Meet my new Junior Developer: ChatGPT

I’ve been enjoying round with ChatGPT for a couple of days now, that I used to be in a position to create an account. In fact I needed to have it generate some limericks, some poems and responses to emails. However essentially the most burning query on my thoughts is that this: will AI take my job?

I discovered that ChatGPT has a whole lot of syntax and conceptual information about Swift and SwiftUI. So I needed to place it to the take a look at to see how good it might be in fulfilling my requests. I used to be taking over the position of the mentor and ChatGPT was mainly a scholar that took my authentic request and refined it over a number of iterations till I ended up with a good looking easy resolution.

For a present undertaking I wanted a view that shows a circle however I didn’t wish to draw it however as an alternative use a CAShapeLayer and a property that will replace the colour of the form. So I had in my thoughts already an thought how I might do it, now the query was, how would I switch this psychological image from my thoughts to the AI’s “thoughts”.

Me: Create a UIKit view that makes use of CAShapeLayer to show a crammed circle

ChatGPT: Right here is an instance of methods to create a UIKit view with a crammed circle displayed utilizing a CAShapeLayer in Swift:

import UIKit

class CircleView: UIView {

    override func draw(_ rect: CGRect) {
        let circleLayer = CAShapeLayer()
        let circlePath = UIBezierPath(arcCenter: CGPoint(x: rect.dimension.width / 2, y: rect.dimension.top / 2), radius: rect.dimension.width / 2, startAngle: 0.0, endAngle: CGFloat.pi * 2, clockwise: true)
        circleLayer.path = circlePath.cgPath
        circleLayer.fillColor = UIColor.pink.cgColor
        layer.addSublayer(circleLayer)
    }
}

I instantly seen a number of issues right here.

At this level the end result was in high quality lower than most responses I might see on Stack Overflow. The sport was on!

Me: That is nonsense as a result of it might add a brand new sublayer each time that the draw perform is being known as!

ChatGPT: I apologize for that mistake. Right here is an up to date instance that solely provides the CAShapeLayer as soon as:

import UIKit

class CircleView: UIView {
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupCircle()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupCircle()
    }
  
    personal func setupCircle() {
        let circleLayer = CAShapeLayer()
        let circlePath = UIBezierPath(arcCenter: CGPoint(x: bounds.dimension.width / 2, y: bounds.dimension.top / 2), radius: bounds.dimension.width / 2, startAngle: 0.0, endAngle: CGFloat.pi * 2, clockwise: true)
        circleLayer.path = circlePath.cgPath
        circleLayer.fillColor = UIColor.pink.cgColor
        layer.addSublayer(circleLayer)
    }
}

It moved the creation of the form layer right into a setup perform which was known as from each inits. The one with body is used from code, the one with decoder is used when loading the view from a XIB or storyboard. This was an sudden side-benefit.

I seen although that this wouldn’t replace the trail when the bounds of the view would change.

Me: It additionally must replace the circle path when the bounds of the view change.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that updates the circle path when the bounds of the view change:

import UIKit

class CircleView: UIView {
  
    personal let circleLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupCircle()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupCircle()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateCirclePath()
    }
  
    personal func setupCircle() {
        layer.addSublayer(circleLayer)
        updateCirclePath()
    }
  
    personal func updateCirclePath() {
        let circlePath = UIBezierPath(arcCenter: CGPoint(x: bounds.dimension.width / 2, y: bounds.dimension.top / 2), radius: bounds.dimension.width / 2, startAngle: 0.0, endAngle: CGFloat.pi * 2, clockwise: true)
        circleLayer.path = circlePath.cgPath
        circleLayer.fillColor = UIColor.pink.cgColor
    }
}

Fascinating! It additionally is aware of that layoutSubviews is a good place to do one thing when format modifications. Subsequent to the setup perform it additionally added an perform that updates the form.

These profitable refinements emboldened me. How about making the fill coloration be configurable from outdoors the view through a property? Additionally, whereas is technically appropriate to attract a circle through an arc bezier path, that solely offers me an overview.

Me: Substitute the arc bezier path with one for an oval that additionally will get full of the UIColor set within the fillColor property.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that pulls an oval form as an alternative of a circle and fills it with the colour set within the fillColor property:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
        ovalLayer.fillColor = UIColor.pink.cgColor
    }
}

Hm, it says that it did it, particularly including a fillColor property, however that’s nowhere to be discovered. So I attempted to say it in a greater manner.

