AI-Accelerated Development

AI coding assistants have fundamentally changed how I build software. Here's my practical workflow for leveraging Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools effectively.

The Productivity Multiplier

After integrating AI assistants into my workflow, I've seen dramatic improvements:

• Code generation: 3-5x faster for boilerplate and CRUD operations
• Debugging: Issues that took hours now take minutes
• Learning: Exploring new frameworks and libraries is much faster
• Documentation: Auto-generated docs and comments

My AI Toolkit

Claude (Anthropic)

My primary coding assistant. Excels at:

• Complex architectural discussions
• Code review and refactoring suggestions
• Explaining unfamiliar codebases
• Writing comprehensive documentation

Gemini (Google)

Great for:

• Quick code snippets
• Stack Overflow-style Q&A
• Rapid prototyping

GitHub Copilot

Integrated directly in VS Code:

• Line-by-line completions
• Function generation from comments
• Test case suggestions

Effective Prompting Strategies

1. Provide Context

Bad:

"Write a function to process users"

Good:

"Write a TypeScript function that takes an array of User objects (with id, name, email fields), filters out users without verified emails, and returns them sorted by name. Include JSDoc comments."

2. Iterate and Refine

AI rarely gets it perfect on the first try. Use follow-up prompts:

• "Now add error handling for invalid input"
• "Optimize this for large arrays"
• "Add unit tests for edge cases"

3. Review Critically

AI-generated code needs human review:

• Check for security issues
• Verify business logic
• Ensure consistency with codebase style

Practical Examples

Rapid Prototyping

When building Tredye's order form, I described the requirements to Claude and had a working prototype in minutes:

Me: "Create a React component for a trading order form with:
- Buy/Sell toggle
- Symbol input with autocomplete
- Quantity input with validation
- Order type dropdown (market, limit, stop)
- Price input (disabled for market orders)
- Submit button with loading state"

Claude: [generates complete component with TypeScript types]

Debugging Sessions

When facing a cryptic error, I paste the stack trace and relevant code:

Me: "I'm getting 'Cannot read property of undefined' in this Kafka consumer code: [code]. The error happens when processing messages after the consumer has been running for about 30 minutes."

Claude: "The issue is likely a race condition in your message handler. When the consumer rebalances partitions, pending promises aren't being cancelled..."

The Future

AI assistants will only get better. My advice:

1. Start using them now to build the skill
2. Focus on clear communication
3. Always verify and understand the output

The goal isn't to replace thinking - it's to amplify it.