# Writing — Ali Mustufa Shaikh

Original articles remain on their publishing platforms. Dates are original publication dates.

## [Back to school: the best AI programming languages to learn first](https://pieces.app/blog/best-ai-programming-languages)

Pieces · 2025-08-26 · AI & LLMs

Choosing a language for AI work means thinking about experimentation, deployment and the people who will maintain it. A practical look at those tradeoffs.

## [What are the best Rewind AI alternatives to consider in 2025?](https://pieces.app/blog/best-rewind-alternatives)

Pieces · 2025-05-30 · AI & LLMs

Memory tools through a developer’s eyes: local processing, code context, integrations, and the difference between recording activity and saving something useful.

## [Bigger is not always better: comparing LLMs and SLMs](https://pieces.app/blog/llm-vs-slm)

Pieces · 2025-01-22 · AI & LLMs

What smaller models offer when API costs and latency matter. Lessons from exploring where broad capability helps and where a focused model fits.

## [Exploring Microsoft’s Phi-3-Mini and its integration with tools like Ollama and Pieces](https://pieces.app/blog/phi-3-mini-integrations)

Pieces · 2024-12-20 · AI & LLMs

Running Phi-3 locally with Ollama and organizing generated snippets in Pieces, with practical setup steps and a look at the model’s context limitations.