Me: Don’t laborious code the fillColor, however make it a property of the view that updates the overLayer when set.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code the place the fill coloration is just not hardcoded and may be set as a property of the view:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            updateOvalPath()
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
        ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
}

I had mistyped “overLayer”, however ChatGPT nonetheless understood my request and executed it flawlessly. This was already fairly good, however an skilled programmer wouldn’t be glad with this and hold sprucing the end result till it shines.

Me: Separate the replace of the fill coloration from updating the form path. The trail ought to solely be up to date when the bounds change and the colour solely when the property modifications.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code the place the fill coloration and the form path are separated, and the form path is just up to date when the bounds change:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
    }
}

Ha! I noticed one other mistake! This fashion the fill coloration wouldn’t stay the default and solely be up to date if the property is modified.

Me: That is lacking the preliminary setting of the fill coloration.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that units the preliminary worth of the fillColor property:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        updateOvalPath()
        ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
    }
}

That’s appropriate. Now we’re have been at a degree the place I used to be now not so sure as a result of I don’t create CAShapeLayers day-after-day. We have to set the form layers body in some way, don’t we?

Me: I consider that this code is lacking an replace for the body of the sublayer.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that units the body of the ovalLayer sublayer:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        updateOvalPath()
        ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        ovalLayer.body = bounds
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
    }
}

Yeah that appears higher, if we set the body each time layoutSubviews known as then that ought to work. At this level I had a thought that I needed to Senior-Programmer’splain to the poor and overwhelmed AI…

Me: layoutSubviews might be the mistaken place to replace the layer body and oval path as a result of that belongs to the view format stream, however there’s a separate format stream for layers. put it there.

ChatGPT, unflinchingly: Right here’s an up to date model of the code the place the body of the ovalLayer and the oval path are up to date within the layoutSublayers perform as an alternative of layoutSubviews:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    personal let ovalLayer = CAShapeLayer()
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSublayers(of layer: CALayer) {
        tremendous.layoutSublayers(of: layer)
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.addSublayer(ovalLayer)
        ovalLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        ovalLayer.body = bounds
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        ovalLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
    }
}

Impressed, once more! It is aware of about layoutSublayers.

Then I believed some extra. I used to be fearful concerning the circle not being correctly up to date in UIView animations. Should you set a layer body in layoutSubviews then the contents jumps to the brand new location and dimension with out animation, as a result of UIView properties are implicitly animated, however layer properties should not.

And why do we want the essential CALayer in any respect, once we could make the form layer be the view’s most important layer? Ha! Now I knew methods to stump the AI!

Me: It might even be higher to make the form layer the principle layer of the view as an alternative of organising a separate sublayer for it.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code the place the CAShapeLayer is ready as the principle layer of the OvalView as an alternative of a separate sublayer:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            layer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override init(body: CGRect) {
        tremendous.init(body: body)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    required init?(coder aDecoder: NSCoder) {
        tremendous.init(coder: aDecoder)
        setupOval()
    }
  
    override func layoutSublayers(of layer: CALayer) {
        tremendous.layoutSublayers(of: layer)
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func setupOval() {
        layer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        layer.masksToBounds = true
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        layer.body = bounds
        layer.cornerRadius = bounds.width / 2
    }
}

Gotcha! Gone is the form layer solely to get replaced by setting the layer’s cornerRadius to half of the width of the view. And an expertly inserted masksToBounds makes this work.

Good strive, however let me inform you what’s mistaken with this:

Me: That doesn’t work when the view is just not sq.. I need you to create the layer for the view through returning CAShapeLayer because the layerClass of the view.

ChatGPT blushing: Inner server error

Was it one thing I stated? No, most likely not. ChatGPT’s servers get overloaded regularly. After I pressed the “Regenerate Response” button I bought a correct response:

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code the place CAShapeLayer is returned because the layer class for the OvalView:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            layer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override class var layerClass: AnyClass {
        return CAShapeLayer.self
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        (layer as! CAShapeLayer).path = ovalPath.cgPath
        layer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
}

Good! We’re again in enterprise. I pasted this code into Xcode solely to discover a syntax error I had missed from solely glancing at it.

