{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4403799160","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3689535.3689554","title":"Not the Silver Bullet: LLM-enhanced Programming Error Messages are Ineffective in Practice","display_name":"Not the Silver Bullet: LLM-enhanced Programming Error Messages are Ineffective in Practice","publication_year":2024,"publication_date":"2024-09-05","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4403799160","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3689535.3689554"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3689535.3689554","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3689535.3689554","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3689535.3689554?download=true","source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 2024 Conference on United Kingdom &amp; Ireland Computing Education Research","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["arxiv","crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3689535.3689554?download=true","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5048601698","display_name":"Eddie Antonio Santos","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5337-715X"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I100930933","display_name":"University College Dublin","ror":"https://ror.org/05m7pjf47","country_code":"IE","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I100930933"]}],"countries":["IE"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Eddie Antonio Santos","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5337-715X","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I100930933"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5054692443","display_name":"Brett A. Becker","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1446-647X"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I100930933","display_name":"University College Dublin","ror":"https://ror.org/05m7pjf47","country_code":"IE","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I100930933"]}],"countries":["IE"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Brett A. Becker","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1446-647X","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Ireland","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I100930933"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":1,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I100930933"],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":7.6749,"has_fulltext":true,"cited_by_count":12,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.97322952,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":90,"max":99},"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"1","last_page":"7"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10260","display_name":"Software Engineering Research","score":0.9836999773979187,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10260","display_name":"Software Engineering Research","score":0.9836999773979187,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12808","display_name":"Ferroelectric and Negative Capacitance Devices","score":0.9710999727249146,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2208","display_name":"Electrical and Electronic Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11122","display_name":"Online Learning and Analytics","score":0.9681000113487244,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1706","display_name":"Computer Science Applications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/compiler","display_name":"Compiler","score":0.8510153889656067},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.8133441209793091},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/silver-bullet","display_name":"Silver bullet","score":0.483434796333313},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/code","display_name":"Code (set theory)","score":0.4440648853778839},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/programming-language","display_name":"Programming language","score":0.43218111991882324},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/error-detection-and-correction","display_name":"Error detection and correction","score":0.43081629276275635},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/artificial-intelligence","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","score":0.4034084975719452},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/multimedia","display_name":"Multimedia","score":0.3421466052532196},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/machine-learning","display_name":"Machine learning","score":0.32036328315734863},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/algorithm","display_name":"Algorithm","score":0.12415146827697754},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/set","display_name":"Set (abstract data type)","score":0.09979942440986633}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C169590947","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q47506","display_name":"Compiler","level":2,"score":0.8510153889656067},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.8133441209793091},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776088982","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q841402","display_name":"Silver bullet","level":2,"score":0.483434796333313},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776760102","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5139990","display_name":"Code (set theory)","level":3,"score":0.4440648853778839},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199360897","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9143","display_name":"Programming language","level":1,"score":0.43218111991882324},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C103088060","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1062839","display_name":"Error detection and correction","level":2,"score":0.43081629276275635},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.4034084975719452},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C49774154","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131765","display_name":"Multimedia","level":1,"score":0.3421466052532196},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.32036328315734863},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C11413529","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8366","display_name":"Algorithm","level":1,"score":0.12415146827697754},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177264268","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1514741","display_name":"Set (abstract data type)","level":2,"score":0.09979942440986633},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C144024400","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21201","display_name":"Sociology","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C19165224","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23404","display_name":"Anthropology","level":1,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1145/3689535.3689554","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3689535.3689554","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3689535.3689554?download=true","source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 2024 Conference on United Kingdom &amp; Ireland Computing Education Research","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:arXiv.org:2409.18661","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"http://arxiv.org/abs/2409.18661","pdf_url":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.18661","source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by-sa","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by-sa","version":"submittedVersion","is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"text"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3689535.3689554","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3689535.3689554","pdf_url":"https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3689535.3689554?download=true","source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 2024 Conference on United Kingdom &amp; Ireland Computing Education Research","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[{"score":0.8899999856948853,"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/4","display_name":"Quality Education"}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":true},"content_urls":{"pdf":"https://content.openalex.org/works/W4403799160.pdf"},"referenced_works_count":32,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1986204096","https://openalex.org/W1986496634","https://openalex.org/W2007004218","https://openalex.org/W2013935724","https://openalex.org/W2050390685","https://openalex.org/W2056596215","https://openalex.org/W2296095100","https://openalex.org/W2604953184","https://openalex.org/W2747427841","https://openalex.org/W2791265653","https://openalex.org/W2791302163","https://openalex.org/W2915219867","https://openalex.org/W3000240292","https://openalex.org/W3020721369","https://openalex.org/W3163358064","https://openalex.org/W4211263275","https://openalex.org/W4225108562","https://openalex.org/W4232632581","https://openalex.org/W4237281666","https://openalex.org/W4313477803","https://openalex.org/W4317502110","https://openalex.org/W4323033692","https://openalex.org/W4323033785","https://openalex.org/W4385500670","https://openalex.org/W4386099272","https://openalex.org/W4388850769","https://openalex.org/W4388850815","https://openalex.org/W4391417542","https://openalex.org/W4392564669","https://openalex.org/W4392858442","https://openalex.org/W4403430763","https://openalex.org/W4404534210"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4240253816","https://openalex.org/W2539773025","https://openalex.org/W3096456556","https://openalex.org/W2169584677","https://openalex.org/W2979513934","https://openalex.org/W1713081424","https://openalex.org/W2127315869","https://openalex.org/W1523769955","https://openalex.org/W2245390655","https://openalex.org/W4379536100"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0],"sudden":[1],"emergence":[2],"of":[3,70,75,185],"large":[4],"language":[5],"models":[6],"(LLMs)":[7],"such":[8],"as":[9,40],"ChatGPT":[10],"has":[11],"had":[12],"a":[13,109,115,147],"disruptive":[14],"impact":[15],"throughout":[16],"the":[17,71,143,186],"computing":[18],"education":[19],"community.":[20],"LLMs":[21,53],"have":[22,85],"been":[23,87],"shown":[24],"to":[25,31,43,47,61,78,98,128,141],"excel":[26],"at":[27],"producing":[28],"correct":[29],"code":[30],"CS1":[32],"and":[33,36,63,200,207],"CS2":[34],"problems,":[35],"can":[37],"even":[38],"act":[39],"friendly":[41],"assistants":[42],"students":[44,125],"learning":[45,76],"how":[46,77,100],"code.":[48,79],"Recent":[49],"work":[50,96],"shows":[51],"that":[52,172],"demonstrate":[54],"unequivocally":[55],"superior":[56],"results":[57],"in":[58,92,108,123,182],"being":[59],"able":[60],"explain":[62],"resolve":[64,103],"compiler":[65,149,179],"error":[66,82,105,150,154,158,175,180,202],"messages\u2014for":[67],"decades,":[68],"one":[69],"most":[72],"frustrating":[73],"parts":[74],"However,":[80],"LLM-generated":[81],"message":[83,159],"explanations":[84,196],"only":[86,183],"assessed":[88],"by":[89,162,190],"expert":[90],"programmers":[91,102],"artificial":[93],"conditions.":[94],"This":[95],"sought":[97],"understand":[99],"novice":[101],"programming":[104],"messages":[106,176,181],"(PEMs)":[107],"more":[110],"realistic":[111],"scenario.":[112],"We":[113],"ran":[114],"within-subjects":[116],"study":[117],"with":[118],"n":[119],"=":[120],"106":[121],"participants":[122,137],"which":[124],"were":[126,138],"tasked":[127],"fix":[129,142],"six":[130],"buggy":[131],"C":[132],"programs.":[133],"For":[134],"each":[135,193],"program,":[136],"randomly":[139],"assigned":[140],"problem":[144],"using":[145],"either":[146],"stock":[148],"message,":[151,155],"an":[152,157],"expert-handwritten":[153],"or":[156],"explanation":[160],"generated":[161,174],"GPT-4.":[163],"Despite":[164],"promising":[165],"evidence":[166],"on":[167,205],"synthetic":[168],"benchmarks,":[169],"we":[170],"found":[171],"GPT-4":[173],"outperformed":[177],"conventional":[178,201],"1":[184],"6":[187],"tasks,":[188],"measured":[189],"students\u2019":[191],"time-to-fix":[192],"problem.":[194],"Handwritten":[195],"still":[197],"outperform":[198],"LLM":[199],"messages,":[203],"both":[204],"objective":[206],"subjective":[208],"measures.":[209]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":2},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":9},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-03-27T05:58:40.876381","created_date":"2024-10-27T00:00:00"}
