AI and the software development

Technology companies are offering artificial-intelligence-powered tools to find and fix bugs in code, as software maintenance grows beyond developers’ capabilities.

Intel Corp., Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Corp. are among the large tech companies developing AI-based tools that can analyze many millions of lines of code, flag errors and suggest fixes or best practices. Some of these tools are already in use, while others are set to launch in coming months.

Modern business demands that systems change to continue to deliver value. The problem with mainframe modernization, however, is that today’s code search tools, linters and program analysis tools are deficient when it comes to mitigating the risks associated with maintaining and improving systems.

With 10,000 mainframes in active use globally, the average organization annually spends anywhere from 60% to 80% of its IT budget just on maintenance. But, as experienced and proficient programmers retire or move on, many companies are realizing that the specialized domain knowledge of the industry and institution that those developers used to create and update these complex critical systems is walking out the door with them.

Recognizing the full and true intent of the functionality written in code is not simple. Developers today spend roughly 75% of their time searching through source code, to identify the code representing the functionality that needs to be changed. Complicating matters further, understanding the code is not enough. To effectively and efficiently maintain and support any system, software developers must know precisely what an application actually does—and how altering code in one part of the system impacts it as a whole. But since the code representing a behavior that needs to be changed can be littered throughout the system, developers might think they’re making a simple tweak, when really they may be breaking the entire system (and not even knowing it). The risk of change resulting in unintended consequences is real.

Whether the tool excels at bug localization, code visualization or “error” detection, entirely too many tools are insufficient when it comes to actually identify the specific lines of code that require attention. Program analysis tools only illustrate code in ways that developers still have to interpret (potentially incorrectly) and draw their own conclusions. While code search tools might speed the rate at which developers can build a mental model of the code, such tools are notorious for false positives, and developers still have to undergo the mentally challenging endeavor of piecing that mental model together to identify the code, and then safely make changes. Worse yet, code completion tools—tools that less-experienced developers disproportionately rely on—can actually propose imprecise changes (one prominent tool offers incorrect code 71% of the time), and that introduces risk.

As established, AI has already been supporting and helping software developers address different software development challenges and will continue doing it by the following:

Automated code quality through code review and code optimization

Artificial intelligence will become a tool that software developers use to obtain new knowledge, optimize procedures, and, ultimately, produce better code rather than replacing them.

One of the major developments in AI software development is AI-enabled coding apps that incorporate "autocomplete" into the software development process to boost speed and accuracy during the coding process.

Another solution includes an AI-driven mentorship feature that enables new developers to build apps in real-time.

In the end, these technologies will democratize development, allowing developers to devote more time to problem-solving, design and other creative ideas that will maximize the value they can give to the company.

Automated DevOps

Machine learning AI technologies had some effects on software deployment, especially in the software development paradigm where developers frequently upgrade programs or apps to newer versions, such as increased efficiency in deployment control tasks.

There will be a huge danger in executing the software if developers fail to complete a process correctly during an upgrade.

AI can protect developers from such issues during upgrades and lessen the likelihood of deployment failure. Another benefit of artificial intelligence is that it allows machine learning algorithms to examine the deployment process.

Specifically, machine learning algorithms will enable the software to learn how specific users behave. This learned behavior helps it respond to different actions by serving variable content and automatically adjusting font size, buttons, and on-page elements. Such response results in a dynamic software experience that pulls in real-time user interaction data and utilizes it to propel improvements as developers make code changes.

Automated test cases for quality assessment

The function of AI in software testing is becoming increasingly important in the quality assurance procedure. Quality assurance testing has always been a time-consuming, manual process with a wide margin of error.

One of the most significant advantages of artificial intelligence is that it allows for quick, accurate testing, which improves the process where bugs get found and addressed before a product is published, shortening the development cycle and guaranteeing a higher-quality end product.

While artificial intelligence (AI) is already effectively assisting human developers at every level of the development process, software development will only get better as it is about to undergo a huge change. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way developers work, resulting in significant productivity, quality and speed increases. Everything, from project planning and estimation to quality testing and the user experience, can benefit from AI algorithms. At Southlights, DevOps teams implement this technology to improve and increment the benefits of different organizations. You can contact us by clicking on the button below.