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Combining ChatGPT with a Fortran compiler
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Beliavsky
Apr 2, 2023, 9:14:42 PM4/2/23
to
I have asked ChatGPT to write Python and Fortran codes to solve some problems, and often it produces working code, but sometimes it produces Fortran code that does not compile. It would be great to have a ChatGPT wrapper with access to a free compiler such as gfortran and more broadly to all the compilers in gcc. The workflow would be
(1) Ask the ChatGPT wrapper a programming question.
(2a) If ChatGPT answers without producing code, transmit the answer to the user.
(2b) If it does produce code in Fortran or C++ etc., try to compile with gfortran, g++ etc.
(2bi) If the code compiles, transmit the answer with code to the user.
(2bii) If the code does not compile, send the error message to ChatGPT, which hopefully it can fix, after which the answer with code is transmitted to the user.
The basic idea is to improve ChatGPT so that it does not send the user code that does not compile. One could extend this by having the ChatGPT wrapper not just compile but run the codes it generates and test if it satisfies the user's requirements. For example, the user could say "write a Fortran function called 'sorted' in module 'sorted_mod' that sorts integers, and test it with a program
use sorted_mod
implicit none
if (all(sorted([5,4,2]) == [2, 4, 5]) then
print*,"success"
else
print*,"failure"
end if
end"
(1) Ask the ChatGPT wrapper a programming question.
(2a) If ChatGPT answers without producing code, transmit the answer to the user.
(2b) If it does produce code in Fortran or C++ etc., try to compile with gfortran, g++ etc.
(2bi) If the code compiles, transmit the answer with code to the user.
(2bii) If the code does not compile, send the error message to ChatGPT, which hopefully it can fix, after which the answer with code is transmitted to the user.
The basic idea is to improve ChatGPT so that it does not send the user code that does not compile. One could extend this by having the ChatGPT wrapper not just compile but run the codes it generates and test if it satisfies the user's requirements. For example, the user could say "write a Fortran function called 'sorted' in module 'sorted_mod' that sorts integers, and test it with a program
use sorted_mod
implicit none
if (all(sorted([5,4,2]) == [2, 4, 5]) then
print*,"success"
else
print*,"failure"
end if
end"
gah4
Apr 3, 2023, 6:25:26 AM4/3/23
to
On Sunday, April 2, 2023 at 6:14:42 PM UTC-7, Beliavsky wrote:
(snip)
> (2bii) If the code does not compile, send the error message to ChatGPT, which
> hopefully it can fix, after which the answer with code is transmitted to the user.
> The basic idea is to improve ChatGPT so that it does not send the user code that
> does not compile.
Not that I am an expert, or even close, but as well as I know, it doesn't work that way.
Well, at least, it doesn't work easily.
Consider that you find a Fortran mistake made by a large fraction
of human users. You want to improve the world by getting people
not to make those mistakes. How do you do it? Some would do
it by adding warnings to compilers, but consider, for this case,
that isn't a possibility.
(snip)
> (2bii) If the code does not compile, send the error message to ChatGPT, which
> hopefully it can fix, after which the answer with code is transmitted to the user.
> The basic idea is to improve ChatGPT so that it does not send the user code that
> does not compile.
Well, at least, it doesn't work easily.
Consider that you find a Fortran mistake made by a large fraction
of human users. You want to improve the world by getting people
not to make those mistakes. How do you do it? Some would do
it by adding warnings to compilers, but consider, for this case,
that isn't a possibility.
Beliavsky
Apr 4, 2023, 10:36:13 PM4/4/23
to
https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read books to understand the programming languages they use.
Beliavsky
Jul 5, 2023, 10:37:15 PM7/5/23
to
On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 10:36:13 PM UTC-4, Beliavsky wrote:
> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read books to understand the programming languages they use.
I wrote a Python program at https://github.com/Beliavsky/ChatGPT-Fortran-generator that will iteratively present ChatGPT with a Fortran code and a compiler error message and ask for a fix. You do need a paid account to use it, but the cost for ChatGPT 3.5 is very low. I have submitted hundreds of queries and paid less than $0.20.
> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read books to understand the programming languages they use.
Giorgio Pastore
Jul 6, 2023, 1:34:59 AM7/6/23
to
Il 06/07/23 04:37, Beliavsky ha scritto:
it could become a valuable resource. However, it would require a
specific training that is currently lacking.
