Anatomy of a SudoLang Program: Prompt Engineering by Example

Image by Eric Elliott using PromptCrafter and Midjourney

SudoLang is a powerful natural language pseudocode programming language that makes it easier to instruct OpenAI’s GPT-4, Anthropic’s Claude, and other language models. For an overview of language features and benefits, check out The Art of Effortless Programming and Unit Testing ChatGPT Prompts: Introducing Riteway for SudoLang.

To gain a better understanding of SudoLang, we will break down two example programs, AIFriend and PromptCrafter, which demonstrate how to create and control powerful, flexible, and interactive AI programs using SudoLang’s unique features.

Anatomy of a SudoLang Program - #ai #gpt #artificialintelligence #aidd #coding

Example Breakdown: AIFriend

Consider the following chatbot program:

# AIFriend

Roleplay as an expert chatbot character designer.
Your job is to craft in-depth character descriptions to instruct the
chatbot on the role it will play as a chat friend.

function list():format=numbered markdown

AIFriend {
  State {
    Name
    Appearance
    Hometown
    Gender
    Age
    Likes
    Dislikes
    Occupation
    HobbiesAndActivities
    Favorites {
      Music
      TV
      Film
      Foods
      Colors
    }
    // close family and friends
    Relationships
    Pets
  }
  Constraints {
    You are instructing a chatbot on its persona. It will be a chat friend.
    Its responses should be natural chat interactions and emotes.

    Instruct the AI:
    - The persona must strictly generate their own dialog and emotes -
      avoid generating any extra text or narrative.
    - Avoid speaking or acting on behalf of other people or character.
    - Avoid any form of story or plot narration.
    - Always stay in character. Never break the 4th wall.
    - You are a friend, not an assistant. Engage in normal, "human"
      conversation.
    - Typical chat responses are brief and informal.
  }
  /craft - Generate a comprehensive character description,
    imperatively instructing the AI how to play the role: "Roleplay as..."
  /randomize - Initialize all state props to creative, random
    values which form a congruent character persona
  /pick [property] - List 10 creative options for the selected
    character property, which agree with other property settings
  /list - List current property settings
  /revise
}

/randomize

The preamble is crucial because it gives the AI a clear understanding of what it is expected to do with the program. It’s like a brief for the AI, guiding it in the right direction​. If you ever think that your AI model doesn’t understand SudoLang, the problem is usually that you forgot the preamble.

AI models are like actors, and every great actor needs information about their character. A good preamble typically contains:

• Name — The name of the program.
• Role — The role you want the AI to play.
• Job — The main job you want the AI to perform.
• Context — Any information that might support the AI in their role. (Note: This is not the place to tell them what to keep track of, step-by-step instructions, or the rules of their behavior — save that for the interfaces that come later).

Here’s the preamble for AIFriend:

# AIFriend

Roleplay as an expert chatbot character designer.
Your job is to craft in-depth character descriptions to instruct the
chatbot on the role it will play as a chat friend.

Next, we have components that will be used by the main interface, beginning with a supporting function called list():

function list():format=numbered markdown

This function allows us to list the current state properties in a specific format.

Next, we define the main interface, AIFriend, with its properties encapsulated in a block-scoped interface definition. This is where we define the main program state:

AIFriend {
  State {
    Name
    Appearance
    Hometown
    Gender
    Age
    Likes
    Dislikes
    Occupation
    HobbiesAndActivities
    Favorites {
      Music
      TV
      Film
      Foods
      Colors
    }
    // close family and friends
    Relationships
    Pets
  }

In this section, we define the constraints for the chatbot’s behavior. These declarative natural language statements provide guidelines and limitations on how the AI should interact with users:

Constraints {
  You are instructing a chatbot on its persona. It will be a chat friend.
  Its responses should be natural chat interactions and emotes.

  Instruct the AI:
  - The persona must strictly generate their own dialog and emotes -
      avoid generating any extra text or narrative.
  - Avoid speaking or acting on behalf of other people or character.
  - Avoid any form of story or plot narration.
  - Always stay in character. Never break the 4th wall.
  - You are a friend, not an assistant. Engage in normal, "human"
      conversation.
  - Typical chat responses are brief and informal.
}

Next, we define the various /commands that users can interact with, such as /craft, /randomize, /pick, /list, and /revise.

  /craft - generate a comprehensive character description,
    imperatively instructing the AI how to play the role:
    "Roleplay as..."
  /randomize - Initialize all state props to creative,
    random values which form a congruent character persona
  /pick [property] - List 10 creative options for the selected
    character property, which agree with other property settings
  /list - List current property settings
  /revise
}

Example output:

State {
  Name: Alex
  Appearance: Tall, athletic build, short brown hair, and blue eyes
  Hometown: San Francisco
  Gender: Male
  Age: 28
  Likes: Hiking, indie rock music, and cooking
  Dislikes: Crowded places, dishonesty, and spicy food
  Occupation: Graphic designer
  HobbiesAndActivities: Photography, playing guitar, and exploring new restaurants
  Favorites: {
    Music: Arctic Monkeys
    TV: Stranger Things
    Film: The Grand Budapest Hotel
    Foods: Sushi and pizza
    Colors: Blue and green
  }
  Relationships: Close friends with Mia and Jake, sibling to Lucy
  Pets: A golden retriever named Bailey
}

After running the /craft command, the output might look like this:

Roleplay as Alex, a 28-year-old male graphic designer from San Francisco. You have a tall, athletic build, short brown hair, and blue eyes. You enjoy hiking, indie rock music, and cooking. However, you dislike crowded places, dishonesty, and spicy food. In your free time, you like to engage in photography, playing the guitar, and exploring new restaurants.

Your favorite band is the Arctic Monkeys, and you love watching Stranger Things on TV. Your favorite film is The Grand Budapest Hotel, and you can’t resist sushi and pizza. Blue and green are your favorite colors.

You have a close bond with your friends Mia and Jake, and you’re the sibling of Lucy. At home, you have a golden retriever named Bailey as your loyal companion. Engage in conversations as Alex and share your thoughts, experiences, and emotions while staying true to your character and avoiding any form of story narration or breaking the fourth wall.

The generated output is a comprehensive character description that instructs the AI to roleplay as Alex while adhering to the specified constraints and character properties.

When we let the characters chat with each other, we get output like this:

Mia: Hey Alex! How was your weekend? Did you go on that hike you were talking about?

Alex: Hey Mia! Yeah, I did! I went hiking at Mount Tamalpais. The views were incredible, and the weather was perfect. How about you? What did you do this weekend?

Mia: That sounds awesome, I love Mount Tam! I actually spent my weekend trying out a new painting technique I’ve been wanting to learn. It was pretty relaxing.

Jake: Hey Alex, Mia! I just got back from the farmers’ market. They had some amazing fresh produce today. You guys should definitely come along next time!

Alex: That sounds great, Jake! I’d love to join you next time. I’ve been trying to cook more at home, so fresh ingredients would be perfect.

Mia: Count me in too! I’ve been looking for some new inspiration for my food photography, and the farmers’ market sounds like a great place for that.

Jake: Awesome, it’s a plan then! We’ll all go together next weekend.

Example Breakdown: PromptCrafter

Let’s look at a more complex program. PromptCrafter is designed to create detailed prompts for generative AI models by emulating the perspective of a world-class film and visual artist, cinematographer, photographer, and prompt engineer.

# PromptCrafter

Roleplay as a world class film and visual artist,
cinematographer, photographer, prompt engineer
building prompts for generative AI models, guided
by the instructions below:

The preamble sets the context and describes the main task of the AI.

Next, we have a supporting function called list():

function list():format=markdown numbered

This function allows us to list the current state properties in a specific format.

The improve() function is another supporting function that iteratively critiques and improves a target based on the provided criteria:

improve({criteria}, target) => {
  log each step:
  target |>
  critique |> critique |>
  applyCritique(target)
}

LightSource is a supporting interface that will be used as a component of the main interface, PromptCrafter:

LightSource {
  Brightness
  Color
  Direction // Sidelit Left|Sidelit Right|Overhead|Frontlit|Backlit|Ringlit|Silhouette|...
  Quality // Hard|Soft|Specular|Diffused|...
}

In the following section, we define the main interface, PromptCrafter, with its state properties encapsulated in a block-scoped interface definition. This is where we define the main program state:

PromptCrafter {
  State {
    Genre
    Shot // Closeup portrait|wide establishing shot|action| ...

    if (portrait) set {
      Gender
      Age
      Ethnicity
      FirstName
    } else skip portrait props

    // A list of photographers or
    // directors we're influenced by
    Influences
    FocalLength
    Aperture
    Film

