Ape Coding: The Practice of Hand-Writing Source Code in an AI-Driven Development Era
By
rmsaksida
Not artisan, but a perfectly fine bagel. Hits the spot.
Summary
The article introduces 'ape coding' as a software development practice where human developers deliberately hand-write source code, contrasting it with agentic coding performed by AI agents. The term originated as derogatory slang in programming communities when AI agents became dominant, referring to developers who couldn't program with agents. The article explores this practice as a deliberate choice by developers who prefer traditional coding methods.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledApe coding is a software development practice where a human developer deliberately hand-writes source code.
The term was popularized when agentic coding (coding performed by AI agents) became the dominant form of software development.
Ape coding first appeared in programming communities as derogatory slang, referring to developers who were unable to program with agents.
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