@ngxtm/devkit 3.0.2 → 3.1.0

package/skills/prompt-engineering-patterns/references/few-shot-learning.md

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+# Few-Shot Learning Guide
+
+## Overview
+
+Few-shot learning enables LLMs to perform tasks by providing a small number of examples (typically 1-10) within the prompt. This technique is highly effective for tasks requiring specific formats, styles, or domain knowledge.
+
+## Example Selection Strategies
+
+### 1. Semantic Similarity
+Select examples most similar to the input query using embedding-based retrieval.
+
+```python
+from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer
+import numpy as np
+
+class SemanticExampleSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples, model_name='all-MiniLM-L6-v2'):
+        self.model = SentenceTransformer(model_name)
+        self.examples = examples
+        self.example_embeddings = self.model.encode([ex['input'] for ex in examples])
+
+    def select(self, query, k=3):
+        query_embedding = self.model.encode([query])
+        similarities = np.dot(self.example_embeddings, query_embedding.T).flatten()
+        top_indices = np.argsort(similarities)[-k:][::-1]
+        return [self.examples[i] for i in top_indices]
+```
+
+**Best For**: Question answering, text classification, extraction tasks
+
+### 2. Diversity Sampling
+Maximize coverage of different patterns and edge cases.
+
+```python
+from sklearn.cluster import KMeans
+
+class DiversityExampleSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples, model_name='all-MiniLM-L6-v2'):
+        self.model = SentenceTransformer(model_name)
+        self.examples = examples
+        self.embeddings = self.model.encode([ex['input'] for ex in examples])
+
+    def select(self, k=5):
+        # Use k-means to find diverse cluster centers
+        kmeans = KMeans(n_clusters=k, random_state=42)
+        kmeans.fit(self.embeddings)
+
+        # Select example closest to each cluster center
+        diverse_examples = []
+        for center in kmeans.cluster_centers_:
+            distances = np.linalg.norm(self.embeddings - center, axis=1)
+            closest_idx = np.argmin(distances)
+            diverse_examples.append(self.examples[closest_idx])
+
+        return diverse_examples
+```
+
+**Best For**: Demonstrating task variability, edge case handling
+
+### 3. Difficulty-Based Selection
+Gradually increase example complexity to scaffold learning.
+
+```python
+class ProgressiveExampleSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples):
+        # Examples should have 'difficulty' scores (0-1)
+        self.examples = sorted(examples, key=lambda x: x['difficulty'])
+
+    def select(self, k=3):
+        # Select examples with linearly increasing difficulty
+        step = len(self.examples) // k
+        return [self.examples[i * step] for i in range(k)]
+```
+
+**Best For**: Complex reasoning tasks, code generation
+
+### 4. Error-Based Selection
+Include examples that address common failure modes.
+
+```python
+class ErrorGuidedSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples, error_patterns):
+        self.examples = examples
+        self.error_patterns = error_patterns  # Common mistakes to avoid
+
+    def select(self, query, k=3):
+        # Select examples demonstrating correct handling of error patterns
+        selected = []
+        for pattern in self.error_patterns[:k]:
+            matching = [ex for ex in self.examples if pattern in ex['demonstrates']]
+            if matching:
+                selected.append(matching[0])
+        return selected
+```
+
+**Best For**: Tasks with known failure patterns, safety-critical applications
+
+## Example Construction Best Practices
+
+### Format Consistency
+All examples should follow identical formatting:
+
+```python
+# Good: Consistent format
+examples = [
+    {
+        "input": "What is the capital of France?",
+        "output": "Paris"
+    },
+    {
+        "input": "What is the capital of Germany?",
+        "output": "Berlin"
+    }
+]
+
+# Bad: Inconsistent format
+examples = [
+    "Q: What is the capital of France? A: Paris",
+    {"question": "What is the capital of Germany?", "answer": "Berlin"}
+]
+```
+
+### Input-Output Alignment
+Ensure examples demonstrate the exact task you want the model to perform:
+
+```python
+# Good: Clear input-output relationship
+example = {
+    "input": "Sentiment: The movie was terrible and boring.",
+    "output": "Negative"
+}
+
+# Bad: Ambiguous relationship
+example = {
+    "input": "The movie was terrible and boring.",
+    "output": "This review expresses negative sentiment toward the film."
