3 Best AI Coding Assistant Tools in 2023 | KodeKloud

KodeKloud
15 Nov 202309:45

TLDRJeremy Morgan introduces three generative AI tools that enhance software development: GitHub Copilot, Blackbox AI, and TabNine. These tools assist in coding, error detection, code optimization, and documentation. GitHub Copilot simplifies code and fixes errors, while Blackbox AI improves code efficiency and readability. TabNine excels in code completion and generating tests. Each tool has unique features, such as GitHub Copilot's cloud operation and TabNine's self-hosting option, catering to different developer needs and priorities.

Takeaways

  • 🚀 GitHub Copilot is an AI programming assistant that helps in simplifying and optimizing code, as well as fixing errors and generating unit tests.
  • 📝 The 'SLS' feature in GitHub Copilot simplifies code by making it more concise, which can lead to easier readability and maintenance.
  • 🔍 GitHub Copilot can identify and fix errors in code, even complex ones, improving the overall quality of the script.
  • 💬 The chat feature of GitHub Copilot allows users to generate unit tests, explain code, and propose fixes for bugs, enhancing understanding and development efficiency.
  • 🖋️ Blackbox is another generative AI tool for programmers that focuses on improving code efficiency and readability, and it also provides integrated code comments.
  • 📉 Blackbox's 'View Diff History' feature is useful for tracking changes and comparing different versions of the code.
  • 🌟 TabNine is a generative AI product for Visual Studio Code that excels in smart code completion, making the development process faster and more efficient.
  • 📌 TabNine offers options like list comprehension and regular expressions for refactoring code, leading to more efficient and cleaner solutions.
  • 🛡️ TabNine can be self-hosted, which is beneficial for high-security applications and allows for customization without sending code over the internet.
  • 💡 All three AI tools have similar features but differ in aspects like language support, documentation, cost, and data privacy, making each suitable for different needs and preferences.
  • 🎓 The video recommends a course on code Cloud for mastering generative AI with open AI, suggesting a resource for those interested in deepening their understanding of AI in coding.

Q & A

  • What is Jeremy Morgan's profession?

    -Jeremy Morgan is a training architect for Code Cloud.

  • What are the three generative AI tools that Jeremy Morgan discusses in the video?

    -The three generative AI tools discussed are GitHub Copilot, Blackbox, and Tabnine.

  • How does GitHub Copilot help in coding?

    -GitHub Copilot assists in simplifying code, fixing errors, generating unit tests, explaining code, and proposing fixes for bugs.

  • What feature of GitHub Copilot does Jeremy Morgan find particularly useful for code optimization?

    -Jeremy Morgan finds the 'SLS - Simplify' feature particularly useful for making code more concise and optimizing it.

  • How does Blackbox AI differ from GitHub Copilot in terms of code improvement suggestions?

    -Blackbox AI provides different solutions than GitHub Copilot, focusing on eliminating inefficiencies, reducing time complexity, and improving readability with clear explanations and comments.

  • What unique feature does Blackbox AI offer for tracking code changes?

    -Blackbox AI offers a 'View Diff History' feature that allows users to track and compare changes made to the code.

  • How does Tabnine stand out in terms of code completion?

    -Tabnine is noted for being the smartest in code completion among the three tools, making the development process faster and more efficient.

  • What are some key considerations when choosing between GitHub Copilot, Blackbox AI, and Tabnine?

    -Factors to consider include language support, integration with documentation and code comments, cost, security concerns related to code transmission and IP, and the ability to self-host.

  • Why does Jeremy Morgan prefer Tabnine over the other two tools?

    -Jeremy Morgan prefers Tabnine for its self-hosting capability, not sending code over the internet, and its transparency regarding open-source libraries used for training, which addresses IP concerns.

  • What additional resource does Jeremy Morgan recommend for those interested in generative AI?

    -Jeremy Morgan recommends the course 'Mastering Generative AI with Open AI' on Code Cloud for those wanting to understand generative AI better and possibly build their own tools.

Outlines

00:00

💡 Introduction to Generative AI Tools for Coding

Jeremy Morgan, a training architect for Code Cloud, introduces three of his favorite generative AI tools designed for software developers. These tools utilize AI to enhance coding practices, including building better code, resolving documentation errors, and more. The first tool discussed is GitHub Copilot, an AI programming companion that simplifies code and identifies errors. Jeremy demonstrates how it can optimize a script by reducing its complexity and improving readability. Additionally, he explores the chat feature of GitHub Copilot, which offers options for generating unit tests, explaining code, and proposing bug fixes. The video emphasizes the benefits of using AI in coding, such as enhancing efficiency and understanding code, even when it was written by someone else.

05:00

🛠️ Exploring GitHub Copilot and Blackbox AI

Jeremy continues his discussion on generative AI tools by comparing GitHub Copilot with another tool, Blackbox AI. Using the same example script, he shows how Blackbox AI can identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements, leading to a more readable and efficient code. Blackbox AI stands out for its integrated code comments and its affordable pricing. Jeremy also highlights the view diff history feature of Blackbox, which allows tracking changes and comparing them. Despite a minor error in identifying the problem as a fizzbuzz issue, Blackbox AI demonstrates its value in code completion and readability enhancement. The segment concludes with a brief mention of the importance of understanding AI tools' limitations and their occasional inaccuracies.

