Hey everyone! I'm on the hunt for a basic example of a language model that would be perfect for learning purposes. I'm not looking for something super optimized or complex; instead, I want a clear, simple, and pedagogical model to explore how language models work. Here are my key criteria:
1. It should allow me to train a model using raw data.
2. I want to be able to host this model and generate outputs based on prompts.
3. The entire implementation should focus on teaching rather than performance optimization. I'm looking for lots of comments, verbose function names, and really minimal optimization.
4. It needs to be written entirely in Python or JavaScript.
5. Importantly, I want to avoid AI libraries like PyTorch. I've noticed that many options automatically integrate these libraries, but I would really prefer to understand the underlying concepts rather than dealing with complicated abstractions.
Can anyone point me towards a resource that fits these criteria?
1 Answer
Have you considered that a "toy" LLM might be a contradiction? The 'L' in LLM stands for 'large'! Instead, I suggest you start with building a simple neural network from scratch. There's a book called "Neural Networks from Scratch in Python" that covers the basics like weights, biases, and activation functions. This foundation could then help you tackle more complex structures, including LLMs later on.
Fair point! I suppose I meant a simplified transformer-based model. Starting with a basic neural network sounds good, but I'm unsure of the actual problems I want to solve with it. I like having a clear problem in mind before I start coding!