{"doi":"10.1002/advs.202412279","title":"Comparing Large Language Models and Human Programmers for Generating Programming Code","abstract":"The performance of seven large language models (LLMs) in generating programming code using various prompt strategies, programming languages, and task difficulties is systematically evaluated. GPT-4 substantially outperforms other LLMs, including Gemini Ultra and Claude 2. The coding performance of GPT-4 varies considerably with different prompt strategies. In most LeetCode and GeeksforGeeks coding contests evaluated in this study, GPT-4, employing the optimal prompt strategy, outperforms 85 percent of human participants in a competitive environment, many of whom are students and professionals with moderate programming experience. GPT-4 demonstrates strong capabilities in translating code between different programming languages and in learning from past errors. The computational efficiency of the code generated by GPT-4 is comparable to that of human programmers. GPT-4 is also capable of handling broader programming tasks, including front-end design and database operations. These results suggest that GPT-4 has the potential to serve as a reliable assistant in programming code generation and software development. A programming assistant is designed based on an optimal prompt strategy to facilitate the practical use of LLMs for programming.","journal":"Advanced Science","year":2024,"id":419685,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":39,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9573,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2024-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":233093,"name":"Zhicheng Ji","orcid":"0000-0002-9457-4704","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":233092,"name":"Wenpin Hou","orcid":"0000-0003-0972-2192","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":9,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T01:57:19.937291Z","pmid":"39736107","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}