Hey friends, have you heard the latest news about AWS? Amazon has just released CodeWhisperer, an AI tool that you can use inside your IDE. This new tool is similar to GitHub Copilot, but it’s free for individuals, and it has some additional features that make it stand out. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at CodeWhisperer and see how it compares to its competitors.
Me trying to code without CodeWhisperer
CodeWhisperer vs GitHub Copilot
First things first, let’s talk about the main difference between CodeWhisperer and GitHub Copilot. The most significant advantage of CodeWhisperer is that it’s free for individuals. While GitHub Copilot has a monthly subscription of $10, AWS’s new tool offers a free tier, making it accessible to everyone. Amazon is definitely making strides to catch up with the competition, and offering a free tier is a smart move. Of course, there’s also a professional-level tier that costs $20 per month per user, but we’ll get to that later.
Code security
The second significant advantage of CodeWhisperer is its built-in security scanning feature. Unlike Copilot, CodeWhisperer can detect vulnerabilities in your code and suggest ways to fix them. Copilot X is trying to catch up, but it’s not there yet.
CodeWhisperer aligns with best practices for tackling security vulnerabilities, such as those outlined by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP). OWASP is a nonprofit foundation that works to improve software security, providing a wealth of information on web application security, including a top ten list of the most critical web application security risks. By aligning with OWASP’s best practices, CodeWhisperer provides developers with insights into potential vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. Additionally, it can suggest remediation solutions that adhere to industry standards and best practices.
It’s worth noting that the security scans are limited to Python, Java, and JavaScript code. Therefore, if you’re using other programming languages, you’re out of luck, for now.
Optimized for use with AWS services
Another great feature of CodeWhisperer is its integration with AWS services and tools. It’s optimized for the most commonly used AWS services and APIs, making it an excellent choice for developers who work with Amazon’s cloud-based infrastructure.
Free? yes, free
So, what about pricing? As mentioned earlier, CodeWhisperer has two tiers: individual and professional. The individual tier is free and comes with a limit of 50 security scans per user per month. The professional tier costs $20 per month per user and offers 500 security scans per month.
Unleashing the Whisperer
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s take CodeWhisperer for a spin. To get started, you need to install the VS Code or JetBrains extension and enable it by registering. Once you’ve opened a code file, you can hit Option C to generate some code. You can also open the extension options and enable auto-suggestions, which will generate code as you go.
One of the most impressive features of CodeWhisperer is that it seems to do an excellent job of understanding the context of the project. You can create unit tests for a function that you have, or even generate a new method using one of the local parameters in the file.
Compared to GitHub Copilot, CodeWhisperer tends not to suggest as much code and goes line by line. While Copilot might suggest 50 lines of code at once, CodeWhisperer does not. This can be both good and bad, depending on the project. Sometimes GitHub Copilot recommends a bunch of annoying nonsense, but it can also be useful when you have a lot of boilerplates, like an HTML form.
Code Reference
One of the coolest things about CodeWhisperer is its transparency. It provides a reference to the code in the training data when producing its code, making it less likely that you accidentally steal some code and then use it in ways you’re not allowed to.
Cool but Limited
CodeWhisperer trying to handle complex coding tasks
CodeWhisperer is a top-performing AI-assisted coding tool, but it has some limitations. It’s not suitable for complex or creative coding tasks that require human logic and creativity. This means that you can’t entirely rely on it, and you’ll still need to use your brainpower to handle these kinds of tasks.
One significant issue is that CodeWhisperer’s code suggestions are based on its training data, so it may not generate diverse results. This can cause ethical and legal concerns if it generates code that’s too similar to copyrighted material. As a result, it’s important to be cautious and review its suggestions carefully.
CodeWhisperer may not be compatible with every IDE or programming language, so you might need to explore other options to find the right match for your project. Also, although it’s excellent for generating unit tests, it may not cover all possible scenarios and edge cases. Therefore, you need to double-check your code to ensure everything is in order.
Despite these limitations, CodeWhisperer and other AI-assisted coding tools are still developing and evolving to meet users’ needs. While it’s crucial to be aware of its shortcomings, it’s equally essential to recognize the significant benefits that these tools bring to the coding process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, CodeWhisperer is an impressive new AI tool from AWS that offers some unique features and advantages over its competitors, such as GitHub Copilot. Its built-in security scanning feature, integration with AWS services, and transparency make it a powerful addition to any developer’s toolkit. The fact that it’s free for individuals and offers a professional-level tier at an affordable price point makes it accessible to a broad range of developers.
However, it’s important to note that CodeWhisperer is not without limitations. While it can understand the context of a project and generate code that aligns with industry standards for security, it may not generate code as quickly as some of its competitors. Additionally, its suggestions may closely resemble the code from which it was trained, potentially raising ethical and legal concerns. It’s also worth noting that CodeWhisperer may not be compatible with every IDE and programming language, so developers may need to explore other options if it doesn’t meet their needs.
Despite these limitations, CodeWhisperer remains a valuable tool for developers who prioritize code quality and security. Its ability to understand the context of a project and integrate with AWS services make it a powerful addition to any developer’s toolkit. Overall, CodeWhisperer is a promising new addition to the world of AI-assisted coding, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming years.