Highlights:

  • The open-source StableCode, according to Stability AI, is a large language model designed to help developers generate code.
  • Google believes Project IDX will alleviate a variety of issues for developers, such as the complexity of configuring the underlying technological stack.

Stability AI Ltd. and Google Cloud are bolstering their attempts to automate the business of code writing with the release of new generative artificial intelligence tools aimed at developers.

While Stability AI is making its first foray into code creation with its latest generative AI model, Google has launched a web-based development environment to make things easier for developers working on multiplatform projects.

The open-source StableCode, according to Stability AI, is a large language model designed to help developers generate code. A simple model for general usage, an instruction model, and a long-context-window model that supports up to 16,000 tokens for sophisticated programming are offered.

StableCode was taught using open-source BigCode coding data and is believed to handle Python, Go, Java, JavaScript, C, markdown, and C programming. The BigCode project was notable for serving as the foundation for ServiceNow Inc.’s StarCoder LLM, created in conjunction with HuggingFace Inc. and released in May.

The long-context-window version makes StableCode unique by supporting more number of tokens than any other peer model. Stability AI claims this will let developers apply more specialized and intricate code-generating prompts. Furthermore, it can grasp an existing code base with numerous files and generate new code.

Christian Laforte, Chief of Research at Stability AI, reported that the purpose of StableCode is to help everyone become a developer, similar to how its Stable Diffusion methodology helps everyone globally to become an artist.

“We’d like to do the same thing with the StableCode model: basically allow anyone that has good ideas [and] maybe has a problem, to be able to write a program that would just fix that problem,” he added.

Project IDX for Multiplatform App Development

While Stability AI attempts to engage the entire world in coding, Google’s new Project IDX aims to simplify operations for certified software engineers by giving everything they need to develop new applications. It includes an integrated programming environment, Android and iOS emulators, and AI advancements, all available via a web browser.

Google believes Project IDX will alleviate a variety of issues for developers, such as the complexity of configuring the underlying technological stack. It will also make it easier for developers to go between their regular laptop and a workstation and ensure that the program they’re working on remains synchronized on both devices. This aids in the resolution of issues caused by code that behaves differently across many devices.

Furthermore, Google points out that many developers do not have the financial means to purchase a sufficiently powerful laptop or personal computer to build their programs. Most Flutter apps may be taxing on an ordinary PC while the developer is revising the code and running it in an emulator simultaneously.

Google promises that Project IDX will address these issues. It’s built on Code OSS, an open-source alternative of Microsoft Corp.’s VS Code, so that most developers will recognize it.

Moreover, everything runs in the cloud on a Linux-based virtual machine, allowing users to configure a suitable tech stack for their projects. In addition, to assist developers in getting started, Google provides templates for various apps and projects built on frameworks such as Angular, React, Next.js, and Flutter.

Another valuable feature of Project IDX is the ability to generate live previews of developer apps. This is initially only available for web-based apps, but Google has stated that Android and iOS emulators will be included later. According to Google, this is critical, especially for iOS developers, who often invest in pricey Apple Inc. gear such as an Apple Mac. Instead, they can execute their code in the cloud and test it using a cloud-based emulator.

Finally, Project IDX includes built-in Firebase Hosting support, making it easier to share and distribute the code. It also connects with Google’s generative AI code creation tools, Codey and PaLM 2, giving users access to features like an assistive chatbot, smart code completion, and contextual prompts like “explain this code.”

Google hasn’t revealed anything regarding Project IDX’s cost but stated that it is committed to making it available to a broad, worldwide audience, so it’s unlikely to be prohibitively expensive. Developers can now gain free access to Project IDX by enrolling in the preview program.