First Steps with CodaiPro

Your journey to mastering AI-assisted coding starts here! This guide will walk you through your first coding sessions with CodaiPro, teaching you essential skills and best practices.

🎯 What You’ll Learn

In this guide, you’ll discover:

• ✅ How to craft effective prompts for better AI responses
• ✅ Using CodaiPro for different coding tasks
• ✅ Understanding and customizing AI settings
• ✅ Real-world coding scenarios with examples
• ✅ Common mistakes to avoid

Time Investment: 15-20 minutes to complete all exercises

🚀 Your First Conversation

Let’s start with a simple interaction to get comfortable with the interface.

Hello! What can you help me with?

💻 Exercise 1: Code Generation

Let’s generate actual code. We’ll start simple and progressively get more complex.

Beginner: Simple Function

Write a Python function that checks if a number is even or odd

def is_even_or_odd(number):
    """
    Check if a number is even or odd.
    
    Args:
        number (int): The number to check
        
    Returns:
        str: 'even' if the number is even, 'odd' if it's odd
    """
    if number % 2 == 0:
        return "even"
    else:
        return "odd"
 
# Example usage
print(is_even_or_odd(4))   # Output: even
print(is_even_or_odd(7))   # Output: odd

Intermediate: More Complex Function

Now let’s try something with multiple requirements:

Create a Python function that:
1. Takes a list of numbers
2. Removes duplicates
3. Sorts in descending order
4. Returns the top 3 highest unique numbers
5. Handles edge cases (empty list, less than 3 items)

def get_top_three_unique(numbers):
    """
    Get the top 3 highest unique numbers from a list.
    
    Args:
        numbers (list): List of numbers (can contain duplicates)
        
    Returns:
        list: Top 3 unique numbers in descending order
              (or fewer if list has less than 3 unique items)
    """
    # Handle empty list
    if not numbers:
        return []
    
    # Remove duplicates and sort in descending order
    unique_sorted = sorted(set(numbers), reverse=True)
    
    # Return top 3 (or all if less than 3)
    return unique_sorted[:3]
 
# Test cases
print(get_top_three_unique([1, 5, 2, 8, 2, 9, 5]))  # [9, 8, 5]
print(get_top_three_unique([10, 20]))               # [20, 10]
print(get_top_three_unique([]))                     # []
print(get_top_three_unique([7, 7, 7]))              # [7]

Advanced: Complete Program

Let’s create a more substantial piece of code:

Write a Python program that:
- Reads a CSV file containing student names and scores
- Calculates the average score
- Identifies students above and below average
- Generates a summary report
- Handles file not found errors
- Uses proper error handling throughout

🐛 Exercise 2: Debugging Code

CodaiPro excels at finding and fixing bugs. Let’s practice!

Find and fix the bugs in this Python code:

def calculate_average(numbers):
    total = 0
    for num in numbers:
        total += num
    return total / len(numbers)

scores = [85, 92, 78, 90]
average = calculate_average(scores)
print(f"Average: {average}")

# What happens with an empty list?
empty_scores = []
empty_average = calculate_average(empty_scores)

# Problem: len(numbers) is 0 for empty list
# Fix: Check if list is empty before calculating
 
def calculate_average(numbers):
    if not numbers:  # Handle empty list
        return 0
    
    total = 0
    for num in numbers:
        total += num
    return total / len(numbers)

# Problem: Non-numeric values could cause issues
# Fix: Add type validation
 
def calculate_average(numbers):
    if not numbers:
        return 0
    
    try:
        total = sum(numbers)
        return total / len(numbers)
    except TypeError:
        raise ValueError("All elements must be numeric")

📖 Exercise 3: Code Explanation

Understanding code is as important as writing it. Let’s learn how to use CodaiPro as a teaching tool.

Explain how this algorithm works step by step:

def binary_search(arr, target):
    left, right = 0, len(arr) - 1
    
    while left <= right:
        mid = (left + right) // 2
        
        if arr[mid] == target:
            return mid
        elif arr[mid] < target:
            left = mid + 1
        else:
            right = mid - 1
    
    return -1

What's the time complexity compared to linear search?