As an illustration, I can show herefollowing a recent interaction I had
on the topic of Fortran pointers. Even if somewhat long, it may be
interesting.
Giorgio
==
User (me) : what will be the output of this piece of code?
program abc
implicit none
integer, pointer :: a,b,c
allocate(b,c)
b=42
c=1
a=>b
b=>c
print*,a,b,c
ChatGPT
Based on the provided code snippet, the output will be:
1 42 1
Here's the explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 1 42 1.
User
After your point 5, I would expect that printing a and b would give 42
and 42. after point 6, printing b and c should give 1 and 1. Am I wrong?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion. You are correct. After point 5, printing a
and b will give the output 42 42. After point 6, printing b and c will
give the output 1 1. Here's the corrected explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 42 42 1.
User
I am confused. If, after point 6, b and c will be printed as '1 1', the
only doubt remains on the value printed in correspondence with a. Shoud
it be '1 1 1' or '42 1 1'?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous response. After point
6, printing a, b, and c will give the output 1 1 1.
Here's the corrected explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 1 1 1.
User
Then, if, compiling the program with gfortran, I get '42 1 1' should be
considered a compiler error?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous responses. You are
correct. Compiling the program with gfortran and getting the output 42 1
1 indicates a discrepancy with the expected behavior according to the
Fortran code you provided.
In Fortran, when you use pointer assignment (=>), the target variable
takes on the value and type of the pointed-to variable. Therefore, after
the line b => c, the value of b should be 1 rather than 42. The
subsequent print statement should output 1 1 1.
If the compiler produces the output 42 1 1, it suggests a potential
issue with the compiler or the code itself. It's recommended to
double-check the code and ensure there are no other modifications or
factors affecting the behavior. Additionally, consider using the latest
version of gfortran or an alternative Fortran compiler to see if the
issue persists.
User
What is, according to the Fortran standard, the exact meaning of a=>b :
1) a is pointing the the memory location pointed by b at the time the
instruction is executed, or 2) is pointing to b even if after that
instruction b is made pointing to another memory location
ChatGPT
According to the Fortran standard, when you use the pointer assignment a
=> b, it establishes the association that a is pointing to the memory
location pointed by b at the time the instruction is executed (Option 1
in your question).
Once the pointer association a => b is made, a will continue to point to
the memory location originally pointed by b. Any subsequent changes to b
will not affect the association between a and the original memory
location. Therefore, even if b is made to point to another memory
location after the pointer association is established, a will still
point to the original memory location.
In the code you provided earlier, the output 42 1 1 suggests that the
compiler might not be adhering strictly to the Fortran standard in this
particular case. The behavior may vary depending on the compiler and its
specific implementation of pointer assignments.
User
At this point I do not understand your answer. You said that a continues
pointing to the original location of b. That location contains the
integer 42. b at the time the print statemt is executed, b points to c,
so both b and c should be printed as 1. Why you say that '42 1 1' is
not the expected output?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous responses. You are
correct, and I apologize for the incorrect information in my previous
explanations.
In the code you provided, after the pointer assignments a => b and b =>
c, the expected output should indeed be 42 1 1.
The pointer assignment a => b establishes that a is pointing to the
memory location pointed by b, which initially contains the value 42.
Then, the pointer assignment b => c changes the pointer b to point to
the memory location pointed by c, which contains the value 1. However,
the pointer assignment does not affect the existing pointer a, so a
still points to the original memory location containing 42.
Therefore, the correct output of the program should be 42 1 1. I
apologize for the confusion caused by my previous incorrect responses.
> On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 10:36:13 PM UTC-4, Beliavsky wrote:
>> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read books to understand the programming languages they use.
>
> I wrote a Python program at https://github.com/Beliavsky/ChatGPT-Fortran-generator that will iteratively present ChatGPT with a Fortran code and a compiler error message and ask for a fix. You do need a paid account to use it, but the cost for ChatGPT 3.5 is very low. I have submitted hundreds of queries and paid less than $0.20.
I do not recommend ChatGPT for serious programming work. In principle,
>> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read books to understand the programming languages they use.
>
> I wrote a Python program at https://github.com/Beliavsky/ChatGPT-Fortran-generator that will iteratively present ChatGPT with a Fortran code and a compiler error message and ask for a fix. You do need a paid account to use it, but the cost for ChatGPT 3.5 is very low. I have submitted hundreds of queries and paid less than $0.20.
it could become a valuable resource. However, it would require a
specific training that is currently lacking.
