On 10/8/26 18:41, Jerry D wrote:
Hello all,
I am sure you are all aware that I have been using LLMs for testing and
debugging gfortran a lot lately.
I thought I would share a bit about why I have been doing so.
First, I do want to see bugs fixed and get gfortran in good shape so
that when the next standard starts to emerge we will be in a better
position to focus on implementation of the new.
Second, I think it is important for us to learn as much as we can about
this new technology and how to use it. There are advantages and
disadvantages in doing so.
On the plus side these things can run hundreds of tests and variations
on code to identify defects in the compiler. This I think is valuable by
itself. The downside of this testing is one can be overwhelmed by the
number of defects found. In spite of our best efforts over the years, we
still have gaps in implementation of features and issues with already
implemented features. This can be frustrating and disappointing.
Yes, the LLMs can identify fixes rather quickly. And, sometimes they can
be very unreadable. Part of my efforts here involve experimenting with
prompting and rules to move toward better readability. This includes the
simpler the better.
In this process I want to acknowledge the excellent feedback from
Mikael. It is obvious the LLMs do not have high level design approaches.
I consider myself a novice in this regard as well.
Third, I do not want to keep marching along here without getting some
feedback from everyone on this subject. I actually have about 25
patches sitting on my worktree to be submitted. Most all have PR numbers
assigned. Some are two or three months old.
Shall I keep moving along with this? In the long term what do we do
with use of LLM tools?
Do we need to set up an online meeting to discuss?
Thanks for this write up. Note that during past weekend's GNU Tools
Cauldron there was a joined talk about the use of LLMs by Kyrylo Tkachov
and Jeff Law.
I found their exposition very illuminating (on what works, what doesn't
and what to watch out for).
It will appear on the YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/@gnutoolscauldron7666 in about two weeks.
Hope this helps,
--
Toon Moene - e-mail: [email protected] - phone: +31 346 214290
Saturnushof 14, 3738 XG Maartensdijk, The Netherlands
