Google’s Bard Can Now Help You Code

Summary:

• Google Research updates Bard with programming capabilities, including code generation, debugging, and explanation.
• Bard now supports over 20 programming languages, such as C++, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript.
• This AI tool aims to accelerate software development, inspire innovation, and help users tackle complex engineering challenges.

Google has announced an update to Bard, their experimental AI collaboration tool. The AI chatbot (its rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT) is now capable of helping with programming and software development tasks, such as code generation, debugging, and code explanation.

According to Paige Bailey, Group Product Manager, Google Research, she explains Bard can now assist with a wide range of programming tasks, making it an invaluable resource for developers working in more than 20 programming languages, including C++, Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript.

Bard’s new capabilities allow users to easily export Python code to Google Colab without copying and pasting. It can also assist with writing functions for Google Sheets. For those who may be new to programming or need extra support, Bard is capable of explaining code snippets in detail.

Furthermore, Bard can help users debug their code—even if it was generated by Bard itself. If a user encounters an error message or an issue with the generated code, Bard can step in to help rectify the problem.

It’s essential to note that Bard is still in the early stages of development and may occasionally provide inaccurate, misleading, or false information, cautions Bailey. Users should always double-check Bard’s responses and carefully test and review code for errors, bugs, and vulnerabilities before relying on it.

Google says Bard has the potential to optimize code by making it faster and more efficient. Additionally, Bard can assist users in identifying error handling clauses that they may have missed.

Bard has already been assisting users with various everyday tasks, such as crafting presentations, writing lesson plans, inventing new recipes, and planning workout routines. With the introduction of coding capabilities, Google Research aims to accelerate software development, inspire innovation, and help people tackle complex engineering challenges using generative AI.

For now, Bard is only in beta for users in the United States, and not Canada yet. But if you have a VPN service, you can just switch your location to the U.S. and start using Bard right away.