• skip0110@lemmy.zipOP
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    2 days ago

    Why are we using tools that can’t parse the comment and code via syntax for refactoring?

    • spartanatreyu@programming.dev
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      2 days ago

      The first problem is they’re letting AI touch their code.

      The second problem is they’re relying on a human to pick up changes in moved code while using git’s built-in diff tools. There’s a whole bunch of studies that show how git’s diff algorithms are terrible, and how swapping to newer diff algos improves things considerably.

      TL;DR on the studies:

      • Only supporting add/remove/move operations is really bad.
      • Adding syntax awareness to understand if differences in indentation should be brought to a reviewer’s attention, improves code and makes code reviews more accurate. (But this is hard because it’s language dependent)
      • Adding extra operations (indent/deindent/move/rename-symbol/comment/un-comment/etc…) makes code review easier, faster and more accurate. (But again, most of this requires syntax awareness.

      There’s also a bunch of alternative diff algos you can use, but the best ones are paid, and the free ones have fewer features. See: