PASTA: Direct Instruction and Summary-Mediated Prompting in LLM-Assisted Code Modification (

Who

Ningzhi Tang, Emory Smith, Yu Huang, Collin McMillan, Toby Jia-Jun Li

Track

Posters and Showpieces

Time Zone

The program is currently displayed in (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

Use conference time zone: (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)Select other time zone

The GMT offsets shown reflect the offsets at the moment of the conference.

Time Band

By setting a time band, the program will dim events that are outside this time window. This is useful for (virtual) conferences with a continuous program (with repeated sessions).
The time band will also limit the events that are included in the personal iCalendar subscription service.

Display full programSpecify a time band

Save

When

Wed 8 Oct 2025 19:08 - 19:17 at Duke Energy Hall - Posters

Abstract

We present PASTA, a JetBrains IDE plugin that supports LLM-assisted code modification through two prompting techniques: (1) Direct Instruction Prompting, where developers describe changes explicitly in free-form language, and (2) Summary-Mediated Prompting, where changes are made by editing generated summaries of the code. PASTA enables structure-grounded prompting through editable summaries, helping developers specify intent, comprehend code, and control modifications, addressing key challenges in LLM-assisted programming. This demo aims to provoke discussion around new interaction representations for code editing with LLMs, and invites the VL/HCC community to engage with hands-on scenarios that bridge natural language, program structure, and developer intent.

Ningzhi Tang

University of Notre Dame

United States

Emory Smith

University of Notre Dame

United States

Yu Huang

Vanderbilt University

United States

Collin McMillan

University of Notre Dame

United States

Toby Jia-Jun Li

University of Notre Dame

United States

Time Zone

The program is currently displayed in (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

Use conference time zone: (GMT-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)Select other time zone

The GMT offsets shown reflect the offsets at the moment of the conference.

Time Band

Display full programSpecify a time band

Save

Session Program

Wed 8 Oct
Displayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change

18:00 - 20:00	PostersPosters and Showpieces at Duke Energy Hall

18:00 8m Talk		Fast Code, Heavy Heart: Emotional Responses in AI-Assisted Programming Posters and Showpieces Yinan Wu North Carolina State University, Ze Shi Li University of Victoria, Kathryn Stolee North Carolina State University, Bowen Xu North Carolina State University
18:08 8m Talk		Investigating the Impact of AI-Assisted Tools on Software Practitioner Well-Being Posters and Showpieces Fairuz Nawer Meem George Mason University, Brittany Johnson George Mason University
18:17 8m Talk		PipeBlocks: A Block-based Environment for CI/CD Posters and Showpieces Hugo da Gião University of Porto & HASLab/INESC Tec, Jácome Cunha University of Porto & HASLab/INESC, Rui Pereira HASLab/INESC TEC
18:25 8m Talk		ProDec: Automated Prompt Decomposition Posters and Showpieces Ebtesam Al Haque George Mason University, Brittany Johnson George Mason University
18:34 8m Talk		InsightLoop: A Visual Language for Emotion-Adaptive, Human-Centered Reflective Learning Systems Posters and Showpieces Shashank Shashank Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Monika Chavan Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
18:42 8m Talk		Online Professional Development for SouthEast Asia Teachers Focusing on Computational Thinking Posters and Showpieces Burin Asavapibhop Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Jason McKenna VEX Robotics, Yuhan Lin VEX Robotics, Andy Lee IFI (HK)
18:51 8m Talk		SciConv: A Conversational Tool for Reproducibility Posters and Showpieces Lázaro Costa Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto & INESC TEC, Susana Barbosa INESC TEC, Jácome Cunha University of Porto & HASLab/INESC
19:00 8m Talk		Curompt: A Spatially Situated Interface for Generative AI in 3D Design Software Posters and Showpieces Mitchell Foo Autodesk Research, Kendra Wannamker Autodesk Research, Jo Vermeulen Autodesk Research, George Fitzmaurice Autodesk Research, Justin Matejka Autodesk Research
19:08 8m Talk		PASTA: Direct Instruction and Summary-Mediated Prompting in LLM-Assisted Code Modification Posters and Showpieces Ningzhi Tang University of Notre Dame, Emory Smith University of Notre Dame, Yu Huang Vanderbilt University, Collin McMillan University of Notre Dame, Toby Jia-Jun Li University of Notre Dame
19:17 8m Talk		Inside Fairness Tools: What Academic Practitioners Really Experience Posters and Showpieces sadia afrin mim George Mason University, Brittany Johnson George Mason University
19:25 8m Talk		AgentPbD: Interactive Agentic Workflow Generation from User Demonstration on Web Browsers Posters and Showpieces Jiawen Li Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Zheng Ning University of Notre Dame, Yuan Tian Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, Toby Jia-Jun Li University of Notre Dame
19:34 8m Talk		Enhancing Issue Labeling in Open-source Projects Posters and Showpieces Amir Hossain Raaj George Mason University, sadia afrin mim George Mason University, Fairuz Nawer Meem George Mason University
19:42 8m Talk		SnapClass: An AI-Enhanced Classroom Management System for Block-Based Programming Posters and Showpieces Bahare Riahi pc, Xiaoyi Tian University of Florida, Ally Limke North Carolina State University, Viktoriia Storozhevykh North Carolina State University, Veronica Catete North Carolina State University, Tiffany Barnes North Carolina State University, Nicholas Lytle Georgia Institute of Technology, Khushbu Singh University of Virginia