As an illustration, I can show herefollowing a recent interaction I had
on the topic of Fortran pointers. Even if somewhat long, it may be
interesting.
Giorgio
==
User (me) : what will be the output of this piece of code?
program abc
implicit none
integer, pointer :: a,b,c
allocate(b,c)
b=42
c=1
a=>b
b=>c
print*,a,b,c
ChatGPT
Based on the provided code snippet, the output will be:
1 42 1
Here's the explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 1 42 1.
User
After your point 5, I would expect that printing a and b would give 42
and 42. after point 6, printing b and c should give 1 and 1. Am I wrong?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion. You are correct. After point 5, printing a
and b will give the output 42 42. After point 6, printing b and c will
give the output 1 1. Here's the corrected explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 42 42 1.
User
I am confused. If, after point 6, b and c will be printed as '1 1', the
only doubt remains on the value printed in correspondence with a. Shoud
it be '1 1 1' or '42 1 1'?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous response. After point
6, printing a, b, and c will give the output 1 1 1.
Here's the corrected explanation:
1. The variables a, b, and c are declared as integer pointers using
the pointer attribute.
2. Memory is allocated for the variables b and c using the allocate
statement.
3. The value 42 is assigned to b (b = 42).
4. The value 1 is assigned to c (c = 1).
5. The pointer a is assigned to point to b (a => b).
6. The pointer b is assigned to point to c (b => c).
7. Finally, the values of a, b, and c are printed using the print
statement, resulting in the output 1 1 1.
User
Then, if, compiling the program with gfortran, I get '42 1 1' should be
considered a compiler error?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous responses. You are
correct. Compiling the program with gfortran and getting the output 42 1
1 indicates a discrepancy with the expected behavior according to the
Fortran code you provided.
In Fortran, when you use pointer assignment (=>), the target variable
takes on the value and type of the pointed-to variable. Therefore, after
the line b => c, the value of b should be 1 rather than 42. The
subsequent print statement should output 1 1 1.
If the compiler produces the output 42 1 1, it suggests a potential
issue with the compiler or the code itself. It's recommended to
double-check the code and ensure there are no other modifications or
factors affecting the behavior. Additionally, consider using the latest
version of gfortran or an alternative Fortran compiler to see if the
issue persists.
User
What is, according to the Fortran standard, the exact meaning of a=>b :
1) a is pointing the the memory location pointed by b at the time the
instruction is executed, or 2) is pointing to b even if after that
instruction b is made pointing to another memory location
ChatGPT
According to the Fortran standard, when you use the pointer assignment a
=> b, it establishes the association that a is pointing to the memory
location pointed by b at the time the instruction is executed (Option 1
in your question).
Once the pointer association a => b is made, a will continue to point to
the memory location originally pointed by b. Any subsequent changes to b
will not affect the association between a and the original memory
location. Therefore, even if b is made to point to another memory
location after the pointer association is established, a will still
point to the original memory location.
In the code you provided earlier, the output 42 1 1 suggests that the
compiler might not be adhering strictly to the Fortran standard in this
particular case. The behavior may vary depending on the compiler and its
specific implementation of pointer assignments.
User
At this point I do not understand your answer. You said that a continues
pointing to the original location of b. That location contains the
integer 42. b at the time the print statemt is executed, b points to c,
so both b and c should be printed as 1. Why you say that '42 1 1' is
not the expected output?
ChatGPT
Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous responses. You are
correct, and I apologize for the incorrect information in my previous
explanations.
In the code you provided, after the pointer assignments a => b and b =>
c, the expected output should indeed be 42 1 1.
The pointer assignment a => b establishes that a is pointing to the
memory location pointed by b, which initially contains the value 42.
Then, the pointer assignment b => c changes the pointer b to point to
the memory location pointed by c, which contains the value 1. However,
the pointer assignment does not affect the existing pointer a, so a
still points to the original memory location containing 42.
Therefore, the correct output of the program should be 42 1 1. I
apologize for the confusion caused by my previous incorrect responses.
Spiros Bousbouras
Jul 6, 2023, 6:41:21 AM7/6/23
to
[ Crossposting to comp.ai.shells ]
You paid little in terms of money but you must have spent a lot of time
submitting all those queries. So was it time well spent ? Did it make
you more productive compared to not using ChatGPT at all ?
submitting all those queries. So was it time well spent ? Did it make
you more productive compared to not using ChatGPT at all ?
