ChatCPT ?

[[Ca...]]

Hello,
Is anyone already using AI to generate code for PCM?
What AI are you using? In my opinion, ChatCPT still makes too many errors or uses code that doesn't exist in PCM.

[[Ma...]]

Does it know PCM or you are forcing it for specific language?

[[Ca...]]

ChatCPT naturally knows the PCM programming language of ZEISS Calypso. Unfortunately, the AI has also been taught commands that PCM doesn't support. This is very confusing for beginners.

[[No...]]

That an AI "knows" of a programming language doesn't necessarily mean it's good at it. The reliability of an AI's output depends massively on how much training data it has seen of the topic in question. While the internet is full of code examples in languages like C or Visual Basic, PCM code is probably rather sparse. Discussion happens mainly here and in a few other CMM forums, way less than for other languages.

[[Ca...]]

Yes, and that's exactly why I have a question about AI in relation to PCM? What are your experiences? Which AI can you recommend or has delivered the best results?

[[Ch...]]

Forget AI, it is best to write the PCM program yourself

[[No...]]

Exactly my opinion! 😁

[[Ch...]]

Its possible, but it's like everything else with AI, it takes a lot of work and the results are underwhelming.  AI is definitely not taking over the world any time soon.  

Here's what I've found.  You have to create a custom GPT.  I actually use Gemeni and they call their custom AI's Gems.  Gemeni is the best AI for reading through long reference files and being able to summarizing them.

You need to load the Calypso and PCM manuals into the GEM.  Then you also need to add a bunch of examples of working PCM files into its reference files.  

Once you've done this, then it can start to write basic PCM.  

But here's the problem, most of the time the code won't work at first.  Then you must do a lot of work with the AI to get it right.  

 

At the end of the day, it takes about the same about of time and technical skill to get AI to write your code as what it does just to do it from scratch.  

[[Ch...]]

However, I will add that Gemeni has a solid understanding of Excel VBA and windows batch/python code writing.  

[[Ma...]]

I can also vote for Gemini - altho you get what you ask, so for better results you have to describe it well.

I forgot another one which was recommended to me, but Grok is also fine for programming.

[[No...]]

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So it's the same as with real people! Whenever I ordered a Calypso program from an external measurement service provider, the end result lacked many things I would have done. It's simply impossible to describe a complex problem (and the special needs and procedures in your company) so well that someone else can make a program that is spot-on on the first try. You always have to invest additional time to either clarify things further or (better!) do it yourself. At least that was my experience in the past 30 years. So why should we expect an AI to perform better? 

[[DW...]]

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 GPT is fantastic as a tool. The people who do not understand how to use the tool will get sub optimal results. If your prompt is "Give me a PCM script to do XYZ" and it spits out non helpful code, that's user error. Like all programming, garbage in equals garbage out. PCM is a language unique to Calypso. But like all languages, Calypso PCM follows formal instructions and syntax to correctly execute the snippets of code. GPT, like others have mentioned, is a Large Language Model that can be trained on data sets. Chad is correct that you would use a custom GPT to get the most out of Calypso PCM coding. 

I have found GPT to be nothing short of incredible for scripting in more common languages (PowerShell, Python, VBA for Excel macros, etc). The amount of heavy lifting these LLMs do almost feels like cheating when I am working on a project. I would invest the time to take a deep dive on how you can get the most from LLMs, it's a game changer if you want it to be. 

Edited September 15, 2025

[[Ri...]]

Chat bots are great if you are specific with the inputs, and giving it proper feedback - you can't just say "that didn't work" and expect it to correct it. 

I have personally relied on GPT to help me with a custom app made entirely in Python with PySide6. 

I've also used it to help clean up some PCM code for me. But it still has a long way to go, and a lot of that is also because Zeiss doesn't publicly document ALL of the PCM commands. 

Chat bots, at the moment, are just a tool, but they can be an extremely powerful tool if used properly.