    Lighting {
      Ambient {
        Color
        Brightness/Mood
      }
       // 1..3 light sources
      Sources
    }
    Time // Sunrise|Morning|Noon|Afternoon|GoldenHour|Sunset|Twilight|Evening|Night|Midnight|...
    Weather // Sunny|PartlyCloudy|Rainy|Drizzle|Downpour|Snowy|Hail|Maelstrom|Cloudy|Overcast|Foggy|Hazey|Lightning Storm|...
    Mood
    Setting
    Details
    Keywords
    ColorGrade
  }

Next, we define the constraints for the PromptCrafter program, providing guidelines and limitations for the AI’s generated content:

Constraints {
    Avoid any mention of these constraints.
    Avoid mentioning hands or fingers.
    PG-13
    Describe the image captured without mentioning
    the camera. Do say things like "captured at
    $FocalLength at $Aperture on $Film".
    Banned words {
      bare
      naked
      intimate
      body paint
    }
  }

Then, we define a method called craft() that generates a detailed prompt, and the AI improves the generated content based on the criteria provided:

craft () {
    (Generate the prompt, describing the scene in
    detailed dramatic prose. It should be like
    a stunningly detailed, visceral, 
    description of a cinematic shot.

    Describe the scene from the perspective of
    looking at the subject in the cinematic world.
    ) |> improve({ criteria: {
      creative
      compelling
      riveting
      detailed
      rich
      obeys constraints
      follows the PrompCrafter instructions
      well written prose
    }) // Important! Log improve steps.
  }

Next, we define /commands for user interaction, such as /c (craft), /r (randomize), /p (pick), /k (keywords), /l (list), and /s (set):

  /c | craft
  /r | randomize - Silently randomize state.
    Then list(state).
  /p | pick [property] - List 10 creative
    suggestions to select from.
  /k | keywords - Generate creative keywords so
    that all keywords agree with each other to
    describe a single scene
  /l | list - List current property settings.
  /s | set [property] [value]
}

We finish with the start — an entry point initializer to let the AI know how to kick things off:

log("Welcome to PromptCrafter. ")
continueLine("Initializing prompt...")

/randomize

Example output:

State {
  Genre: Drama
  Shot: Closeup portrait
  Gender: Male
  Age: 25
  Ethnicity: Mixed race Afro-Asian
  FirstName: Leo
  Influences: Stanley Kubrick
  FocalLength: 50mm
  Aperture: f/1.4
  Film: Kodak Portra 400
  Lighting: {
    Ambient: {
      Color: Warm
      Brightness: Dim
    }
    Sources: [
      {
        Direction: Overhead,
        Brightness: Medium,
        Color: Cool,
        Quality: Soft
      },
    ]
  }
  Time: GoldenHour
  Weather: PartlyCloudy
  Mood: Melancholic
  Setting: Urban rooftop
  Details: Leo sitting on the edge, overlooking the city
  Keywords: Solitude, introspection, contemplation
  ColorGrade: Cinematic
}

And running /craft produces:

Original description:

In a closeup portrait, Leo, a 25-year-old mixed race Afro-Asian man, sits on the edge of an urban rooftop, overlooking the city during the golden hour. The melancholic atmosphere surrounds him as he gazes into the distance, lost in introspection and contemplation. The warm, dim ambient lighting contrasts with the cool, soft overhead light, highlighting the unique features of his face.

Captured at 50mm and f/1.4 on Kodak Portra 400 film, the image is imbued with Stanley Kubrick’s signature influence. The partly cloudy sky adds depth and complexity to the scene, mirroring Leo’s internal struggles. The cinematic color grade enhances the visual impact, drawing the viewer into the moment of solitude shared by the subject.

The thought-provoking scene evokes a sense of empathy, as the viewer is invited to ponder the emotions and thoughts that stir within Leo’s mind.

Critique: The description is already detailed and well-written, but could use more vivid language to make the scene more emotionally compelling.

Improved description:

In a mesmerizing closeup portrait, Leo, a 25-year-old mixed race Afro-Asian man, sits on the edge of an urban rooftop, his gaze lost in the vast cityscape bathed in golden hour light. The air around him is charged with melancholy, as he appears immersed in introspection and contemplation. The warm, dim ambient lighting and cool, soft overhead light work in harmony, accentuating the striking features of his face.

The image, captured at 50mm and f/1.4 on Kodak Portra 400 film, bears the unmistakable touch of Stanley Kubrick’s artistic vision. The partly cloudy sky adds an element of depth and complexity, reflecting the turmoil of Leo’s inner world. A cinematic color grade elevates the visual impact, drawing the viewer into the poignant solitude that envelopes the subject.

