{
  "id": 14040465,
  "title": "Everything changes, and so does programming. This isn't the end, it's the next phase.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/everything-changes-and-so-does-programming-this-isnt-the-end-its-the",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-12T20:40:09.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/videosdeti/everything-changes-and-so-does-programming-this-isnt-the-end-its-the-next-phase-4113"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "This story is not for senior developers, but rather for those who have been in the field for 2-3 years and are questioning their career choices. Despite the fear that programming might be over due to AI writing code and developers disappearing, the author believes this is merely a next phase in the evolution of the industry.\n\nThe author makes a distinction between typing code and engineering, arguing that only the former is becoming a commodity. They point out that each technological advancement feels like it makes things too easy and strips away the programmer's value, but this is not the case. Instead, new tools and technologies free developers from mundane tasks and allow them to focus on the more complex and challenging aspects of their work.\n\nThe skill that defines a developer in this phase is engineering and decision-making. This involves understanding how different components connect, knowing which parts consume more and less resources to achieve the same goal, and making choices that balance quality, cost, and profit for the business. While writing code that solves a problem is only half the work, choosing the right approach to solve it is crucial in determining a developer's value to the business.\n\nIn companies with limited resources, the right decision can mean the difference between survival and bankruptcy. For example, paying for a fixed server to run a task that takes seconds a day is wasteful, while using a pay-per-use service can save a startup thousands of dollars. In contrast, when a company has more resources to spare, the same decision, repeated across numerous services, can result in significant savings.\n\nThe author emphasizes that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to these decisions, as each case depends on context. The real skill of a developer lies in knowing how to ask the right questions and measure trade-offs for each specific situation. Debugging should be based on evidence, not assumptions, and this ability to analyze and make informed decisions is what the business owner pays for from a good engineer.\n\nThe author provides a personal example of a crawler project that generates a stock JSON for a store daily. Initially, they faced a bug related to the User-Agent configuration. They discovered that one version of the crawler, which announced itself as a browser, succeeded while another version, which identified itself as a bot, failed. This case highlights the importance of investigating and measuring trade-offs rather than relying on assumptions.\n\nIn addition to the crawler, the author runs a Ruby on Rails API on a server, as it makes sense for that specific task. While it is possible to use a cronjob on a local server for the crawler, serverless is the simpler, more practical, and cost-effective option in this case. The author points out that every case is unique, and the decision to use serverless or a traditional server depends on the specific requirements of the project.\n\nIn conclusion, the author stresses that programming is far from over and that this phase of technological advancement is just beginning. Good engineers are not just those who can write code but those who can make informed decisions that balance quality, cost, and profit for their business. The skill of a developer in this phase is not about memorizing syntax or knowing the \"right\" answer but about understanding how to ask the right questions and measure trade-offs on a case-by-case basis.",
  "summary": "Who this is for: nothing new here for senior devs. This one's for folks 2-3 years into the field who are feeling the \"is it even worth it anymore\" doubt. Keep studying. It's worth it. Note: the ideas are mine; I used AI to format and organize my thoughts. Everyone keeps saying programming is over. That AI writes the code, that the profession will disappear, that it's not worth learning anymore. I…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}