Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
blog.stephenwolfram.com
Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
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Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#2[deleted]
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#3A related thought experiment: if programmers were to work for free, would non-programmers think up of lots of clever things for them to build?
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#4To Wolfram Alpha:
Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL?
Result: Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#5I would be fascinated to see several hundred years down the road how natural languages and computer languages have comingled and evolved into something new. I'd be inclined to believe that bringing natural language to computers won't just be a one-way street.
You already see this in places like hacker news here where people often use constructs like "s/thing/other thing/" because it's more concise and useful than writing out the natural language version.
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#6[deleted]
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Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#7The "uncanny valley" might apply here.
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#8This is in the class of "demoware", projects that are easy to program fancy demos for but are very difficult to bring to production status. (See also: "fully visual programming".) It's only really interesting if they escape from that. We'll have to wait and see.
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#9While it would be neat to give the power of programming to everyone, I'm not convinced coding in a natural language would necessarily be better/easier than writing code in Ruby or Lisp or Python.
Sure, you eliminate the first big hurdle in programming, but learning the syntax of programming language is usually one of the easier parts of software development.
Re: Generating code from natural language is closer than you think
#10Well, I since it isn't possible (natural language isn't precise enough to even communicate efficiently with other humans that share the same hardware as you, much less an unthinking autamoton such as a computer), that would put the time frame at around never. If it ever actually happens, that would by definition of 'never' be sooner than I think, so all he has to do is actually accomplish it instead of talking shit his entire life, and he'll have proved his statement correct.
Maybe he'll call it 'A New Kind of Programming Language'.