README
The Code You Don’t Understand Is the Next Bug You Haven’t Met Yet
Never trade short term fixes for long term problems.
If you’re using AI to write code for you, pay close attention to the parts you don’t fully understand. It’s tempting to accept the generated code because it fixes the immediate bug and you can move on. But those unexplained lines will almost certainly come back to haunt you later, usually when you’re trying to extend, debug, or refactor the code.
A senior developer or a good maintainer should be able to fully understand every part of the code they are responsible for. Remember, you are not a machine, and you are certainly not just processing the text in front of you. You are a problem solver who needs to understand the reasoning, the design choices, and the implications behind the code.
AI is an excellent assistant, but understanding the code is still your responsibility. The real productivity gain is not just fixing today’s bug. It is building software that you and your team can confidently maintain tomorrow.
It goes without saying that even before the AI chatbot era, an experienced programmer always understood every little piece of code and made sure it was well documented. AI hasn’t changed that primary responsibility, it has only made it easier to forget it because it accelerated the pace of development !!!