Spiros Bousbouras
Jul 6, 2023, 7:13:52 AM7/6/23
to
[ Crossposting to comp.ai.shells ]
On Thu, 6 Jul 2023 07:34:53 +0200
Giorgio Pastore <pas...@units.it> wrote:
> Il 06/07/23 04:37, Beliavsky ha scritto:
> > On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 10:36:13 PM UTC-4, Beliavsky wrote:
> >> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix
> >> errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt
> >> ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such
> >> tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran
> >> programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such
> >> as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read
> >> books to understand the programming languages they use.
> >
> > I wrote a Python program at
> > https://github.com/Beliavsky/ChatGPT-Fortran-generator that will
> > iteratively present ChatGPT with a Fortran code and a compiler error
> > message and ask for a fix. You do need a paid account to use it, but the
> > cost for ChatGPT 3.5 is very low. I have submitted hundreds of queries and
> > paid less than $0.20.
>
> I do not recommend ChatGPT for serious programming work. In principle,
> it could become a valuable resource. However, it would require a
> specific training that is currently lacking.
>
> As an illustration, I can show herefollowing a recent interaction I had
> on the topic of Fortran pointers. Even if somewhat long, it may be
> interesting.
It is , I have been wanting to see such a thing for a long time. I'm not
interested enough to create an account with one of the chatbots to experiment
myself but it's good to see an actual transcript as opposed to theoretical
claims that chatbots can be used for debugging.
From the experiences people have posted on newsgroups I visit , chatbots
at present do not seem any good at technical stuff. They're fine for "blah
blah" stuff. So if anyone wants a poem on , say , how Fortran is great for
numerical analysis code , I'm sure the chatbots will do a great job. But
for actual code , I doubt it. Around similar lines , see also the following
2 threads :
From: Sylvia Else <syl...@email.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: ChatGPT fails at algebra
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:10:31 +1100
Message-ID: <k4jdi7...@mid.individual.net>
Can't fault it for politeness :-D
On Thu, 6 Jul 2023 07:34:53 +0200
Giorgio Pastore <pas...@units.it> wrote:
> Il 06/07/23 04:37, Beliavsky ha scritto:
> > On Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 10:36:13 PM UTC-4, Beliavsky wrote:
> >> https://github.com/mherrmann/fix is a project using ChatGPT to fix
> >> errors in a user's C++ code. The same procedure could be used to prompt
> >> ChatGPT to fix code it generates with feedback from the compiler. If such
> >> tools are created for Fortran it will raise the productivity of Fortran
> >> programmers, especially newer ones. It is also possible that resources such
> >> as Stack Overflow and now ChatGPT make people lazy and less likely to read
> >> books to understand the programming languages they use.
> >
> > I wrote a Python program at
> > https://github.com/Beliavsky/ChatGPT-Fortran-generator that will
> > iteratively present ChatGPT with a Fortran code and a compiler error
> > message and ask for a fix. You do need a paid account to use it, but the
> > cost for ChatGPT 3.5 is very low. I have submitted hundreds of queries and
> > paid less than $0.20.
>
> I do not recommend ChatGPT for serious programming work. In principle,
> it could become a valuable resource. However, it would require a
> specific training that is currently lacking.
>
> As an illustration, I can show herefollowing a recent interaction I had
> on the topic of Fortran pointers. Even if somewhat long, it may be
> interesting.
interested enough to create an account with one of the chatbots to experiment
myself but it's good to see an actual transcript as opposed to theoretical
claims that chatbots can be used for debugging.
From the experiences people have posted on newsgroups I visit , chatbots
at present do not seem any good at technical stuff. They're fine for "blah
blah" stuff. So if anyone wants a poem on , say , how Fortran is great for
numerical analysis code , I'm sure the chatbots will do a great job. But
for actual code , I doubt it. Around similar lines , see also the following
2 threads :
From: Sylvia Else <syl...@email.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: ChatGPT fails at algebra
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:10:31 +1100
Message-ID: <k4jdi7...@mid.individual.net>
Beliavsky
Jul 7, 2023, 9:55:05 AM7/7/23
to
gah4
Jul 7, 2023, 7:56:32 PM7/7/23
to
On Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 10:34:59 PM UTC-7, Giorgio Pastore wrote:
(snip)
> program abc
> implicit none
> integer, pointer :: a,b,c
>
> allocate(b,c)
> b=42
> c=1
> a=>b
> b=>c
> print*,a,b,c
Maybe it is just me, but I find this much harder to follow than similar code in C.
