Using AI to Generate Helper Functions
AI coding assistants excel at writing small, focused utility functions. Need to validate an email? Format a date? Calculate a percentage? Describe what you need, and AI can produce working code in seconds. The key is knowing how to ask — and how to verify what you get.
Effective Prompts for Functions
Be specific about inputs, outputs, and behavior:
Too vague:
"Write a function for emails."
Better:
"Write a Python function that checks if a string is a valid email address. It should return True if valid, False otherwise."
Even better:
"Write a Python function called
is_valid_emailthat takes a string and returns True if it contains exactly one @ symbol with text before and after it."
The more precise your description, the more likely you'll get exactly what you need.
Common Requests That Work Well
AI handles these types of helper functions reliably:
- Validation: "Write a function that validates a phone number format"
- Formatting: "Create a function that formats a number as currency with dollar sign and two decimal places"
- Calculation: "Write a function that calculates the average of a list of numbers"
- Conversion: "Create a function that converts Celsius to Fahrenheit"
- String manipulation: "Write a function that extracts the domain from an email address"
Review Before You Trust
AI-generated code isn't automatically correct. Always review it:
Check the logic: Does it actually do what you asked?
# AI might generate this for email validation
def is_valid_email(email):
return "@" in email
# But this accepts "@@" as valid - is that what you want?
Test edge cases: What happens with empty strings, None values, or unusual inputs?
Understand the code: If you can't explain what it does, you shouldn't use it. Ask AI to explain any parts you don't understand.
Integrating AI Functions
Once you've reviewed and tested a function, integrate it like any other code:
# AI-generated helper
def format_currency(amount):
return f"${amount:,.2f}"
# Use it in your program
price = 1234.5
print(f"Total: {format_currency(price)}") # Total: $1,234.50
Iterating With AI
If the first result isn't quite right, refine your request:
"The function you wrote doesn't handle negative numbers. Can you modify it to return an error message for negative inputs?"
Or ask for improvements:
"Can you add input validation to check that the input is actually a number?"
AI collaboration is iterative. Your first prompt rarely produces perfect results, but a few rounds of feedback usually get you there.
Building Your Function Library
As you work on projects, you'll accumulate useful helper functions. Keep them organized in separate files, and you'll have a personal library of tested, reliable utilities.