Boost Code Referencing with Efficient AI: Bypass RAG, Leverage CAG for Faster, More Accurate Results

Boost Code Referencing with Efficient AI: Bypass RAG, Leverage CAG for Faster, More Accurate Results. Learn how to build an MCP that uses CAG to efficiently retrieve relevant code examples from large document sets, optimizing speed and cost.

March 27, 2025

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Unlock the power of large language models with this efficient and accurate approach to integrating external data. Discover how to seamlessly incorporate diverse information sources into your AI applications, delivering enhanced user experiences and unlocking new possibilities.

The Advantages of CAG (Context Augmented Generation) Over RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation)

The key advantages of CAG (Context Augmented Generation) over RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) are:

  1. Simplicity of Implementation: With CAG, the entire knowledge base is pre-loaded into the language model's context window, eliminating the need for complex retrieval systems and vector databases required in RAG. This results in a much simpler implementation.

  2. Improved Retrieval Accuracy: By pre-loading the entire knowledge base, CAG ensures that the relevant information is always available within the model's context, addressing the challenges of incomplete retrieval in RAG.

  3. Cost and Speed Optimization: Recent advancements in large language models, such as Google's Gemini 2.0, have significantly reduced the cost and improved the speed of processing large context windows. This makes CAG a more viable and cost-effective approach, especially for use cases with diverse and growing data sources.

  4. Reduced Latency: RAG systems introduce latency due to the time required for query embedding and retrieval from the vector database. CAG eliminates this latency by pre-loading the entire knowledge base, providing a more seamless user experience.

  5. Adaptability to Evolving Knowledge Bases: As company data and knowledge bases continue to grow, CAG's ability to handle large context windows becomes increasingly advantageous, making it a more future-proof approach compared to the limitations of RAG.

In summary, the advancements in large language model capabilities, combined with the simplicity and performance benefits of CAG, make it a compelling choice for building production-ready applications that leverage external data sources and knowledge bases.

Building a Simple Chat Application with PDF Using Gemini 2.0

Here's a quick example of how you can build a simple chat application with PDF using the Gemini 2.0 model:

# Install required packages
import os
from langchain.llms import GooglePalm
from langchain.prompts import PromptTemplate
from langchain.chains import LLMChain
import headon

# Set up environment keys
os.environ["GOOGLE_API_KEY"] = "your_google_api_key"

# Create a Gemini 2.0 client
llm = GooglePalm(model_name="gemini-2.0-flash", temperature=0.7)

# Set up Headon logging
headon.init(
    api_key="your_headon_api_key",
    service_name="pdf-chat-app",
    environment="production"
)

def chat_with_pdf(pdf_url, user_message):
    # Download the PDF file
    pdf_content = download_pdf(pdf_url)

    # Create the prompt
    prompt = PromptTemplate(
        input_variables=["pdf_content", "user_message"],
        template="Given the following PDF content:\n{pdf_content}\n\nAnswer the user's question: {user_message}"
    )

    # Create the LLMChain
    chain = LLMChain(llm=llm, prompt=prompt)

    # Run the chain and log the request
    with headon.track_request():
        result = chain.run(pdf_content=pdf_content, user_message=user_message)

    return result

# Example usage
pdf_url = "https://example.com/research-paper.pdf"
user_message = "What is the main finding of this research paper?"
response = chat_with_pdf(pdf_url, user_message)
print(response)

In this example, we:

  1. Install the required packages, including the Gemini 2.0 model from Google and the Headon library for logging and monitoring.
  2. Set up the environment keys for the Google API and Headon.
  3. Create a Gemini 2.0 client and initialize Headon.
  4. Define a chat_with_pdf function that takes a PDF URL and a user message, downloads the PDF, creates a prompt, and uses the Gemini 2.0 model to generate a response.
  5. Example usage of the chat_with_pdf function.

The key aspects of this implementation are:

  • Using the Gemini 2.0 model, which supports a large context window of up to 2 million tokens, to handle the full PDF content.
  • Integrating Headon for logging and monitoring the performance of the large language model calls.
  • Keeping the implementation simple and concise, with only 10 lines of code for the main functionality.

This approach allows you to build a chat application that can seamlessly handle PDF content without the need for complex retrieval or augmentation techniques.

Building an MCP to Retrieve Relevant Code Examples from API Documentation

To build an MCP (Multi-Capability) that can retrieve the most relevant code examples from API documentation, we can leverage the power of large language models like Gemini 2.0. Here's a step-by-step approach:

  1. Fetch API Documentation Pages: Use a service like FileCX to fetch the markdown content of the relevant API documentation pages. This can be done by scraping the URLs of the API reference pages.

  2. Filter Relevant Pages: Use the Gemini 2.0 model to filter out the pages that are not directly relevant to the API reference. This can be done by passing the prompt "help me generate a request to script this website using file" and analyzing the model's response.

  3. Download Markdown Content: For the filtered set of relevant pages, download the markdown content using the FileCX batch script endpoint.

  4. Feed the Markdown Content to Gemini 2.0: Pass the combined markdown content of the relevant pages, along with the original prompt, to the Gemini 2.0 model to generate the most relevant code example.

  5. Optimize for Cost and Speed: Leverage the Gemini 2.0 model's cost-effective pricing and fast response times to make this process efficient. Use a platform like Headon to monitor and optimize the performance of your MCP.

  6. Implement the MCP Server: Wrap the above steps into an MCP server that can accept a URL for the API documentation and return the most relevant code example.

By following this approach, you can build an MCP that can effectively retrieve relevant code examples from API documentation, providing a seamless experience for your users.

Optimization Techniques for CAG and Handling Large Datasets

When dealing with large datasets, there are a few optimization techniques that can be employed for the CAG (Cage Augmented Generation) approach:

  1. Selective Data Feeding: Instead of feeding the entire dataset into the language model's context window, you can use traditional search techniques to identify the most relevant data based on metadata, file names, or other attributes. This allows you to selectively feed only the most relevant data to the language model, reducing the computational cost and improving the retrieval accuracy.

  2. Parallel Model Calls: For extremely large datasets that cannot be fully accommodated in the language model's context window, you can consider a parallel approach. First, use traditional search to identify the most relevant data subsets. Then, make parallel calls to the language model, passing in the relevant data subsets. Finally, use another language model call to summarize the results from the parallel calls and provide the most relevant information.

  3. Caching and Contextualization: Take advantage of the language model's contextualization capabilities. If the same or similar queries are made repeatedly, you can cache the results and serve them directly, saving on computational cost and latency. The language model's ability to understand and maintain context can be leveraged to provide more accurate and relevant responses.

  4. Monitoring and Optimization: Utilize tools like Headon to monitor the performance, cost, and latency of your large language model applications. This data can be used to identify bottlenecks, optimize the system, and ensure cost-effective and efficient operation.

  5. Hybrid Approaches: Combine the strengths of both the RAC (Retrieval Augmented Generation) and CAG approaches. For very large datasets, use traditional search techniques to identify the most relevant subsets, and then feed those subsets into the language model's context window. This can provide a balance between retrieval accuracy and computational efficiency.

By implementing these optimization techniques, you can effectively handle large datasets and leverage the power of CAG to build robust and efficient large language model applications.

Conclusion

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In conclusion, the key takeaways from this discussion are:

  1. The CAG (Cage Augmented Generation) approach, where the entire knowledge base is pre-loaded into the language model's context window, has become a viable alternative to the traditional RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) approach.

  2. The recent advancements in language models, such as Google's Gemini 2.0, have dramatically improved the retrieval accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and speed of the CAG approach, making it a compelling choice for many use cases.

  3. Building an MCP (Multi-modal Conversational Pipeline) that leverages the CAG approach to retrieve relevant code examples from external documentation is a straightforward process, as demonstrated in the example provided.

  4. The use of tools like Headon for logging, monitoring, and debugging the performance of the language model application is crucial for optimizing cost, speed, and overall application improvement.

  5. While the CAG approach may be the preferred choice in many scenarios, the traditional RAG approach still has its merits, especially when dealing with extremely large and diverse knowledge bases that cannot be fully accommodated within the language model's context window.

Overall, the combination of powerful language models, the CAG approach, and supporting tools like Headon provides a robust and efficient way to build advanced AI applications that can seamlessly integrate external knowledge sources.

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