compute_log_returns <- function(prices){AI integration to RStudio
Many AI tools exist to support you in writing better, consistent code. As always, often this help is practical and functional, but the typical disclaimer applies: Trust but verify the output. Generative AI doesn’t have general intelligence but is only a model that has been trained on a lot of data. It is essential to review the suggestions to ensure they are accurate and correct.
Github Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that offers auto complete-style suggestions and real-time hints for the code you are writing by providing suggestions as “ghost text” based on the context of the surrounding code - GitHub Copilot docs
Connect RStudio with Github
To use Github Copilot, you must have a Github account and an active subscription to Copilot. GitHub Copilot is free to use for verified students by signing up for the Student Developer Pack. To enable GitHub Copilot in RStudio, follow the simple steps outlined here.
Example in RStudio
Copilot offers auto complete-style suggestions (for R and Python) as you code as “ghost text”. This ghost-text is similar to the existing auto complete available in RStudio but, importantly, is a generated suggestion rather than an exact auto-completion. When coding in RStudio, Copilot’s suggestions will be presented as grey “ghost text.” You can accept those by pressing Tab.
Example 1: Suppose you want to write a function that computes log returns based on a vector called prices. The following prompt already triggers a (correct) answer by Github Copilot
However, for many other cases Copilot may offer wrong answers. For instance, try to have Copilot write a function which computes efficient tangency portfolio weights. Just based on a meaningful function name, Copilot does not seem to be able to complete the task. In such a case, comments can help to yield more useful prompts.
Example 2: Suppose you have a question: Use a comment with a # Q: at the beginning and a question mark at the end.
# Q: How do I compute the realized variance of stock returns?Example 3: Github Copilot also offers support for Python code.
Additional material
https://docs.posit.co/ide/user/ide/guide/tools/copilot.html#using-copilot