What are the stages of Prompt Driven Programming (PDP)?

Ok. So you are now aware that we can program through prompts. But how to start? What if you are already an expert programmer? What if you are a novice programmer? In this blog, we attempt to create a few "levels", if you will, of prompt driven programming. As you move between levels, you can improve your skills at both PDP and coding in general.

1. PDP - 1: Basic Code Generation

• Focus: Generating simple, functional code snippets through basic prompts.

• Skills:

  • Writing clear instructions for specific coding tasks.

  • Understanding how to ask for specific outputs (e.g., Python function, SQL query).

  • Verifying and testing generated code manually.

• Example Task: "Write a Python function to calculate the Fibonacci sequence up to N."

2. PDP - 2: Guided Development

• Focus: Using prompts to develop multi-component programs in steps.

• Skills:

  • Breaking down a program into smaller, manageable components for the AI to generate.

  • Providing contextual hints to ensure coherence between parts.

  • Asking for explanations of the generated code.

• Example Task: "Create a Python script to fetch weather data from an API and display it in a user-friendly format."

3. PDP-3: Iterative Enhancement

• Focus: Refining, optimizing, and debugging AI-generated code through iterative prompts.

• Skills:

  • Identifying issues in generated code and prompting for specific fixes.

  • Asking for performance improvements or alternative implementations.

  • Using prompts to add features incrementally.

• Example Task: Start with a basic "to-do list" app and iteratively ask for added features like task categories, due dates, and saving to a database.

4. PDP-4: Complex Systems Design

• Focus: Prompting for modular, reusable code to create more sophisticated applications.

• Skills:

  • Prompting for architecture-level code (e.g., MVC, microservices).

  • Asking for detailed documentation and inline comments.

  • Using AI to suggest libraries, frameworks, or optimization strategies.

• Example Task: "Design and implement a REST API for managing user accounts, including authentication and role-based access."

5. PDP-5: Full Workflow Automation

• Focus: Leveraging AI to build end-to-end systems with minimal manual intervention.

• Skills:

  • Using prompts to generate, test, and deploy code seamlessly.

  • Integrating generated code with CI/CD pipelines and cloud services.

  • Crafting prompts to debug runtime issues or refactor legacy code.

• Example Task: "Create and deploy a Flask application on AWS Lambda that processes user-uploaded images for object detection."

These stages encapsulate the evolution from basic code generation to fully automated development workflows using prompt driven programming. Watch out for future blog posts which will contain detailed examples for each level!