The latest articles on DEV Community by colodin (@colodin_alexandru_16cbc4b). https://dev.to/colodin_alexandru_16cbc4b https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4229052%2F0737889f-5399-4c53-84ba-2b700595ed10.png https://dev.to/colodin_alexandru_16cbc4b en colodin Thu, 05 Nov 2026 17:35:09 +0000 https://dev.to/colodin_alexandru_16cbc4b/ai-can-write-the-code-i-built-a-free-site-for-people-who-still-want-to-understand-it-5e48 https://dev.to/colodin_alexandru_16cbc4b/ai-can-write-the-code-i-built-a-free-site-for-people-who-still-want-to-understand-it-5e48 <p>AI assistants can now write working code in seconds. So why learn programming at all?</p> <p>Because working code and good software are not the same thing. Someone still has to decide how a program is structured, notice when an answer is wrong, and keep the code easy to change a year from now. If you can't judge what the AI gives you, you can only hope it's right.</p> <p>I built <a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">PromptCookbook</a> for people who still want to learn that.</p> <h2> How it works </h2> <p>Each lesson covers one concept and has three parts:</p> <ol> <li> <strong>A short explanation</strong> in simple words.</li> <li> <strong>A prompt</strong> you can open in Claude or ChatGPT with one click, or copy anywhere else.</li> <li> <strong>The code and its output</strong>, so you can compare them with the AI's answer.</li> </ol> <p>That comparison is the point. Why did the AI choose a different approach? Is its version better or worse? Asking those questions teaches you more than copying an answer.</p> <p>HTML and CSS examples run right on the page. For Go, TypeScript, Python and PHP, you copy the code and run it on your own computer.</p> <h2> Beyond the syntax </h2> <p>Courses start from the basics, but the Go, TypeScript, Python and PHP courses go further, into the topics that separate writing code from building software:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-transforming-collections" rel="noopener noreferrer">Operations on collections</a></li> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-single-responsibility-principle" rel="noopener noreferrer">SOLID principles</a></li> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-strategy-pattern" rel="noopener noreferrer">Design patterns</a></li> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-big-o-introduction" rel="noopener noreferrer">Big O analysis</a></li> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-unit-testing" rel="noopener noreferrer">Unit testing</a></li> <li><a href="https://prompt-cookbook.com/go/go-rest-api-introduction" rel="noopener noreferrer">REST APIs</a></li> </ul> <p>Even before AI, a developer who really understood these topics and could apply them in real projects was past junior level and well on the way to a solid mid-level developer. That hasn't changed. It's also the knowledge you need to judge what an AI writes for you.</p> <p>It's free, there's no account to create, and it's available in English, Romanian and Russian.</p> <p>The site is brand new, so I'd really like your feedback. If you try a lesson, does the prompt-and-compare format help you learn, or does it get in the way? What would you change?</p> programming beginners ai learning