> Of course both are useful, but I’d rather have familiarity with the codebase than a deep general understanding of software systems.
In my experience, getting that familiarity with a particular codebase in a way that isn't surface-level has always been a hands-on process. E.g. just because I know many general things about software, I need to know the particulars of the current codebase I'm in to know what is reasonable to actually apply to it.
This is a chicken and egg problem I find hard to resolve with LLMs. If we're pushed to delegate most work to them, how do you build that expertise? Sure you can ask questions about the codebase, but IMHO that falls under surface-level information, and the devil is often in the deeper details. Hmm.
In my experience, getting that familiarity with a particular codebase in a way that isn't surface-level has always been a hands-on process. E.g. just because I know many general things about software, I need to know the particulars of the current codebase I'm in to know what is reasonable to actually apply to it.
This is a chicken and egg problem I find hard to resolve with LLMs. If we're pushed to delegate most work to them, how do you build that expertise? Sure you can ask questions about the codebase, but IMHO that falls under surface-level information, and the devil is often in the deeper details. Hmm.