How Many Years Until QB64ers are CALL OBSOLETE?

[vince]

the coolest thing about programming in the 2020s is watching the first generation of programmers going senile

[ahenry3068]

the coolest thing about programming in the 2020s is watching the first generation of programmers going senile

   Honestly Vince,  We are mostly 2nd generation programmers I would say.   Most of the First generation has left us already !.  

Dartmouth BASIC was released on 1 May 1964.   I was just past 1 year old.  There was a generation of programmers ahead
of all of us !

Come to think of it. Niklaus Wirth was probably 2nd generation and WE are all 3rd !

[Pete]

I'm obsolete then already. I have such low standards and low ambitions I still like Atari 2600 games.

@grymmjack

Ever play Star Master? It's my OBSOLETE favorite!

Pete

[Pete]

the coolest thing about programming in the 2020s is watching the first generation of programmers going senile

You're just grumpy because they ended your tv reality series. Have you found work since leaving Pawn Stars

Pe..t...e

[grymmjack]

I'm predicting 6, and what I mean by obsolete is picture the day some kid can use Chat GBT, Open AI, whatever, to make a working 8,000 line QB64 program! I make quite a few of those, and it only takes me a couple of months, but imagine having one made in a couple of nano-seconds.  

It really got me thinking today how AI will influence my desire to code. The best, or at least, first thing that jumped out of my head was, "I hope the Rams beat the Bears, tomorrow" Okay, NFL playoffs aside... the second thing that jumped out of my head was, "I'd feel like an idiot taking a few months to code something that I could get a machine to make for me, just as soon as I asked for it." So I guess what comes next is planning on what addition to builds I've made I'd like to see expanded, meaning I'd have to put my software engineers cap on and start making much more sophisticated and integrated aps. I mean OOP was sort of the baby steps in this direction, but I was not an OOP enthusiast. Why? Well because OOP is too rigid and not creative enough for me. AI, however, can and will be much more flexible and especially creativity as expanding its creativity is what will allow it to grow. So I guess I'll think about embracing AI as a tool in the near future, but when it becomes my boss, I think I'll file for my retirement. Steve, get my gold Apple Watch ready!

What do you guys think?

Pete

Try not to be dogmatic about it. Don't live by any fixed "way", just go with the flow.

Don't stop programming. It keeps old men brains active. (speaking from experience; this is important for us as we get older to keep using those things).

Your programming can continue, just learn from what the AI is helping you make if it helps you at all. You will be better at specific tasks as a human thinking brain no matter what.

AI wins in that complexity is limitless for it to grasp/comprehend/handle - but the context window (at least with LLMs) is finite, so it may seem like it's limitless, but there ARE limits.

The change up here is you will go from a solo programmer to having a robot buddy that you tell what you want to do.

You will need to get better at breaking down large builds to small tasks that are simply explained in an outline. AI is best when giving very direct, specific guidance. You will need to translate still, if you want to use it to the fullest.

What I recommend you do @Pete, if you're up for it, is start by learning Markdown, and understanding how semantic meaning can be simply explained using markdown.

https://blog.bismart.com/en/markdown-ai-training (quick search but seems applicable)

You don't NEED to do this, but it will help - use an IDE that supports agentic workflows (vscode is my recommendation go figure).

Use MCP servers and agentic skills in your IDE to complement and enhance your natural workflows.

LMK if you want a video made on this from ground zero -> compiling in QB64PE with vscode, AI, skills, and MCP server. Happy to help there.

Also goes without saying that GitHub and git are almost required knowledge if you want to participate in things beyond "oh that's neat, look what i can do with this paragraph of words".

BUT ALL THIS NONSENSE ASIDE @pete you can continue doing whatever YOU LOVE, F the world and their ways, and no one is going to stop you. QB64PE will be maintained until the lead devs are in the dirt, or unable to type, I'm sure. And even then if you outlive them, you will be able to use the latest version forever and ever

So either you can ignore the trends, and become "obsolete" - though this even is a matter of perception, and if you have the super power of "I don't care what others think" then you are never EVER obsolete.

Peace and love to you @pete

[grymmjack]

For me (yep, a REAL old-imer) programing is not just about being able to produce a tool to achieve something quicker... it's more a way to challenge my own inventiveness and imagination, to keep the grey-matter at least relevant.

THIS!

[grymmjack]

I'm obsolete then already. I have such low standards and low ambitions I still like Atari 2600 games.

@grymmjack

Ever play Star Master? It's my OBSOLETE favorite!

Pete

haha, I don't know, they all sorta blend together. I will check it out though with your recommendation, OBSOLETELY.

[Petr]

I actually see it the other way around. AI doesn’t make QB64PE users obsolete — it can make us more productive. Not instantly and not magically, but step by step: faster prototyping, quicker refactors, more examples, more small libraries, and less time wasted on repetitive work. If the tooling and ecosystem improve, growth usually follows.

So I’m not too worried about what QB64PE “doesn’t have.” Complaining won’t build anything. If I need something, I’d rather try to write it (or help write it).

And credit where it’s due: once you’ve tried to build something that’s truly compatible across 32/64-bit Windows and 64-bit Linux, you quickly realize how much hard engineering is behind it. I’m grateful the developers have done that work.

[SpriggsySpriggs]

The only reason I like QB64 is because it was my first introduction to programming, so it's near and dear to my heart as I have a job in programming. Otherwise, QB64 is mostly a toy.

[Magdha]

try to write it (or help write it).

And credit where it’s due: once you’ve tried to build something that’s truly compatible across 32/64-bit Windows and 64-bit Linux, you quickly realize how much hard engineering is behind it. I’m grateful the developers have done that work.

Well said.