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So certainly not impressive, and morally ambiguous, but when chatGPT first released, I worked with it to create a python script that crawled The New Yorker site
by vagabund 4y ago
So certainly not impressive, and morally ambiguous, but when chatGPT first released, I worked with it to create a python script that crawled The New Yorker sitemaps, found articles with embedded audio versions, downloaded the mp3 by reconstructing the file url using the article ID in the page source, and then renamed the file to match the page title and saved it to a well structured Google Drive directory. Now when I walk my dog, exercise, or clean, I'll put on a random article and have a much more enjoyable experience than a podcast would offer. The mp3s were publicly available so I think it's fine for personal use?
I'd never written a line of code in my life, so going through the iterative process of getting it functioning and fixing bugs was pretty invigorating. I could see where the generated code was going awry and describe it in natural language, and chatGPT would turn that into syntax and explain why it worked. Definitely a fun way to learn.
I'm sure it's ugly/inefficient, but here's the script:
https://pastebin.com/raw/DuAVAikD https://pastebin.com/raw/DuAVAikD
- more_corn 4y agoYou might be one of the first of a new generation of programmers who start with no programming skills, bootstrap with chat gpt and reach a high level of capability. Keep hacking!
- prashantsengar 4y agoPretty impressive to be able to create such a script when you haven't programmed before. I used to freelance when I learnt to code in college and I wrote many such small automation scripts for quite a few people. Looks like the AI is already taking away some jobs ;)
- johtso 4y ago"going through the iterative process of getting it functioning and fixing bugs was pretty invigorating." Damn right it is! Writing scrapers is definitely the gateway drug of programming. It's such an exciting feeling to step across the boundaries from "passive user at the mercy of the UI" to "I can do anything if I can conceptualise it (and break it up into steps)".
- photoGrant 4y agoYou summed up what dragged me from "Sure I'll learn to program a notepad or todo app so I can learn, but I won't" to "I can do anything if I think about what I want first, then how to get it!"
- thinky_thoughts 4y ago+1. Writing scrapers and even API calls were the step for me that went from "I'm making my computer do something" to "I'm making my computer do something that's interacting with the outside world on terms that I programmed it to. Whoa! I can do a lot of different variations of this!"
- UI_at_80x24 4y agoFor me it was writing MIRC scripts that monitored the IRC channels I was in. So it was scrapping the content, but not nearly as elegant as what the OP mentioned.
- noufalibrahim 4y agoCompletely agree. It's often the first "real program" I give to my students when I teach coding and all of them love the high of doing it.
- kmoser 4y agoThe comments are even more valuable than the code!
- totetsu 4y agoI was trying to do this same thing to download my Dalle2 history all at once. but being behind cloudflare made it a bit hard.
- iambateman 4y agoVery cool! It sounds like you could have a career in software development if you wanted one.