Research Focus: Week of April 29, 2024

Welcome to Research Focus, a series of blog posts that highlights notable publications, events, code/datasets, new hires and other milestones from across the research community at Microsoft. NEW RESEARCH Can Large Language Models Transform Natural Language Intent into Formal Method Postconditions? Informal natural language that describes code functionality, such as code comments or function documentation, may contain substantial information about a program’s intent. However, there is no guarantee that a program’s implementation aligns with its natural  

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Working With Global Variables in Python Functions

A global variable is a variable that you can use from any part of a program, including within functions. Using global variables inside your Python functions can be tricky. You’ll need to differentiate between accessing and changing the values of the target global variable if you want your code to work correctly. Global variables can play a fundamental role in many software projects because they enable data sharing across an entire program. However, you should use them judiciously to avoid […]

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Using ControlNet with Stable Diffusion

ControlNet is a neural network that can improve image generation in Stable Diffusion by adding extra conditions. This allows users to have more control over the images generated. Instead of trying out different prompts, the ControlNet models enable users to generate consistent images with just one prompt. In this post, you will learn how to gain precise control over images generated by Stable Diffusion using ControlNet. Specifically, we will cover: What is ControlNet, and how it works How to use […]

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Microsoft at ASPLOS 2024: Advancing hardware and software for high-scale, secure, and efficient modern applications

Modern computer systems and applications, with unprecedented scale, complexity, and security needs, require careful co-design and co-evolution of hardware and software. The ACM International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (ASPLOS) (opens in new tab), is the main forum where researchers bridge the gap between architecture, programming languages, and operating systems to advance the state of the art. ASPLOS 2024 is taking place in San Diego between April 27 and  

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SIGMA: An open-source mixed-reality system for research on physical task assistance

Imagine if every time you needed to complete a complex physical task, like building a bicycle, fixing a broken water heater, or cooking risotto for the first time, you had a world-class expert standing over your shoulder and guiding you through the process. In addition to telling you the steps to follow, this expert would also tune the instructions to your skill set, deliver them with the right timing,  

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Quiz: Inheritance and Composition: A Python OOP Guide

Interactive Quiz ⋅ 7 QuestionsBy Martin Breuss In this quiz, you’ll test your understanding of Inheritance and Composition in Python. By working through this quiz, you’ll revisit how to use inheritance and composition in Python, model class hierarchies, and use multiple inheritance. The quiz contains 7 questions and there is no time limit. You’ll get 1 point for each correct answer. At the end of the quiz, you’ll receive a total score. The maximum score is 100%. Good luck! « […]

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Quiz: Get Started With Django: Build a Portfolio App

Interactive Quiz ⋅ 10 QuestionsBy Martin Breuss In this quiz, you’ll test your understanding of Django. By working through this quiz, you’ll revisit the steps you need to get started with Django. You’ll touch on topics that will help you create a fully functioning web application and revisit some of the most important features of Django. You’ll also investigate the architecture of a Django site, remember how to set up a new Django project with multiple apps, build models and […]

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Quiz: A Practical Introduction to Web Scraping in Python

Interactive Quiz ⋅ 9 QuestionsBy Martin Breuss In this quiz, you’ll test your understanding of Web Scraping in Python. By working through this quiz, you’ll revisit how to parse website data using string methods and regular expressions, how to parse website data using an HTML parser, and how to interact with forms and other website components. The quiz contains 9 questions and there is no time limit. You’ll get 1 point for each correct answer. At the end of the […]

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Quiz: Build Command-Line Interfaces With Python’s argparse

Interactive Quiz ⋅ 17 QuestionsBy Martin Breuss In this quiz, you’ll test your understanding of Creating Command-line Interfaces in Python with argparse. Command-line apps may not be common in the general user’s space, but they’re present in development, data science, systems administration, and many other operations. Every command-line app needs a user-friendly command-line interface (CLI) so that you can interact with the app itself. In Python, you can create full-featured CLIs with the argparse module from the standard library. The […]

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Quiz: What’s Lazy Evaluation in Python?

Interactive Quiz ⋅ 7 QuestionsBy Bartosz Zaczyński Lazy evaluation is a programming concept where the evaluation of an expression is deferred until its value is actually needed. This can lead to performance enhancements by avoiding unnecessary calculations, and it can also allow for the creation of potentially infinite data structures. As you embark on this quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of lazy evaluation in Python and learn how to apply this concept to write cleaner and more efficient code. The […]

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