(Yicai) Jan. 9 -- Alibaba Group Holding's cloud computing unit has launched an upgraded version of Tongyi Lingma, a smart coding assistant powered by the Chinese internet giant's large language model. The upgrade makes it the first global copilot to support the integrated development environments of both Visual Studio Code and JetBrains.

The latest version of Tongyi Lingma now offers multi-language support, enabling Java developers to write web pages, widgets, and mini-games using languages such as Python and JavaScript, Alibaba Cloud announced yesterday.

Tasks that previously required collaboration between front-end and back-end developers -- such as developing a user-friendly front-end page with login functions and database management -- can now be completed by a single developer using Tongyi Lingma in just 10 minutes, compared to the half-day required for manual completion, according to the Hangzhou-based company.

The enhanced Tongyi Lingma can also modify multiple files simultaneously, allowing developers to use artificial intelligence to fix issues and generate batches of unit tests. The coding assistant has been further upgraded with new features, including context awareness, intent understanding, and reflective iteration.

Editor: Emmi Laine