Simplicity is an intelligent, project-based learning platform built directly into Visual Studio Code. It allows users to automatically generate personalized, hands-on learning plans for various programming languages. With milestone-driven progress, each step is presented as a commented-out instructional guide inside a generated playground file, making it easy to learn or deepen expertise without leaving the coding environment.

• Automatically generates learning plans based on user-defined goals.
• Supports multiple programming languages with smart inference from user prompts.
• Provides milestone-based challenges that increase in difficulty.
• Allows code evaluation and feedback directly in the playground file.
• Offers an additional feature to generate detailed explanations of topics or code snippets.

• Setup
• Prerequisites
• Configuring the Extension
• Usage
• Commands
• Technologies Used
• How it Works

Before using Simplicity, ensure you have the following installed and/or set-up:

• Groq API Key*
• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• npm

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/vishruthb/simplicity/
cd simplicity

OR

Download the binary .vsix file from releases and install using command palette in VS Code.

2. Create the config.json file:

{
  "groqApiKey": "<YOUR_GROQ_API_KEY>"
}

3. Install dependencies: npm install

4. Compile typescript to check for any errors: npm run compile

All interactions with the Simplicity extension are done via the Visual Studio Code Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P or Cmd + Shift + P on macOS). Below are the available commands:

• Simplicity: Initialize Learning Path
  • Starts the learning plan creation process.
• Simplicity: Validate User Code
  • Evaluates your code to see if it passes the current milestone’s test cases.
• Simplicity: Explain Topic
  • Generates a Markdown file that explains a programming topic or code snippet.

1. Initialize Learning Path:

• Use Simplicity: Initialize Learning Path from the Command Palette.
• You will be prompted to describe what you'd like to learn, such as:
  • "Learning object-oriented programming in Java"
  • "Master data structures in Python" Based on your prompt, Simplicity will infer the programming language and create the first milestone in a playground file (playground.<language>). Each milestone is a mini-task that helps you work towards your goal.

2. Work through Milestones:

• Each milestone is a new challenge or task that builds on the previous one.
• The playground file will contain commented-out instructions, including:
  • A problem description
  • Function signatures to implement
  • Test cases to pass

3. Evaluate Your Code:

• After completing the task in the playground file, use the Simplicity: Validate User Code command to check if your solution works.
• If successful, the next milestone will be automatically generated.
• If not, you’ll receive feedback to help debug your solution.

• Explain a Topic:
  • Use the Simplicity: Explain Topic command.
  • Enter a programming topic or code snippet that you want to understand better (e.g., "recursion in Python" or "how to use promises in JavaScript").
  • Simplicity will generate a detailed Markdown (.md) file with a concise explanation, a simple example, and a more advanced example. The examples are designed to teach the topic progressively.

Simplicity’s core feature is its intelligent learning path generation. It creates personalized learning plans for various programming topics by:

• Understanding User Goals: You enter a natural-language prompt, and the extension uses Groq to infer the appropriate language and create milestones.
• Step-by-Step Progress: Milestones are designed to increase in difficulty, guiding users from beginner-level tasks to more complex challenges. Each task is provided with clear instructions, function signatures, and test cases.
• Adaptive Learning Experience: With all milestones and evaluations occurring within the VS Code playground file, users never have to leave their development environment to learn.

Simplicity is designed as a developer tool for learning new languages or sharpening existing skills directly in VS Code. It integrates deeply with the IDE:

• Command Palette Integration: All interactions are done via the command palette, keeping the workflow simple and IDE-centric.
• Real-Time Code Evaluation: Once you’ve completed a milestone task, you can immediately test your solution by running the Simplicity: Validate User Code command, providing immediate feedback.
• Markdown Documentation: The Explain Topic command generates Markdown files, which are easy to read, edit, and share.

*Integrations for other providers coming soon! :)