Isolating Concerns: Refining Prompt Generation for Specific Outputs

In complex systems, separating concerns is crucial for maintainability and clarity. A recent update to the devlog-ist/landing project highlights this principle by refining the prompt generation process for different output formats.

The Problem: Contaminated Instructions

Previously, when generating content for both portfolio posts and LinkedIn, the instructions for LinkedIn (plain text, word limits) were unintentionally influencing the main portfolio content generation. This led to suboptimal results for the portfolio posts, which should have rich markdown formatting and detailed explanations.

The Solution: Specialized Instruction Builders

To address this, the buildAdditionalInstructions function was split into two specialized functions:

• buildPortfolioAdditionalInstructions: This function is responsible for generating instructions specific to portfolio content generation, ensuring that the content is detailed and includes rich formatting.
• buildLinkedinAdditionalInstructions: This function focuses on generating instructions tailored for LinkedIn, emphasizing plain text, concise language, and adherence to word limits.

This separation ensures that each output format receives the appropriate guidance, preventing contamination and improving the quality of the generated content.

Reinforcement Rules

In addition to the specialized instruction builders, reinforcement rules were added to further protect the quality of portfolio content. These rules ensure that the portfolio content adheres to specific formatting and content requirements, regardless of the LinkedIn-specific instructions.

Benefits of Separation

By isolating the concerns of prompt generation for different output formats, the following benefits are achieved:

• Improved Content Quality: Each output format receives tailored instructions, resulting in higher-quality content.
• Increased Maintainability: The codebase is more modular and easier to maintain, as each function has a specific responsibility.
• Reduced Complexity: The overall complexity of the prompt generation process is reduced, as each function focuses on a specific task.

By separating the prompt generation process, the devlog-ist/landing project ensures that each output format receives the appropriate guidance, leading to improved content quality and maintainability.