🚀 Discovering TabNine and Its Benefits

In the final part of the video, Jeremy introduces TabNine, another generative AI product for Visual Studio Code. He praises its smart code completion capabilities and its efficiency in speeding up the development process. TabNine's ability to suggest improvements to the example script is showcased, including the use of list comprehension and regular expressions. Jeremy also explores the tool's test generation feature and its chat functionality, which provides solutions for outputting data to text files. The video concludes with a comparison of the three AI tools, highlighting their key features and potential use cases. GitHub Copilot's extensive language support and cloud operation, Blackbox AI's documentation prowess and cost-effectiveness, and TabNine's self-hosting capabilities and non-internet reliance are discussed. Jeremy shares his preference for TabNine and encourages viewers to explore generative AI through a course on Code Cloud.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Generative AI

Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that are capable of creating or generating new content, such as code, based on patterns and data they have learned. In the context of the video, generative AI tools are used to assist software developers in writing and optimizing their code more efficiently and effectively.

💡GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI programming assistant that utilizes machine learning models to provide suggestions for code snippets and automate certain coding tasks. It can simplify code, generate unit tests, explain code functionality, and even propose fixes for bugs. The tool is integrated with the GitHub platform and can be used as an extension in various IDEs.

💡Blackbox AI

Blackbox AI is a generative AI tool designed for programmers that can analyze and optimize code by identifying inefficiencies and suggesting improvements. It provides detailed explanations for its suggested changes, which can enhance the readability and performance of the code. Blackbox AI is noted for its documentation capabilities, including the generation of code comments.

💡TabNine

TabNine is a code completion tool powered by generative AI that operates within the Visual Studio Code environment. It offers intelligent suggestions for code completion, making the development process faster and more efficient. TabNine is known for its ability to handle complex coding scenarios and provide solutions that are both functional and optimized.

💡Code Optimization

Code optimization refers to the process of modifying existing code to improve its performance, efficiency, or readability without changing its functionality. In the video, the AI tools are used to optimize code by simplifying it, removing unnecessary elements, and improving its structure.

💡Error Detection

Error detection in coding is the process of identifying and correcting mistakes or bugs in the source code. The video demonstrates how AI tools can assist developers in finding and fixing errors by analyzing the code and providing suggestions for corrections.

💡Code Comments

Code comments are annotations in the source code that provide explanations or additional information about the code, its functionality, or the logic behind it. They are ignored during the execution of the program but are essential for understanding and maintaining the code.

💡Code Readability

Code readability refers to the ease with which a human reader can understand the code. It involves clear formatting, meaningful variable names, and logical structuring of the code. Tools like Blackbox AI and TabNine improve code readability by suggesting changes that make the code more straightforward and easier to comprehend.

💡Unit Tests

Unit tests are individual tests that validate the functionality of the smallest parts of an application, typically functions or methods. They are essential in ensuring that the code works as expected and helps in identifying and preventing bugs.

💡Code Completion

Code completion is a feature in IDEs that suggests possible completions for code snippets based on the context. It helps developers write code faster by providing intelligent predictions for what they are likely to type next.

💡IDE Integration

IDE (Integrated Development Environment) integration refers to the compatibility and seamless interaction of tools and extensions with development environments. It allows developers to access and use these tools directly within their coding platform, enhancing productivity and workflow efficiency.

Highlights

Jeremy Morgan shares his top three generative AI tools that have transformed the way he codes.

These AI tools are specific to software developers and help build better code faster by assisting with solutions, documentation, and error fixing.

GitHub Copilot is introduced as an AI programming buddy that can simplify code and optimize it for better readability and efficiency.

GitHub Copilot's 'SLS' feature attempts to make code more concise, offering suggestions to reduce complexity and improve code quality.

The tool can also identify and fix errors in code, as demonstrated by fixing a variable name issue that resulted in printing the full XML element.

GitHub Copilot offers a chat feature with options to generate unit tests, explain code, and propose bug fixes.

Blackbox AI is another generative AI tool for programmers that can improve inefficient scripts and provide clear explanations for its proposed solutions.

Blackbox AI's solution handles edge cases and includes comments, making it more readable and efficient than the initial script.

The tool features a view diff history function, allowing users to track changes and compare them, which is useful for code review and understanding.

Blackbox AI also performs code completion and can adapt based on comments provided by the user, saving time and aiding in writing code more efficiently.

TabNine is a generative AI product that works in Visual Studio Code, offering smart code completion and making development faster.

TabNine suggests improvements to inefficient scripts, such as using list comprehension or regular expressions, and shows the diff of suggested changes.

The tool can generate tests for the code and provides a chat feature that can answer questions in plain English, aiding in solving coding problems.

GitHub Copilot has excellent language support and runs in the cloud, meaning it won't slow down the user's machine.

Blackbox AI excels in documentation, generating code comments and other documentation, and has integrated code search for convenience.

TabNine can be self-hosted, which is beneficial for high-security applications or for those who prefer a customized experience.

TabNine does not send code over the internet to their servers and does not use user code to train its models, addressing IP concerns.

Jeremy Morgan's favorite tool is TabNine due to its efficiency, smart code completion, and the fact that it does not require internet transmission of code.

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