AI and GEDitCOM II scripts

[Jim Eggert]

So I asked Claude Sonnet 4.6 if it could write a script in GEDitCOM II native script, and it said it couldn’t. The reason it gave was that the description of the script syntax and example code weren’t available online, only through the program, so it didn’t know enough about the scripting language to hazard writing in it. Nor could it convert Python scripts that already run in GEDitCOM II to native scripting language.

Too bad!

=Jim

[John Nairn]

I guess AI is not that smart. Technically it is available on line by downloading GEDitCOM Editor and reading the help. I wonder if posting that help on line would induce AI to “learn” more (I do have a few tutorials on line as well)?

John

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[Jay Fletcher]

I asked ChatGPT the same thing and it gave me the same answer. However, I have been using Cursor with the CODEX plugin to do GEDitCOM II scripting with much success. I uploaded the help files and some of my earlier scripts for it to learn from, and it has worked very well from version 5.3 onward.

Jay

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Some of the old Lifelines scripts that John converted to Python are still useful. I've used Claude to convert them to AppleScript and they run in a fraction of the time.

[John Nairn]

The problem with Python is python has to load first. Once Python is loaded, script speed should be similar to AppleScript.

But much better is an Internal Script. No time to load and must faster once running.

Recently I have be playing around with Lifelines emulation using Internal Scripts. To make it “look” nice I have added numerous new options to internal scripting. I am sure how many users are interested in Lifelines, but the exercise of emulating its scripts has led to useful new internal scripting methods (making it easier to use) and fixed a couple of language bugs.

In the end, I hope to have an Extension that encapsulates Lifelines emulations with translated scripts and documentation. The new internal scripting options will be in version 3.5.

John

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geditcom-ii-discussions/2f5f009f-338b-4e52-9e05-9ca0709b0297n%40googlegroups.com.

[theboo...@gmail.com]

I use Claude for various things. Couldn't we train it (or another one) to create internal scripts, by giving it the help files and language reference?

Mick

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Claude Sonnet 4.6 can learn internal script language. It has now produced numerous scripts for me. I have converted a fair few old Lifelines scripts, some in straight Lifelines, some converted to Python, and some to Applescript.

If you don't know what an existing script does (and I seldom do), just ask it and it tells you. You can decide whether it is useful or not, and go from there.

Claude also produces scripts from scratch, given the right parameters.

Since I can't code at all, I have no idea whether the Claude code is optimal, but it certainly works. The scripts usually seem very fast to me.

Simple scripts often work first time. More complex ones need debugging, but it has completed every request I have thrown at it, apart, so far, to provide  something to output a fan chart.

Cheers

Mick

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Here's the output from one. 

Each column is sortable. It'd be easy add column(s) eg Frequency %

Mick

[Jim Eggert]

Mick,

I wonder if you would consider sharing these scripts with the rest of us, perhaps via John Nairn? That would be really cool.

=Jim

[theboo...@gmail.com]

No worries at all, Jim. All welcome. I did send a couple of the early ones to John two or three days ago so that he could have a look. I expect he'll give his thoughts when he gets a chance. If he says the best way to share, then I'm perfectly happy. After all, I couldn't write them to save my life. Even if I could, I'd share them.

As I said, most of them are old Lifelines scripts originally, some with your name on them. As I play with them, I get ideas for improvements that I'm asking Claude to implement, so all are perhaps a work in progress.

Some pretty much duplicate what John has already implemented, in other ways. Some are maybe new, at least to me.

I don't think I can attach a sample to this post.

See what John says.

Cheers

Mick

[John Nairn]

 I will have a look soon and try to post soon too.

I am surprised AI can do internal scripting. I have trouble sometimes reading GEDitCOM Editor help documentation myself and I wrote it all. For next version with improved Internal Scripting, I am trying to improved the documentation too.

John

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[theboo...@gmail.com]

Hi John,

It's a bit of a worry what AI can do, really. It seems to produce great Help documentation for each script as well. Mind you, I reckon you'll know better than me how good it is.

I had an idea this morning to get a list of all my DNA matches. Obviously I can do it with GeditCom II search anyway, but I gave it a go. See attached (names blurred).

This one only works for me because of the codes I put into keywords for DNA matches.

I had the thought, and it took me a few minutes to type it in. But within no more than ten minutes of having the thought, I had a report.

Best

Mick

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Here's the Help document for the DNA Match report i just mentioned

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Google Gemini will also produce internal scripts. It's only done one for me, but that works well.

Mick

[Richard Blake]

Using AI to write internal scripts is something that I had been thinking about and this thread has pushed me into looking at this. I use ChatGPT myself so I gave it access to the scripting documentation. I haven't asked it to create any scripts from scratch yet but am asking it to look at the scripts that I have written and suggest improvements. So far it has found some errors in what I have written which is great and also suggested areas for optimisation that may improve speed and readability. ChatGPT is making a few small minor errors in syntax but with training/prompting these are being corrected. 

It's early days for me but this definitely looks like it could be powerful going forward.

Richard

[theboo...@gmail.com]

Great stuff, Richard.

It's early days all right. I am so glad Jim raised it at the start of this thread. I cannot program and have no great impulse to learn. But now I can make a few things of my own. I'm really just playing about, but I have a few really handy scripts now.

One trick with Claude, and I suspect the others: usage limits for whatever plan you are on, free, Pro, whatever can kick in quite quickly and is based on tokens - whatever they are . According to Claude, the actual code costs nothing, but the amount of supporting text it sends in explanation, questions, reruns etc does.

The usage limits often mean that you can't do any more for a few hours. until it resets.

It suggested I tell it to not feed me all the details about why it did this rather than that; or why it went over rather than under, and just keep communication to an essential minimum.

So I did, and it seems the usage limits don't kick in quite so quickly now.

Also it took all the scripting documentation and created a guide which it updates as it learns more. I was able to give that guide to Gemini and it got straight on with everything and produced a couple of scripts very quickly.

Mick