Can I use binary search on an unsorted list?

How would I modify this to find the last occurrence of the target?

⚙️ Exercise 4: Optimize AI Settings

Learn when and how to adjust settings for better results.

Understanding Temperature

What's the correct syntax for a Python list comprehension?

Write a function to validate email addresses

Suggest three different ways to implement a cache system

Understanding Max Length

Experiment Time

🎯 Real-World Scenarios

Let’s practice with situations you’ll actually encounter.

Scenario 1: Lab Exam - Time Pressure

Context: You need to implement a function quickly and correctly.

Prompt:

Write a Python function that finds the second largest number in a list.
Must handle edge cases. I need it fast and correct for an exam.

Why this works:

• Clearly states language
• Specifies the requirement
• Mentions time constraint
• Asks for edge case handling

Scenario 2: Learning New Technology

Context: You’re learning React and need to understand hooks.

Prompt:

Explain React useState hook with a simple example.
I'm a beginner coming from vanilla JavaScript.

Why this works:

• States specific technology
• Specifies your experience level
• Asks for beginner-friendly explanation
• Requests an example

Scenario 3: Debugging Production Code

Context: Your code works locally but fails in production.

Prompt:

This code works on my machine but crashes in production.
Find potential issues:

[paste your code]

Production environment: Python 3.8, Ubuntu 20.04

Why this works:

• Provides context
• Includes environment details
• Explains the problem clearly
• Pastes the actual code

Scenario 4: Code Review

Context: You want feedback on your implementation.

Prompt:

Review this code for best practices and potential improvements:

[paste your code]

Focus on: performance, readability, and error handling

Why this works:

• Clear request for review
• Specifies review areas
• Helps AI focus on what matters

❌ Common Mistakes to Avoid

Learn from these frequent beginner errors:

❌ Mistake #1: Being Too Vague

Bad:

Help me with my code

Good:

Help me debug this Python function that's supposed to reverse a string
but it's returning None instead

❌ Mistake #2: No Language Specified

Bad:

Write a function to sort an array

Good:

Write a JavaScript function to sort an array of objects by name property

❌ Mistake #3: Pasting Huge Code Blocks

Bad:

[Pastes 500 lines of code]
Find the bug

Good:

This specific function is causing issues [paste only the relevant 20 lines]
Error message: [paste error]

❌ Mistake #4: Not Providing Context

Bad:

Why doesn't this work? [paste code]

Good:

This function should calculate factorial but returns 0 for all inputs.
Expected: factorial(5) = 120
Actual: factorial(5) = 0
[paste code]

❌ Mistake #5: Ignoring AI Suggestions

Bad:

[Gets answer, doesn't test it]
"It doesn't work!"

Good:

[Gets answer, tests it, reports specific issues]
"The function works for positive numbers but fails for negative inputs.
Can you add validation?"

🏆 Best Practices Checklist

Use this checklist for every interaction:

• Specify the programming language in your prompt
• Be specific about what you need
• Provide context (what you’re trying to accomplish)
• Include error messages if debugging
• Mention any constraints (Python version, libraries available, etc.)
• Ask follow-up questions if unclear
• Test the generated code before using
• Adjust settings based on task type
• Learn from responses don’t just copy-paste

🎓 Practice Exercises

Test your skills with these challenges:

Exercise 1: Basic

Create a function that removes all vowels from a string

Exercise 2: Intermediate

Write a class to manage a simple shopping cart with add, remove,
and calculate total methods. Include input validation.

Exercise 3: Advanced

Implement a LRU (Least Recently Used) cache in Python with
O(1) get and put operations

Exercise 4: Debugging

Find all bugs in this code:
[Paste intentionally buggy code]

📊 Progress Tracking

After completing this guide, you should be able to:

• ✅ Write effective prompts for different coding tasks
• ✅ Generate, debug, and explain code with AI assistance
• ✅ Customize AI settings for optimal results
• ✅ Handle real-world coding scenarios
• ✅ Avoid common mistakes that reduce AI effectiveness

🎯 Next Steps