Me: That can produce a syntax error as a result of the layer within the fillColor setter is just not identified to be a CAShapeLayer to the compiler. You must forged it to 1.

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that casts the layer property to a CAShapeLayer within the fill coloration setter:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            (layer as! CAShapeLayer).fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    override class var layerClass: AnyClass {
        return CAShapeLayer.self
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        (layer as! CAShapeLayer).path = ovalPath.cgPath
        (layer as! CAShapeLayer).fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
}

Technically appropriate now, however nonetheless in want of polish.

Me: Refactor these `(layer as! CAShapeLayer)` right into a property

ChatGPT: Right here’s an up to date model of the code that makes use of a computed property to keep away from casting layer to CAShapeLayer a number of occasions:

import UIKit

class OvalView: UIView {
  
    var fillColor: UIColor = UIColor.pink {
        didSet {
            shapeLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
        }
    }
  
    personal var shapeLayer: CAShapeLayer {
        return layer as! CAShapeLayer
    }
  
    override class var layerClass: AnyClass {
        return CAShapeLayer.self
    }
  
    override func layoutSubviews() {
        tremendous.layoutSubviews()
        updateOvalPath()
    }
  
    personal func updateOvalPath() {
        let ovalPath = UIBezierPath(ovalIn: bounds)
        shapeLayer.path = ovalPath.cgPath
        shapeLayer.fillColor = fillColor.cgColor
    }
}

Ah, now good… we have now a brand new shapeLayer property that power casts the layer property right into a CAShapeLayer. I put the code into my undertaking, it compiled with out challenge and displayed the pink circles I lusted for as requested.

Me: Thanks, that’s one of the best reply for my preliminary query.

ChatGPT: You’re welcome! I’m glad I might assist. You probably have any extra questions, be at liberty to ask!

Analysis

Much like tales the place ChatGPT sat college exams with dangerous however passing grades it additionally performs across the junior stage for software program builders. It is ready to produce the right end result if an skilled developer has the persistence and expertise to guided it over a number of iterations.

It does require a whole lot of hand-holding. Inputting your necessities through chat requires that you understand how to specific all these ideas in a manner that the AI can parse. I do have a whole lot of expertise coaching Junior Engineers and a decade of programming UIKit taught me methods to put issues that they are often understood.

I might have spent a fraction of the time if I had simply coded this view like I envisioned it from the beginning. However the level of this trade is to not show that I’m higher at programming than ChatGPT. It’s to show that Chat GPT is extra succesful than discovering pattern code on the Web. It’s not even internet search on sterioids. It’s clearly way more than that as a result of it will possibly perceive ideas and synthesize a end result from that together with making refinements that an skilled person is guiding it to do.

This can be a first knowledge level. There was none earlier than it as a result of public entry to ChatGPT was solely activated a couple of days in the past. So it’s wonderful that one thing is feasible in the present day that wasn’t attainable earlier than.

The Future

Within the least I would love ChatGPT constructed into Xcode: as a approach to write new code. And I don’t imply dictating code, however talking in ideas like proven above. How about having this in Xcode? “Hello Xcode, I want a brand new view that does this and that”. If that have been extra streamlined and sooner that will instantly be helpful. Particularly as a result of it additionally improves your individual studying curve. Having to speak ideas makes you your self perceive them higher. What you train, you study!

I can see a future the place ChatGPT turns into increasingly more productive to the eventual diploma of a Junior Developer. With this I imply someone who can conceptional execute the itty gritty which you, as a Senior Developer, give it route in a basic imaginative and prescient you preserve. Just like the captain of a ship who sees the ice bergs and is aware of the place the ship ought to be going, and ChatGPT is the whole crew.

Then the step after that – within the far future – is to mix ChatGPT with one thing that may perceive sketches and mockups and useful descriptions of apps. That is the place the Senior Developer brains are and can nonetheless be wanted for a very long time. To translate the shopper’s needs and designs into software program ideas.

We haven’t touched on the query what’s going to occur if at some point all Juniors may be changed by AI. If there aren’t any new Juniors then there shall be no one to mature into Seniors sooner or later. Perhaps our coaching must change to deal with mastering conceptionalizing and excessive stage idea synthesis and leaving the mundane creation of code to AI as an alternative.

Additionally revealed on Medium.

Classes: Instruments