Kite boosts Python code completion with machine learning

Kite, a software development tools startup, has devised a system to boost programmer productivity by using machine learning to predict the next string of code that Python programmers will write. Kite's Line-of-Code Completions feature uses advanced machine learning models to cut some of the mundane tasks that programmers perform to build applications, such as setting up build processes, searching for code snippets on Google, cutting and pasting boilerplate code from Stack Overflow, and repeatedly solving the same error messages. The system analyzes the entire source code base of open source projects on GitHub and applies that data to machine learning models trained to predict the next word or words of code as programmers write in real time. This smarter programming environment makes it possible for developers to focus on what's unique about their application. "From the time I learned coding on a Commodore 64, I always found it nuts that so many talented coders are put off through having to deal with frustrating syntax errors," said Torsten Volk, an analyst at Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) in Boulder, Colo. Kite isn't the only software development tools provider to offer code completion.