"The biggest success so far of generative artificial intelligence in the enterprise is AI coding tools that assist programmers. Startups such as Cursor, Replit, Lovable Labs, Harness, Windsurf, Augment Code, All Hands AI, and Microsoft, with its Visual Studio with GitHub Co-pilot, all offer programs that can drastically reduce the hand-coding humans need to do. And so I wondered: Could a newbie like me, with limited programming knowledge, talk my way through creating an app?"
"I had a blast watching how Cursor and the others can automatically perform tasks such as setting up the "virtual environment," finding and installing code libraries, installing and running a local server, and making constant tweaks. The fact that an app can do all that with a simple natural-language prompt from the user is a wonder to behold. After several days of experimentation with multiple tools, I managed to get a small, simple data analysis program running."
AI-assisted coding tools automate many developer tasks such as setting up virtual environments, finding and installing libraries, running local servers, and making iterative tweaks. Several startups and major vendors provide tools that can reduce the amount of hand-coding required. Practical experimentation produced a small data-analysis app, demonstrating promise but also exposing limitations. Many tools still require command-line steps and intermediate programming knowledge, which can frustrate true beginners. Cloud-based offerings simplify some steps but can introduce other friction. Defining an app's goals and the pathway to achieve them remains a major hidden barrier.
Read at ZDNET
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