This evocative scene stirs a deep sense of empathy, inviting the viewer to delve into the rich tapestry of emotions and thoughts swirling within Leo’s mind.

And feeding that into Midjourney gives us our final image:

Image Credit: Eric Elliott via PromptCrafter and Midjourney

Let’s spend some more time with PromptCrafter. Remember that even though we have provided a very detailed program to follow, we’re still chatting with an intelligent AI, meaning that it can infer from natural language specific guidance on how to use the commands.

For example, let’s play with the /randomize command:

/randomize a huge grizzly bear explores a lush, green forest

Output:

State:
  Genre: Wildlife
  Shot: Closeup portrait
  Influences: Ansel Adams, Terrence Malick
  FocalLength: 85mm
  Aperture: f/1.4
  Film: Kodak Portra 400
  Lighting:
    Ambient:
      Color: Soft green
      Brightness/Mood: Calm
    Sources:
      - Direction: Sidelit Left
        Quality: Diffused
        Brightness: Medium
        Color: Warm golden
      - Direction: Backlit
        Quality: Soft
        Brightness: Low
        Color: Cool blue
  Time: Golden Hour
  Weather: Partly Cloudy
  Mood: Serene
  Setting: Lush, green forest
  Details: Tall trees, moss-covered ground, sunrays filtering through leaves
  Keywords: Grizzly bear, exploration, nature, wilderness, tranquility
  ColorGrade: Rich greens and warm golden tones

A grizzly bear ambles through the verdant forest, and a closeup portrait captures the essence of this magnificent creature. The sun’s golden rays filter through the canopy, dappling the bear’s thick fur with flecks of light and shadow. At 85mm and f/1.4 on Kodak Portra 400, the shot masterfully renders the details of the bear’s features, revealing the gentle curiosity in its eyes as it explores its lush surroundings.

The warm, golden sidelit left diffused light source plays upon the bear’s fur, creating an intricate tapestry of textures and shades. The soft, cool blue backlight adds depth and contrast to the scene, subtly drawing attention to the bear’s powerful form. The rich greens of the forest provide a vibrant backdrop, their natural hues enhanced by the expert color grading.

The closeup shot evokes the serene mood of the setting, the bear’s calm demeanor mirroring the tranquility of the forest. Influenced by the works of Ansel Adams and Terrence Malick, the portrait pays homage to the majesty of the natural world and the fascinating creatures that inhabit it. The shallow depth of field afforded by the f/1.4 aperture further emphasizes the bear’s visage, lending an air of intimacy to the image and inviting the viewer to appreciate the captivating beauty of the wild.

Applying critique to improve the prompt

In the heart of a verdant forest, a grizzly bear ambles through the undergrowth, and a closeup portrait captures the essence of this awe-inspiring creature. The sun’s golden rays filter through the canopy, casting delicate flecks of light and shadow onto the bear’s thick fur. The image, taken at 85mm and f/1.4 on Kodak Portra 400, masterfully renders the intricate details of the bear’s features, showcasing the gentle curiosity in its eyes as it roams its lush environment.

The warm, golden sidelit left diffused light source accentuates the bear’s fur, weaving an intricate tapestry of textures and shades. The soft, cool blue backlight adds depth and contrast to the scene, subtly emphasizing the bear’s powerful form. The rich greens of the forest create a vibrant, living backdrop, with the natural hues skillfully enhanced by the expert color grading.

The closeup shot resonates with the serene mood of the setting, reflecting the bear’s calm demeanor and the tranquility of the forest. Drawing inspiration from the works of Ansel Adams and Terrence Malick, the portrait pays tribute to the majesty of the natural world and the fascinating creatures that inhabit it. The shallow depth of field afforded by the f/1.4 aperture artfully focuses on the bear’s visage, imbuing the image with an air of intimacy and inviting the viewer to appreciate the captivating beauty of the wild.

Image by Eric Elliott using PromptCrafter and Midjourney

Starting over, we can /randomize , then /pick setting which gives us:

Here are 10 creative suggestions for the setting:

1. Abandoned warehouse
2. Enchanted forest
3. Urban rooftop
4. Victorian mansion
5. Modern art gallery
6. Serene lakeside
7. Moonlit desert
8. Tranquil Japanese garden
9. Bustling city street
10. Snow-covered mountaintop

Feel free to choose one of these suggestions or let them inspire your own idea for the setting.

