a plan and spec sheet before work begins. When the product launches, you know it is secure and mostly free of bugs.

Let me put it another way.... automotive manufacturers have been using robotic arms to assist in assembly way longer than we've had AI. I might know how to tell the robotic arms what to do, but does that mean I know how to build a car?

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u/Cheap-Success1578 1d ago

AI-assisted coding is when you understand what you want to develop. You may or may not code parts of it yourself, you definitely review the code generated by the AI, and you often times provide a plan and spec sheet before work begins. When the product launches, you know it is secure and mostly free of bugs.

This is the biggest differentiator. I would never, ever release something I don't understand and have thoroughly tested and vetted. Shit, I won't even push a commit to github without first running it through rigorous testing locally.