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Red Doe
Red Doe

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From Zero to MindMaps... Without Writing a Single Line of Code? 🤯

The code write by our AI overlords

I'll admit it – I’m a lazy programmer at heart. So when I saw that viral video where some genius used OpenAI to whip up an app without coding, my inner sloth rejoiced. Could I pull off the same magic with Google’s Gemini and avoid the drudgery of typing?

Challenge accepted! My mission: build a web app that could magically transform dull documents into beautiful MindMaps, all with the help of AI. No coding experience required… right?

Round 1: "Hello World," Says Gemini (and a Mountain of Errors) 💪

Armed with a blank text file and the unyielding optimism of someone who’s never actually built a web app, I summoned Gemini into my coding arena (aka my chat window).

“Hey Gemini, my brilliant AI friend, let’s make a Flask app where people can upload documents, and you, with your infinite wisdom, will turn them into glorious Mermaid mindmaps!”

Gemini, bless its silicon soul, responded with a torrent of code snippets, helpful explanations (or so I thought at the time), and a Flask app skeleton. “Cool,” I thought, naively. “This AI stuff is easy!”

Round 2: The Encoding Labyrinth of Doom 🤯

The honeymoon phase was short-lived. My first boss battle? Encoding. Gemini dutifully generated Mermaid code, but mermaid.ink, the online rendering service I was using, kept spitting back errors.

"Invalid encoded code!" it screamed. "Bad Request!"

Turns out, Base64 encoding wasn't enough. We ventured into the treacherous realm of URL-safe encoding, battled mysterious "pako:" strings from the Mermaid Live Editor, and I swear I saw a hex editor flash before my eyes.

Round 3: Mermaid Syntax: Where Spaces Are Deadly Weapons ⚔️

Mermaid diagrams, those elegant visualizers of information, are beautiful… until they're not. Gemini and I spent an eternity (or at least what felt like it) wrangling Mermaid's finicky syntax:

  • Missing spaces around arrows: "400 Bad Request!"
  • Extra spaces around arrows: "400 Bad Request!"
  • The graph LR directive: A mystical incantation that sometimes worked and sometimes didn't.

I began to suspect that Mermaid was sentient and enjoyed tormenting me.

Round 4: The Phantom "Syntax Error" Image 👻

Just when we thought victory was near, a new terror emerged: the dreaded "Syntax error in text" image. But wait… Gemini was now generating perfectly valid Mermaid code! What dark sorcery was this?!

Syntax Error Image Generated by Mermaid Ink

Enter the villain: browser caching! My browser, like a stubborn mule, refused to let go of the old, error-ridden image. Clearing the cache and performing hard refreshes became my new mantra.

The Result: A Frankensteinian MVP 🧟‍♂️

Bruised, battered, but not entirely broken, I emerged from the AI coding gauntlet with a working app! It was a Frankensteinian creation, cobbled together with duct tape and Gemini's digital sweat.

A diagram that was generated:-

A Mind Map generated from file containing some theory on AI

The UI was hideous, performance was slower than a snail in molasses, and I still had nightmares about encoding. But it functioned! And I hadn’t written a single line of “real” code.

Hideous UI of my App

Lessons Learned from the AI-pocalypse:

  • AI is a powerful tool: Gemini's ability to generate code, explain concepts, and assist with debugging was impressive.
  • Human skills still matter: Clear communication, problem-solving, and the ability to understand (and fix!) code are essential.
  • Patience is a virtue: When working with AI, be prepared for unexpected errors, cryptic messages, and a whole lot of head-scratching.

The Quest Continues... Manually!

Now, armed with newfound (and hard-won) knowledge, I'm embarking on a new quest: rebuilding this app from scratch, using my own coding skills. Will I be able to create a better, more refined version? And how will the time and effort compare to the AI-assisted approach?

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