Language Wizards considered harmful?

Question

Wizards can kick-start features. They can also obfuscate your code, and are anti-YAGNI.

On balance, do you think Wizards are more useful or more harmful?

Answer 1

They are more useful than harmful if and only if you understand the code they generate. Only after you mastered the problem the wizard is trying to solve they are really useful. Otherwise you'll hit walls later in the project, because the generated code will need modifications at some point.

"The Law of Leaky Abstractions" really nails it on the head.

Answer 2

They're there for a reason - to try and make your life easier. They can be useful and save you 5 or 10 minutes of typing. Of course it's best to read and make sure you understand what they've written for you.

If you use them without understanding, then they could be considered harmful in the fact that they're letting you get away with not learning something you should probably know, but on balance I think they're a good thing.