Best Practices

I want to thank Mitch at work for helping me. During a recent Time-To-Think (TTT) session at work, he asked if I had a best practices document that I could share. He may have been joking as I can go on a personal rant as well as anyone, but that idea stuck in my head. After a few talks with my wife and then my brother Patrick, I decided to create a public CLI tool and open source it this weekend. I'll try to document some of the best practices that I have learned along the game of life.

Best Practices

• Embrace AI - I'm the Principal Architect on the Cloud AI services team at GE Aerospace and I don't use AI enough. I use autocomplete and ChatGPT to help me write better code of course, but I don't use it to help me plan enough. I started this repo after a few revision planning questions where when I considered the why behind the idea, the root cause was I didn't tell the LLM what I wanted. I instead described how I wanted it to work. Big difference. I should have said "I want to create a public CLI tool and open source it this weekend" not "I want to create a repo for CLI tool. Use uv and tests". The first one gives the LLM more freedom to help me plan out the project. The second one boxes it in and limits its ability to help me.
  • Use the audio recording - I have found that recording myself talking through the problem helps me clarify my thoughts. I use the audio recorder on my phone and then play it back. I then use the recording to help me write better code.
• Use VS Code - Whether it's a derivative of VS Code or not, it's just simply the best platform currently.

I'm actively worried I didn't vibe code sooner because I'm 42 and my age bias is showing. I should have been using it for years.

• Write tests - I have found that writing tests helps me write better code. I use pytest for Python testing and Vitest for TypeScript testing.
• Use voice to text - The more context you can give the LLM, the better. I use voice to text to help me write longer prompts, which provides more context and helps the LLM understand my intent better.
• Read Joel Spolsky's blog post - https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/08/09/the-joel-test-12-steps-to-better-code/ - I highly recommend checking out his blog for practical advice and inspiration.

If you don't know who Joel Spolsky is, he is the co-founder of Stack Overflow and Trello.

• Use a clipboard manager - I use a clipboard manager to help me keep track of my clipboard history. The ability to search my clipboard history has been a game changer for me. It's called CopyQ and it's free.
• Keep a private GitHub repo - I use a private GitHub repo to help me keep track of dot files and other configuration files or tooling.
• Use a password manager - I use a password manager to help me keep track of my passwords. I use Bitwarden and it's free.
• Use a todo list - I use a todo list to help me keep track of my tasks both personal and professional. I use Todoist and it's free.
• Take notes
  • Action items - I use a note-taking app to help me keep track of my notes. I use Notion and it's free for personal use.