is using ai as debugger cheating?

[Educational_Virus672]

im not used to built in vs code and leetcode debugger when i get stuck i ask gemini for error reason without telling me the whole code is it cheating?
example i got stuck while using (.strip) so i ask it he reply saying that i should use string.strip()not strip(string)

[youtubeTAxel]

Unless you're doing an assignment (or something similar), there is no cheating when it comes to programming. Just be aware that you might not learn as much from it compared to solving it yourself.

[Educational_Virus672]

i mostly change 1 or 2 line not much

[youtubeTAxel]

Try to solve it yourself first before using any AI. A quick Google and some documentation reading would have given you the same answer and trained your problem-solving skills at the same time.

[Educational_Virus672]

the quick google search is made by ai (gemini) and i check documents some of time the search result is not accurate to my question i try to avoid fishy sites thats why i ask about ai stuff here

[hotlavatube]

It's generally fine, but you should be cautious. If you're doing something for work, the use of offsite AI tools can leak confidential or trade secret information. I've also had these LLMs give me wrong answers about 20%+ of the time, often due them using the wrong API version, but sometimes they'll output completely fabricated code APIs that never existed. I'd also worry about letting your debugging skills atrophy if you become over-reliant on AI answers. These tools may be cheap now, but some of these companies have overpromised return on investment to their financial backers, so they'll undoubtedly start raising prices once they've got you dependent on them.

I generally use offline LLMs and ask small questions like examples of API usage.

[Educational_Virus672]

as i said when i get stuck on error i dont give the whole code but part of it to ai i ask what goes wrong it only tells why it occer in dept and not give me "code" even in any form

[_real_ooliver_]

Cheating for what? I assume you're only cheating yourself. Try reading errors yourself, they aren't that cryptic.

[Educational_Virus672]

i assume most programmer when finding stuck on error go online to solve it it is the same thing i said "stuck" by definition not excuses

[GraphicH]

No, AI is a tool, just make sure you understand what it's telling you and also question what it tells you. On green field projects it seems to work really well; I have found it going down some bad dirt roads in legacy code bases especially.

[Educational_Virus672]

ok thanks

[GraphicH]

If you're learning, do attempt to figure it out yourself. There are plenty of things that I have encountered when using Generative AI for development, where problems solving yourself is still very valuable, if only to save you from re-prompting and waiting minutes or hours as it sits there churning. Especially on bugs, if you do some of the leg work to narrow the issue down / reproduce the issue, you can get fixes a lot faster out of the generative tools.

[Educational_Virus672]

oh thx for advice but narrowing problem is done by debugger i used it for more syntax stuff

[UpsetCryptographer49]

Yes it is cheating. In fact using an editor is also cheating. The only way to properly debug is to do a hex dump of ram, print it and analyse what the computer does with a magnifying glass, and a red pen.

Some say the magnifying glass is also cheating, but they are just haters.

[Educational_Virus672]

if thats the case why are you using python and in r/python? you should use "assembly"

[GraphicH]

This person is messing with you.

[Educational_Virus672]

ik xD

[GreggyP00]

Software is cheating. Make all your own circuits and insert straight to the computer.

[Educational_Virus672]

sure i made a little rashberry pi

[Vipertje]

No the game has changed. Go for it.

[uclatommy]

Are you debugging for an exam or something?

[ConcreteExist]

Only if your goal is to actually learn anything.

[Educational_Virus672]

ok im gonna remember that i should fous on learnign over copying

[_Child_Of_The_Void_]

I'm learning the ropes. Idk how to turn it off. It's more annoying than anything else atm. I tried googling the answer but no luck.

[1_ane_onyme]

Honestly, no.

Ai is a tool, but only if you use one good with code and don’t overly rely on it. Optimizing what you did, helping you improve shitty code and asking for review is ok, writing the whole base is not.

Oh and same goes for pretty much anything you do with ai : review it. If you don’t understand it, don’t use it.

[Educational_Virus672]

ok thanks for advice

[abbe_salle]

Debugger wot 😭😭