On this topic, I've started using new GenAI models in my work as a software engineer. In the first example, I used ChatGPT as an assistant to debug a particularly perplexing issue I had with Window placement on Windows. The experience was kind of like pair programming with a junior programmer, one who'd digested the Win32 API, and could suggest possible things to try. I'd liken it to having an intelligent rubber duck (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging). Whatever, over the course of a couple of hours, we'd together solved a problem that had been bugging me for maybe a couple of years. I emphasise together - ChatGPT's solutions were often wrong in detail, but in explaining what was wrong helped me see how to solve it, and ChatGPT's comments help focus thinking along useful pathways. I'd say it has all of the advantages of pair programming, without the cost (at least if you use the free tier like I did).
In the second example, I have just enable CodeRabbit as a code reviewer on my Github pull requests. The code review comments were probably typical of a human code reviewer - mostly trivial nits - it remains to be seen if it really pays off by finding a bug that slipped in. So far, the code change in that PR was typescript, it'll be interesting see how it fares with C++. What was quite interesting is that it summarised the pull request. The text summary was actually spot on - exactly what the code change was for - even though I commmented very sparsely, as is my wont - but I have to say the sequence diagram it produced had the timelines in completely the wrong order. Oh well, can't have everything, I guess. Github has just enabled free use of Github Copilot in open source projects, and I have installed a copilot plugin into my editor (emacs). So let's see if this is actually useful... Cheers -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Russell Standish Phone 0425 253119 (mobile) Principal, High Performance Coders [email protected] http://www.hpcoders.com.au ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/Z24m_N4vgHeVLpoa%40zen.
