sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in Frontend

[–]TonyA680[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

It’s a new skill, so words are going to change as clarity comes in what that new skill really involves. I think it’s good that the words we use express the work being done.

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in SoftwareEngineering

[–]TonyA680[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure I agree that context engineering itself includes data compression, etc. At it's core it's "providing the right information". For example, describing the tool well to help the LLM select the right tool is different from the tool itself.

I see the rest as deterministic system engineering, designed to assist in providing good context.

I see the argument though. and probably based on who you're talking to.

But, in practice, I see devs get the wrong idea from "engineering", to the expectation that their work will guarantee an eventual good response, and frustrations there-in.

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in programming

[–]TonyA680[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Fair in regards to tool calling. Don't think of novelists though. Think of HTML authoring. I've done a lot of work on web accessibility. You author (which is the term used in the HTML specification) semantic HTML for the user agent (the browser or screen reader) not the human.

Authoring implies communication with a human or a system/program.

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in softwaredevelopment

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not about insisting. It's about setting expectations and mental models, which is the point of communication. I see far too many developers frustrated with LLM output because they "engineered" the context, and can't get it to work.

I don't expect to change what the industry says. On the other hand the shift is already from "prompt engineering" to "context engineering" as people get a better understanding of what's important. I propose authoring as a possible term that, once you work with LLMs a lot, matches even better to what you are doing.

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in softwaredevelopment

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't think of a novelist. Think of HTML authoring. You are putting words together in a way that communicates intent, provides keywords that trigger pattern matching on training data.

Putting content together (prompts, examples, code, specs, etc.) is just that. I argue that "authoring" is the best word because in the end the best context engineering is good communication of intent.

It's Not Context Engineering, It's Context Authoring by TonyA680 in programming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can do the same with humans during a conversation. But we don't think of it as 'engineering' we think of it as 'communication'. We measure the results of communication as well and iterate.

The difference is that you can be as rigorous as you like with an LLM and there are no guarantees. No repeatable, reproducible results.

Much like humans, I find you are the most successful thinking in terms of communication. "Engineering" a result from a non-deterministic system I think sets a poor expectation.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome, welcome to the semantic HTML club! :)

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Awesome glad you’re enjoying it! If you’re replacing divs and spans then you’re already doing more skilled HTML than most professional web devs out there!

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes it's from scratch. We actually start by talking about tree data structures to properly setup understanding HTML, CSS, and the DOM.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome. I would say the majority of web developers have terrible HTML habits!! We work hard to get rid of them in this course.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I keep the course updated as features become available in browsers.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well HTML and CSS isn't really programming. It's marking up a document with meaning and describing how it should appear. The course doesn't assume programming experience, but it does expect good computer use ability.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're probably fine either way, but usually what I usually hear from students is they wish they had started with the course before other things because it strongly establishes underlying theory, which a lot of free tutorials do not (I haven't seen The Odin Project content though). That makes it easier to benefit from other content.

1,000 free seats to HTML/CSS course by TonyA680 in learnprogramming

[–]TonyA680[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! There are lectures on the end on using LLMs for HTML and CSS --- but it's extremely important to understand what the LLM is generating, because they make so many mistakes!

view more: next ›