+}
+```
+
+### Complexity Balance
+Include examples spanning the expected difficulty range:
+
+```python
+examples = [
+    # Simple case
+    {"input": "2 + 2", "output": "4"},
+
+    # Moderate case
+    {"input": "15 * 3 + 8", "output": "53"},
+
+    # Complex case
+    {"input": "(12 + 8) * 3 - 15 / 5", "output": "57"}
+]
+```
+
+## Context Window Management
+
+### Token Budget Allocation
+Typical distribution for a 4K context window:
+
+```
+System Prompt:        500 tokens  (12%)
+Few-Shot Examples:   1500 tokens  (38%)
+User Input:           500 tokens  (12%)
+Response:            1500 tokens  (38%)
+```
+
+### Dynamic Example Truncation
+```python
+class TokenAwareSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples, tokenizer, max_tokens=1500):
+        self.examples = examples
+        self.tokenizer = tokenizer
+        self.max_tokens = max_tokens
+
+    def select(self, query, k=5):
+        selected = []
+        total_tokens = 0
+
+        # Start with most relevant examples
+        candidates = self.rank_by_relevance(query)
+
+        for example in candidates[:k]:
+            example_tokens = len(self.tokenizer.encode(
+                f"Input: {example['input']}\nOutput: {example['output']}\n\n"
+            ))
+
+            if total_tokens + example_tokens <= self.max_tokens:
+                selected.append(example)
+                total_tokens += example_tokens
+            else:
+                break
+
+        return selected
+```
+
+## Edge Case Handling
+
+### Include Boundary Examples
+```python
+edge_case_examples = [
+    # Empty input
+    {"input": "", "output": "Please provide input text."},
+
+    # Very long input (truncated in example)
+    {"input": "..." + "word " * 1000, "output": "Input exceeds maximum length."},
+
+    # Ambiguous input
+    {"input": "bank", "output": "Ambiguous: Could refer to financial institution or river bank."},
+
+    # Invalid input
+    {"input": "!@#$%", "output": "Invalid input format. Please provide valid text."}
+]
+```
+
+## Few-Shot Prompt Templates
+
+### Classification Template
+```python
+def build_classification_prompt(examples, query, labels):
+    prompt = f"Classify the text into one of these categories: {', '.join(labels)}\n\n"
+
+    for ex in examples:
+        prompt += f"Text: {ex['input']}\nCategory: {ex['output']}\n\n"
+
+    prompt += f"Text: {query}\nCategory:"
+    return prompt
+```
+
+### Extraction Template
+```python
+def build_extraction_prompt(examples, query):
+    prompt = "Extract structured information from the text.\n\n"
+
+    for ex in examples:
+        prompt += f"Text: {ex['input']}\nExtracted: {json.dumps(ex['output'])}\n\n"
+
+    prompt += f"Text: {query}\nExtracted:"
+    return prompt
+```
+
+### Transformation Template
+```python
+def build_transformation_prompt(examples, query):
+    prompt = "Transform the input according to the pattern shown in examples.\n\n"
+
+    for ex in examples:
+        prompt += f"Input: {ex['input']}\nOutput: {ex['output']}\n\n"
+
+    prompt += f"Input: {query}\nOutput:"
+    return prompt
+```
+
+## Evaluation and Optimization
+
+### Example Quality Metrics
+```python
+def evaluate_example_quality(example, validation_set):
+    metrics = {
+        'clarity': rate_clarity(example),  # 0-1 score
+        'representativeness': calculate_similarity_to_validation(example, validation_set),
+        'difficulty': estimate_difficulty(example),
+        'uniqueness': calculate_uniqueness(example, other_examples)
+    }
+    return metrics
+```
+
+### A/B Testing Example Sets
+```python
+class ExampleSetTester:
+    def __init__(self, llm_client):
+        self.client = llm_client
+
+    def compare_example_sets(self, set_a, set_b, test_queries):
+        results_a = self.evaluate_set(set_a, test_queries)
+        results_b = self.evaluate_set(set_b, test_queries)
+
+        return {
+            'set_a_accuracy': results_a['accuracy'],
+            'set_b_accuracy': results_b['accuracy'],
+            'winner': 'A' if results_a['accuracy'] > results_b['accuracy'] else 'B',
+            'improvement': abs(results_a['accuracy'] - results_b['accuracy'])
+        }
+
+    def evaluate_set(self, examples, test_queries):
+        correct = 0
+        for query in test_queries:
+            prompt = build_prompt(examples, query['input'])
+            response = self.client.complete(prompt)
+            if response == query['expected_output']:
+                correct += 1
+        return {'accuracy': correct / len(test_queries)}
+```
+
+## Advanced Techniques
+
+### Meta-Learning (Learning to Select)
+Train a small model to predict which examples will be most effective:
+
+```python
+from sklearn.ensemble import RandomForestClassifier
+
+class LearnedExampleSelector:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.selector_model = RandomForestClassifier()
+
+    def train(self, training_data):
+        # training_data: list of (query, example, success) tuples
+        features = []
+        labels = []
+
+        for query, example, success in training_data:
+            features.append(self.extract_features(query, example))
+            labels.append(1 if success else 0)
+
+        self.selector_model.fit(features, labels)
+
+    def extract_features(self, query, example):
+        return [
+            semantic_similarity(query, example['input']),
+            len(example['input']),
+            len(example['output']),
+            keyword_overlap(query, example['input'])
+        ]
+
+    def select(self, query, candidates, k=3):
+        scores = []
+        for example in candidates:
+            features = self.extract_features(query, example)
+            score = self.selector_model.predict_proba([features])[0][1]
+            scores.append((score, example))
+
+        return [ex for _, ex in sorted(scores, reverse=True)[:k]]
+```
+
+### Adaptive Example Count
+Dynamically adjust the number of examples based on task difficulty:
+
+```python
+class AdaptiveExampleSelector:
+    def __init__(self, examples):
+        self.examples = examples
+
+    def select(self, query, max_examples=5):
+        # Start with 1 example
+        for k in range(1, max_examples + 1):
+            selected = self.get_top_k(query, k)
+
+            # Quick confidence check (could use a lightweight model)
+            if self.estimated_confidence(query, selected) > 0.9:
+                return selected
+
+        return selected  # Return max_examples if never confident enough
+```
+
+## Common Mistakes
+
+1. **Too Many Examples**: More isn't always better; can dilute focus
+2. **Irrelevant Examples**: Examples should match the target task closely
+3. **Inconsistent Formatting**: Confuses the model about output format
+4. **Overfitting to Examples**: Model copies example patterns too literally
+5. **Ignoring Token Limits**: Running out of space for actual input/output
+
+## Resources
+
+- Example dataset repositories
+- Pre-built example selectors for common tasks
+- Evaluation frameworks for few-shot performance
+- Token counting utilities for different models