• footfaults@lemmygrad.ml
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    17 days ago

    Going through as I go:

    • validate_email does not need to exist, since model fields by default have blank=False meaning they must have a value. This should be picked up by ModelSerializer already, since it is using the model.
    • validate_username doesn’t do anything that couldn’t be accomplished by using MinLengthValidator - and in addition it should not exist in serializers - it belongs directly in the declaration of the field in models.
      • That way, you are validating this field regardless of it being used for the REST API or the web application

    On the subject of your view code:

    That whole code can be thrown out and replaced with:

    class UserProfileViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
        queryset = UserProfile.objects.all()
        serializer_class = UserProfileSerializer
        permission_classes = [IsAccountAdminOrReadOnly]
    

    So, honestly I don’t know what to think of your example of “boilerplate” beyond the fact that you don’t quite grasp Django and Django Rest Framework well enough to understand how to implement things properly, without repeating yourself. I also think some of your code like verbose_name and verbose_name_plural is not an example of “boilerplate”. I would also argue that ordering is something that should be implemented via OrderingFilter so that the API client can pick different orderings as part of the GET request.

    I think a full example could be reduced to something like:

    from django.db import models
    
    class UserProfile(models.Model):
        username = models.CharField(
            max_length=100, 
            unique=True, 
            help_text="Unique username", 
            validators=[MinLengthValidator(limit_value=3)]
        )
        email = models.EmailField(unique=True, help_text="User's email address")
        full_name = models.CharField(max_length=255, blank=True, null=True, help_text="User's full name")
        date_joined = models.DateTimeField(auto_now_add=True, help_text="Date when the user profile was created")
        is_active = models.BooleanField(default=True, help_text="Designates whether this user should be treated as active.")
    
        def __str__(self):
            return self.username
    
    from rest_framework import serializers
    from .models import UserProfile
    
    class UserProfileSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
        class Meta:
            model = UserProfile
            fields = ['id', 'username', 'email', 'full_name', 'date_joined', 'is_active']
            read_only_fields = ['id', 'date_joined']
    
    from rest_framework import viewsets
    from rest_framework.permissions import IsAccountAdminOrReadOnly
    from .models import UserProfile
    from .serializers import UserProfileSerializer
    
    class UserProfileViewSet(viewsets.ModelViewSet):
        queryset = UserProfile.objects.all()
        serializer_class = UserProfileSerializer
        permission_classes = [IsAccountAdminOrReadOnly]
    
    from rest_framework import routers
    
    router = routers.SimpleRouter()
    router.register(r'users', UserProfileViewSet)
    urlpatterns = router.urls
    

    So really the only “boilerplate” here is how many of the fields from UserProfile you want to expose via the REST API and how many are read only? That’s not something an LLM can decide, that’s a policy decision.

    So really, I wonder what it is that you are expecting an LLM to do? Because this small example doesn’t have much to it and it does a LOT just by leveraging DRF and leaving you to just define your business logic and objects. If you can’t be bothered to even think about your models and what data you are storing, I don’t know what to say to that, beyond the fact that you just don’t want to code even the easiest things yourself?

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
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      17 days ago

      The point is that the LLM can produce 90% of the code here, and then you might need to tweak a couple of lines. Even with your changes, there’s still very obviously a non trivial amount of boilerplate, and you just can’t bring yourself to acknowledge this fact.

      • footfaults@lemmygrad.ml
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        17 days ago

        , there’s still very obviously a non trivial amount of boilerplate,

        Where?

        Where is the boilerplate?

        • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
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          17 days ago

          That whole code is boilerplate that I originally generated using an LLM from the following query write a django endpoint for handling a json payload with user information and storing it in the db. After you making it concise, it’s still over 40 lines of code.

          • footfaults@lemmygrad.ml
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            17 days ago

            Three thoughts.

            Firstly: write a django endpoint for handling a json payload with user information and storing it in the db

            And yet this LLM failed to consider just using the built in contrib.auth.User which already stores this information. What about extending the Auth user model?

            Secondly:

            This means that any of this supposed “boilerplate” (you are not even using the right term, more on that in a second) is just AI slop that doesn’t even do a half decent job of what you have been arguing, around getting rid of “boilerplate” that is inconvenient. It is the LLM itself that is creating all this supposed boilerplate!.

            Thirdly:

            I don’t understand what you think “boilerplate” is. Because 40 lines of code where you define a model, the fields that are serialized through the REST API, and the REST API implementation is not boilerplate. Boilerplate is defined as “sections of code that are repeated in multiple places with little to no variation.” (Wikipedia). Where is the “repeated in multiple places” in this example? If we even took this example further and extended it to other models - where would the duplication be? The fact that you inherit from ModelViewSet? That you inherit from ModelSerializer? There is no boilerplate here! If anything the boilerplate is inside ModelSerializer and ModelViewSet, but that’s object oriented design! You’re inheriting from those classes so you don’t have to do it yourself!.

            • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
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              17 days ago

              It’s boilerplate because it’s just lines of code that are spelling out a repetitive pattern that you end up having to mindlessly write over and over. The fact that you continue to refuse to acknowledge this blows my mind to be honest.

              • footfaults@lemmygrad.ml
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                17 days ago

                It’s boilerplate because it’s just lines of code that are spelling out a repetitive pattern that you end up having to mindlessly write over and over.

                And again, I ask you, where is that mindlessly writing over and over code? I have even gone through the trouble of trying to see the problem from your perspective, by looking at ModelViewSet and ModelSerializer where if you squint really hard you could maybe make a case that it is repetitive, but in code that is object oriented, you can’t just say that “oh inheriting from some big class that does 98% of the actual implementation is boilerplate” - because literally all you are doing is inheriting from ModelViewSet and setting three whole fields that are specific to your model. Is three lines boilerplate, when they determine how the entire class behaves and if it works or doesn’t work? I would argue not.

                  • footfaults@lemmygrad.ml
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                    17 days ago

                    Ah, here we are again. Now you passive aggressively say that I’m just stupid. So, now, who is doing the “low effort trolling” that you claim anyone who disagrees with you does?

                    Incredible.