I have tried various AI code assistants in the past (Copilot, Aider, etc.), but nothing really stuck. Recently, I have been using Claude code some. This tool runs in the terminal and seems like a better fit for my workflows, which are centered around the terminal, instead of an editor like VS Code. So far, I’m impressed with what it can do – anything from adding a feature to some Elm code to proofreading a blog post.
Claude code also offers a very reasonable pay-as-you-go model, which is a good fit for trying it out or occasional use.
Has anyone else tried Claude code? What do you think of it?
Claude proofreading seems like a nice balance – it seems to catch the obvious spelling and grammar errors, but is not quite as overbearing as Grammarly.
Claude models are named after poems, where the names reflect the length of the poem:
Opus (most powerful)
Sonnet (balances capability and efficiency)
Haiku (optimized for speed and affordability)
It is interesting in the above proofreading example, it appears Claude code uses a mixture of models for different tasks.
Term
Basic Definition (Writing Context)
Opus
A substantial and significant work, typically referring to a major piece of literature, music, or art. In writing, it often means an author’s most important or ambitious creation—sometimes called a “magnum opus” when referring to a writer’s greatest achievement.
Sonnet
A poem consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter, following a specific rhyme scheme and thematic structure. Sonnets are known for their strict form and are used to explore complex ideas within a concise format.
Haiku
A short poem of Japanese origin, consisting of 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. Haikus focus on imagery and often capture a moment in nature or daily life.
Experimenting with using Claude code to add some custom shell commands and create a debugging stepping through a state machine. It needed some correction, but 30 or so states, it probably save some time typing. Interestingly, it did not use the Opus module, so I might manually switch that that next time:
Interview with two senior devs about using AI for coding.
tl; dr: AI works great for senior devs and things you already know how to do (makes you much faster). It does NOT work very well for things you don’t know how to do.
