CoPrompt: Supporting Prompt Sharing and Referring in Collaborative Natural Language Programming

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Feng, Li, Yen, Ryan, You, Yuzhe, Fan, Mingming, Zhao, Jian, Lu, Zhicong
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Feng, Li
Yen, Ryan
You, Yuzhe
Fan, Mingming
Zhao, Jian
Lu, Zhicong
author_facet Feng, Li
Yen, Ryan
You, Yuzhe
Fan, Mingming
Zhao, Jian
Lu, Zhicong
contents Natural language (NL) programming has become more approachable due to the powerful code-generation capability of large language models (LLMs). This shift to using NL to program enhances collaborative programming by reducing communication barriers and context-switching among programmers from varying backgrounds. However, programmers may face challenges during prompt engineering in a collaborative setting as they need to actively keep aware of their collaborators' progress and intents. In this paper, we aim to investigate ways to assist programmers' prompt engineering in a collaborative context. We first conducted a formative study to understand the workflows and challenges of programmers when using NL for collaborative programming. Based on our findings, we implemented a prototype, CoPrompt, to support collaborative prompt engineering by providing referring, requesting, sharing, and linking mechanisms. Our user study indicates that CoPrompt assists programmers in comprehending collaborators' prompts and building on their collaborators' work, reducing repetitive updates and communication costs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2310_09235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle CoPrompt: Supporting Prompt Sharing and Referring in Collaborative Natural Language Programming
Feng, Li
Yen, Ryan
You, Yuzhe
Fan, Mingming
Zhao, Jian
Lu, Zhicong
Human-Computer Interaction
Natural language (NL) programming has become more approachable due to the powerful code-generation capability of large language models (LLMs). This shift to using NL to program enhances collaborative programming by reducing communication barriers and context-switching among programmers from varying backgrounds. However, programmers may face challenges during prompt engineering in a collaborative setting as they need to actively keep aware of their collaborators' progress and intents. In this paper, we aim to investigate ways to assist programmers' prompt engineering in a collaborative context. We first conducted a formative study to understand the workflows and challenges of programmers when using NL for collaborative programming. Based on our findings, we implemented a prototype, CoPrompt, to support collaborative prompt engineering by providing referring, requesting, sharing, and linking mechanisms. Our user study indicates that CoPrompt assists programmers in comprehending collaborators' prompts and building on their collaborators' work, reducing repetitive updates and communication costs.
title CoPrompt: Supporting Prompt Sharing and Referring in Collaborative Natural Language Programming
topic Human-Computer Interaction
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.09235