C makes the distinction between pointer and pointee more obvious.
allocate(b,c) allocates two integers, somewhere, and points b and c at them.
b=42 and c=1 assignes 42 and 1 to the two mysterious integers, respectively.
a=>b points a at the first one.
b=>c points b at the second one, still pointed to by c.
So it should be 42 1 1
In C, I could do this without writing it all out.
(snip)
> program abc
> implicit none
> integer, pointer :: a,b,c
>
> allocate(b,c)
> b=42
> c=1
> a=>b
> b=>c
> print*,a,b,c
C makes the distinction between pointer and pointee more obvious.
allocate(b,c) allocates two integers, somewhere, and points b and c at them.
b=42 and c=1 assignes 42 and 1 to the two mysterious integers, respectively.
a=>b points a at the first one.
b=>c points b at the second one, still pointed to by c.
So it should be 42 1 1
In C, I could do this without writing it all out.
gah4
Jul 7, 2023, 8:03:27 PM7/7/23
to
On Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at 10:34:59 PM UTC-7, Giorgio Pastore wrote:
(snip)
(snip)
> Apologies for the confusion caused by my previous responses. You are
> correct. Compiling the program with gfortran and getting the output 42 1
> 1 indicates a discrepancy with the expected behavior according to the
> Fortran code you provided.
Reminds me that there are stories of ChatGPT writing essays, or maybe
> correct. Compiling the program with gfortran and getting the output 42 1
> 1 indicates a discrepancy with the expected behavior according to the
> Fortran code you provided.
closer to research papers, that included references.
But the books in the references didn't actually exist. They were completely
made up!
It seems that in this case, it is trying to explain the rules of Fortran,
but making them up as it goes along.
If it is supposed to mimic the way real people think, it seems to
be doing a good job of that. People make mistakes, and sometimes
fake things.
Giorgio Pastore
Jul 8, 2023, 9:12:06 AM7/8/23
to
Il 08/07/23 01:56, gah4 ha scritto:
Sure, as in the last ChatGPT sentence, after many false answers.
> In C, I could do this without writing it all out.
Trying of understanding the semantics of a language by using a different
language is always a dangerous exercise. I learnt pointers in C before I
met them in Fortran. However, today I switch from a language to the
other without trying to "translate back" and I have no problems in using
or understanding the use of pointers in both languages.
However, I know that it requires some practice to deal with pointers and
that was the main reason to use it to check the performance of ChatGPT.
Giorgio
> In C, I could do this without writing it all out.
language is always a dangerous exercise. I learnt pointers in C before I
met them in Fortran. However, today I switch from a language to the
other without trying to "translate back" and I have no problems in using
or understanding the use of pointers in both languages.
However, I know that it requires some practice to deal with pointers and
that was the main reason to use it to check the performance of ChatGPT.
Giorgio
gah4
Jul 8, 2023, 3:07:52 PM7/8/23
to
On Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 6:12:06 AM UTC-7, Giorgio Pastore wrote:
(snip)
(snip)
> > Maybe it is just me, but I find this much harder to follow than similar code in C.
> > C makes the distinction between pointer and pointee more obvious.
(snip, I wrote)
> > C makes the distinction between pointer and pointee more obvious.
> Sure, as in the last ChatGPT sentence, after many false answers.
> > In C, I could do this without writing it all out.
> Trying of understanding the semantics of a language by using a different
> language is always a dangerous exercise. I learnt pointers in C before I
> met them in Fortran. However, today I switch from a language to the
> other without trying to "translate back" and I have no problems in using
> or understanding the use of pointers in both languages.
kept thinking of things differently.
I did assembly programming before C, so I had an easy time with
pointers. And like assembly, you have to explicitly indicate when
you are referencing the pointed-to value. I also had a pretty easy
time with Java reference variables. (That you are not supposed
to call pointers.)
But for the above program, my first thoughts, maybe similar to
ChatGPT, got the distinction between pointer and pointee wrong.
> However, I know that it requires some practice to deal with pointers and
> that was the main reason to use it to check the performance of ChatGPT.
French, Mandarin, and Vietnamese. Sometimes when we asked about a word,
she would think a few second, translating between different languages,
before she got the right word.
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