First Time Using .NET — AI Built My Whole App in 30 Minutes (My MFC Version Took 3 Weeks)

CAD Old Dog — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 00:21:29 +0000

(Forgive my awkward “AI‑style” English, I’m not a native speaker)

I’ve been coding in C++/MFC for decades, but never touched .NET or VB.NET.

Last week I tried something new: I asked ChatGPT to help me rebuild an old Excel reporting tool I originally wrote in MFC.

Here’s all I did:

Describe what I needed
Paste the code it gave me into Visual Studio
Hit run

In 30 minutes I had a complete Excel → Word → PDF automation workflow, including a small algorithm I thought would be too tricky for AI.
If I coded this myself in MFC? Easily 3 weeks.

When it worked, I was amazed… and honestly a bit terrified.
If AI can do this now, what happens 5 years from now?

I recorded the full 5‑minute process (real code running, no cuts, just sped up):
https://youtu.be/-mf_yOhOCfs

Have you ever let AI write an entire app for you?
Not selling anything. Just sharing what shocked me. Thank you.

DEV Community: CAD Old Dog

First Time Using .NET — AI Built My Whole App in 30 Minutes (My MFC Version Took 3 Weeks)