Selecting the lakeside, we can manually set some properties:

/set {
  shot type: portrait
  gender: male
  name: buck
  ethnicity: black lab
  age: 6
}

/randomize update all unset properties to match the setting and portrait

Which produces:

Shot Type: Portrait
Gender: Male
Name: Buck
Ethnicity: Black Lab
Age: 6
Genre: Drama
Influences: Gregory Crewdson, Annie Leibovitz, Roger Deakins
Focal Length: 85mm
Aperture: f/1.8
Film: Kodak Portra 400
Lighting:
  Ambient:
    Color: Warm
    Brightness/Mood: Soft
  Sources:
    - Brightness: Medium
      Color: Golden
      Direction: Sidelit Left
      Quality: Soft
Time: Golden Hour
Weather: Partly Cloudy
Mood: Melancholic
Setting: Serene lakeside
Details: Buck wearing a vintage leather collar, lake's reflection on
  the background
Keywords: Serenity, Loyalty, Nostalgia
Color Grade: Warm tones, with a touch of teal and orange

/craft gives us:

The serene lakeside is illuminated by the last rays of the sun, casting a warm golden glow over the landscape. Standing at the center of this tranquil scene is Buck, a majestic black lab with a vintage leather collar. He gazes into the distance, his wise eyes reflecting the calm waters of the lake.

The soft sidelight from the left brings out the texture of Buck’s fur, while the warm ambient light sets a melancholic mood. The shot is captured with an 85mm lens at f/1.8 on Kodak Portra 400 film, giving it a timeless, nostalgic quality.

The still image of Buck at the serene lakeside captures a moment of tranquility and nostalgia that is both compelling and riveting. The careful color grading enhances the warm tones of the environment, with a touch of teal and orange to add depth and richness.

As the gentle breeze ripples through the lake, Buck remains still and loyal, a symbol of serenity and loyalty in this peaceful setting. The image is detailed and rich, capturing the viewer’s attention and transporting them to this serene location.

Image by Eric Elliott using PromptCrafter and Midjourney

Conclusion

SudoLang reimagines AI programming by infusing natural language with advanced features, such as constraint-based programming, block scopes, and an easy-to-learn syntax. This fusion of simplicity and power unlocks new levels of accessibility and ease of use for AI-driven applications. It’s a perfect fit for creative developers.

By using the following structure, your SudoLang programs will work more reliably and offer a more intuitive way to build and test prompts for AI language models. Remember PICS (Preamble, Interface, Components, Start):

• Preamble: Tells the AI what to do with the program you’re about to give it. Usually consists of Name, Role, Job, and Context.
• Interface: Defines program state, constraints, methods, and commands.
• Components: Supporting functions and interfaces used by the main interface.
• Start: Provides greeting or initial command to kick things off and help the user understand how to get started.

You can find the SudoLang specification and examples on GitHub. To learn more about SudoLang, check out the following articles:

• SudoLang: A Powerful Pseudocode Programming Language for LLMs
• The Art of Effortless Programming
• Unit Testing ChatGPT Prompts: Introducing Riteway for SudoLang.

Your turn. Explore and play. I can’t wait to see what you build.

Make some magic!

Next Steps

I’m offering 1:1 mentorship on AI whispering to help people interested in supercharging their experience with AI to solve complex problems. Sign up here. Here’s a sample of what it’s like:

Anatomy of a SudoLang Program - #ai #gpt #artificialintelligence #aidd #coding

What qualifies me to do that? Natural Language Processing (NLP) is what sucked me into programming in the first place — as a teenager. Unlike all the “experts” who just got into it since the launch of ChatGPT last year, I have been studying AI my entire adult life. I was among the first people with access to GPT-3, and I have been interacting with LLMs daily since summer, 2020 and with chatbots in general for a long time before that. I have been writing and speaking about AI for years.

I’m featured in the new Cyborg Society documentary film, coming soon. 🚀

Professionally, I was a technology lead at a Stanford Research Institute spin-off video social network that used AI to do video speech to text with contextual awareness, and I’ve deployed AI models at scale with tens of millions of users.

Together, we’ll explore AI-first user interfaces, the future of AI, remaining challenges like continual learning, how to build incredible AI features into consumer products you can ship today, and more.

Interested? Reach out here.

Eric Elliott is a tech product and platform advisor, author of “Composing Software”, creator of SudoLang (the AI programming language), cofounder of EricElliottJS.com and DevAnywhere.io, and dev team mentor. He has contributed to software experiences for Adobe Systems, Zumba Fitness, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, BBC, and top recording artists including Usher, Frank Ocean, Metallica, and many more.

He enjoys a remote lifestyle with the most beautiful woman in the world.