In this how-to article, I aim to first clarify what Generative Coding entails. Then I will explain OpenAI and ChatGPT, how to sign up, and how to keep your data private. Next, I will take you through my technique for using ChatGPT to accomplish repetitive Apex development. I will also share my prompts used to generate unit tests, perform Salesforce devops market research, generate test classes, and generate devops glue code. By the end of this article, you should be able to use these techniques to refactor, generate tests, and extend your current org more efficiently than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For me, Generative Coding is the practice of using an AI to assist in any kind of software development project. The size of the organization doesn\u2019t matter, if you\u2019re using ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot to check your code, explain it, or create new code based on English descriptions, then you are using Generative Coding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The significance of this term lies in the imminent proliferation of Generative Coding offerings and systems. All these systems will be based on OpenAI or other AI technology company offerings, but they will have specialized interfaces designed for coders and architects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this post, we\u2019ll be using ChatGPT-4 as it currently exists, but I expect there soon to be official plugins and other systems to bring the ChatGPT-4 experience into VS Code. Plus, we are expecting GitHub Copilot X<\/a> to work more like the conversational experience I\u2019ll be showing here. And, we have yet to see any form of engineering collaboration work here. Perhaps, ChatGPT for Slack will let teams have a conversation with an AI instead of individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In essence, Generative Coding represents an important product category that every engineering manager should explore in the coming months. Our profession is about to be shaken in substantial and unpredictable ways, so please don\u2019t get blindsided by putting your head in the sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OpenAI<\/a> is the leading developer and vendor of a new technology platform known as a large language model (LLM). In recent years, the company has grown so much it appears to on its way to joining Google, Netflix, Facebook, Salesforce, and Oracle as a Silicon Valley titan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An LLM is a type of artificial intelligence that can understand and generate human-like text based on a vast amount of data. These models are designed to learn patterns and relationships in language, enabling an LLM to create coherent and contextually relevant content. OpenAI has published papers demonstrating that GPT-3, a 175 billion parameter LLM, can perform tasks across various domains, languages, and modalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But there is something different about ChatGPT-4, whose parameter size has been estimated at nearly one trillion. It is so powerful that GPT-4 may have made prior efforts at building vertical-industry AI systems obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is because high-parameter LLMs possess emergent properties that surpass those of vertical LLMs, enabling them to excel in a broader range of tasks and applications. Their increased capacity to learn and adapt allows them to understand and generate content across multiple computer languages. This adaptability makes high-parameter LLMs more versatile and powerful, as they can provide more accurate results and facilitate seamless collaboration between different programming languages and platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s a lot of power. Fortunately, it\u2019s easy to enlist ChatGPT-4 as your new Salesforce software engineering consultant. All you need to do is sign up<\/a>, and then optionally upgrade your account to use ChatGPT-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, a quick note about data privacy and ChatGPT-4. By default, ChatGPT-4 will save your conversations in a permanent thread, and that thread may be reviewed by OpenAI or ingested into the model. I find the saved thread feature particularly useful as it retains conversations across various topics. But I can see how the way OpenAI treats most user data will make compliance officers freak out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OpenAI says they are introducing a Business account with better data safety, and no data from the API will be used for training. In the meantime, you have several options to maintain privacy. For instance, you have the option to navigate to the settings in ChatGPT and choose not to save your conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho is OpenAI and What is ChatGPT?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to Sign Up for ChatGPT and OpenAI Platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n