GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer)

GPT is the architecture that sparked the current AI revolution. Understanding what GPT means helps you understand the capabilities and limitations of AI coding tools.

How GPT Works

The core idea is deceptively simple: predict the next token.

1. Pre-training — Model reads billions of text/code examples
2. Pattern learning — Learns what typically follows what
3. Generation — Given a prompt, predicts one token at a time
4. Context awareness — Each prediction considers all previous context

GPT vs Other Architectures

GPT is one approach among several:

Why GPT Matters for Vibe Coding

GPT-style models excel at code because:

• Code is structured and predictable
• Training data includes millions of repositories
• Comments explain what code does (natural language → code mapping)
• Programming languages have clear syntax rules

Evolution of GPT

• GPT-1 — Proof of concept
• GPT-2 — Surprisingly coherent text
• GPT-3 — Breakthrough capabilities, few-shot learning
• GPT-4 — Strong coding, multimodal understanding
• GPT-4o — Faster, cheaper, integrated vision

Each generation dramatically improves coding capability.