Picture by Creator | Ideogram
Image this: You will have an thought for a pace studying app. As an alternative of spending hours researching which Python modules and libraries to make use of, coding the totally different elements, and debugging syntax errors, you merely describe what you need in plain English. Inside minutes, you are tweaking font sizes and discussing person expertise enhancements together with your AI coding companion.
That is “vibe coding” — a collaborative strategy the place pure language directions assist get to practical purposes via iterative dialog. It is not about changing conventional coding expertise, however about accelerating the journey from idea to working prototype.
As we speak, I will stroll you thru how I constructed a totally practical RSVP (Fast Serial Visible Presentation) pace studying app in simply quarter-hour utilizing Python.
🔗 Hyperlink to the speed-reading app on GitHub
Going From Thought to Implementation
Say you’ve an thought, and want to vibe-code it. In the event you already use ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, you possibly can proceed to make use of the identical. I like to recommend you check out these prompts (or higher variations of the identical) to see what you’re capable of construct.
Step 1: Describe What You Need to Construct
You possibly can open with a easy request:
“I would wish to create a command-line pace studying utility utilizing Python that implements RSVP (Fast Serial Visible Presentation) approach. The app ought to run on Ubuntu, show phrases sequentially at adjustable speeds, and embrace fundamental controls primarily based on keyboard inputs. May you present a clear, well-structured implementation with correct error dealing with?”
No technical specs. No detailed necessities. Only a clear intent. That is the place vibe coding is tremendous cool — you begin with the what, not the how.
This provides us a superb place to begin. From that preliminary immediate, you need to get a practical terminal-based pace studying utility:
class RSVPReader:
def __init__(self, textual content, wpm=250, chunk_size=1):
self.textual content = textual content
self.wpm = wpm
self.phrases = self._prepare_text()
self.current_index = 0
self.is_paused = False
self.delay = 60.0 / (wpm * chunk_size)
The preliminary implementation consists of:
- Textual content processing: Splitting content material into readable chunks
- Velocity management: Configurable words-per-minute
- Interactive controls: Pause, resume, navigate, pace adjustment
- Progress monitoring: Visible suggestions with progress bars
- File help: Learn from textual content recordsdata or direct enter
For the entire implementation of the category, you possibly can test the rsvp_reader.py file.
Step 2: Improve Person Expertise
When requesting enhancements, we used descriptive, goal-oriented language:
“I would like to reinforce the visible presentation by centering the textual content show within the terminal window and rising the font emphasis for higher readability. May you modify the code to make the most of the terminal’s middle space extra successfully whereas sustaining clear, skilled output?”
This prompted terminal manipulation:
def _get_terminal_size(self):
"""Get terminal dimensions for responsive format"""
strive:
import shutil
cols, rows = shutil.get_terminal_size()
return cols, rows
besides OSError:
return 80, 24 # Smart fallbacks
Now the speed-reading app nonetheless works. Nevertheless, we are able to add some last enhancements.
Step 3: Refine Person Interface Necessities As Wanted
Our last iteration request specifies the necessities clearly:
“I would wish to refine the interface design with these particular necessities: 1) Show textual content within the middle 40% of the terminal display, 2) Scale back default studying pace for higher comprehension, 3) Create a static management interface that does not refresh, with solely the studying textual content updating dynamically, 4) Keep clear borders across the lively show space. May you implement these adjustments whereas preserving all present performance?”
This resulted within the following terminal management:
def _get_display_area(self):
"""Get the 40% middle rectangle dimensions"""
cols, rows = self._get_terminal_size()
display_width = int(cols * 0.4)
display_height = int(rows * 0.4)
start_col = (cols - display_width) // 2
start_row = (rows - display_height) // 2
return start_col, start_row, display_width, display_height
def _draw_static_interface(self):
"""Draw the static interface"""
# Controls keep mounted, solely phrases change
An Overview of the Technical Specifics
We’ve got the next within the RSVP pace studying app we’ve constructed.
Threading for Responsive Controls
This technique captures keyboard enter in real-time with out pausing the principle program by switching the terminal to uncooked mode and utilizing non-blocking I/O polling:
def _get_keyboard_input(self):
"""Non-blocking keyboard enter handler"""
old_settings = termios.tcgetattr(sys.stdin)
strive:
tty.setraw(sys.stdin.fileno())
whereas self.is_running:
if choose.choose([sys.stdin], [], [], 0.1)[0]:
# Deal with real-time enter with out blocking
Good Terminal Positioning
This technique positions textual content at precise coordinates on the terminal display utilizing ANSI escape sequences, the place the code strikes the cursor to a particular row and column earlier than printing the phrase:
def _display_word(self, phrase):
# Use ANSI escape codes for exact positioning
print(f' 33[{word_row};{word_start_col}H{large_word}')
Adaptive Velocity Management
This dynamically adjusts studying pace primarily based on phrase size, giving customers 20% extra time for lengthy phrases (8+ characters) and 20% much less time for brief phrases (underneath 4 characters) to optimize comprehension:
# Longer phrases get extra show time
word_delay = self.delay
if len(current_word) > 8:
word_delay *= 1.2
elif len(current_word)
So yeah, you possibly can run the app, and see for your self the way it works.
First, you may make it executable like so. Be sure to can add the shebang line on the high of the script:
$ chmod +x rsvp_reader.py
You possibly can run it like so:
$ ./rsvp_reader.py pattern.txt
You could find extra particulars on the README file.
Conclusion
Our vibe coding session produced:
- A totally practical terminal-based pace studying app in Python
- Assist for variable studying speeds (50-1000+ WPM)
- Actual-time controls for pause, navigation, and pace adjustment
- Adaptive show that works on any terminal measurement
- Clear, distraction-free interface centered on the 40% middle space
- Good phrase timing primarily based on size and complexity
In quarter-hour, we went from a easy thought to a practical utility that somebody can really use.
Able to strive vibe coding your self? Begin with a easy thought, describe it in plain English, and see the place the dialog takes you. The code will comply with.
Bala Priya C is a developer and technical author from India. She likes working on the intersection of math, programming, information science, and content material creation. Her areas of curiosity and experience embrace DevOps, information science, and pure language processing. She enjoys studying, writing, coding, and low! At the moment, she’s engaged on studying and sharing her data with the developer neighborhood by authoring tutorials, how-to guides, opinion items, and extra. Bala additionally creates participating useful resource overviews and coding tutorials.