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Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex
Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex

Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex: A practical guide to retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to enhance LLM applications

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Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex

Understanding Large Language Models

If you are reading this book, you have probably explored the realm of large language models (LLMs) and already recognize their potential applications as well as their pitfalls. This book aims to address the challenges LLMs face and provides a practical guide to building data-driven LLM applications with LlamaIndex, taking developers from foundational concepts to advanced techniques for implementing retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to create high-performance interactive artificial intelligence (AI) systems augmented by external data.

This chapter introduces generative AI (GenAI) and LLMs. It explains how LLMs generate human-like text after training on massive datasets. We’ll also overview LLM capabilities, limitations such as outdated knowledge potential for false information, and lack of reasoning. You’ll be introduced to RAG as a potential solution, combining retrieval models using indexed data with generative models to increase...

Introducing GenAI and LLMs

Introductions are sometimes boring, but here, it is important for us to set the context and help you familiarize yourself with GenAI and LLMs before we dive deep into LlamaIndex. I will try to be as concise as possible and, if the reader is already familiar with this information, I apologize for the brief digression.

What is GenAI?

GenAI refers to systems that are capable of generating new content such as text, images, audio, or video. Unlike more specialized AI systems that are designed for specific tasks such as image classification or speech recognition, GenAI models can create completely new assets that are often very difficult – if not impossible – to distinguish from human-created content.

These systems use machine learning (ML) techniques such as neural networks (NNs) that are trained on vast amounts of data. By learning patterns and structures within the training data, generative models can model the underlying probability distribution...

Understanding the role of LLMs in modern technology

Oh! What good times we are living in. There has never been a more favorable era for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Given the enormous potential of this technology, it’s a real miracle that, instead of ending up strictly under the control of large corporations or governments, it is literally within everyone’s reach. Now, it’s truly possible for almost anyone – even a non-technical person – to realize their ideas and solve problems that until now seemed impossible to solve without a huge amount of resources.

The disruptive potential that LLMs have – in almost all industries – is enormous.

It’s true: there are concerns that this technology could replace us. However, technology’s role is to make lives easier, taking over repetitive activities. As before, we’ll likely do the same things, only much more efficiently and better with LLMs’ help. We will...

Exploring challenges with LLMs

Not all the news is good, however. It’s time to also discuss the darker side of LLMs.

These models do have important limitations and some collateral effects too. Here is a list of the most important ones, but please consider it non-exhaustive. There may be others not included here, and the order is arbitrarily chosen:

  • They lack access to real-time data.
    • LLMs are trained on a static dataset, meaning that the information they have is only as up to date as the data they were trained on, which might not include the latest news, scientific discoveries, or social trends.
    • This limitation can be critical when users seek real-time or recent information, as the LLMs might provide outdated or irrelevant responses. Furthermore, even if they cite data or statistics, these numbers are likely to have changed or evolved, leading to potential misinformation.

Note

While recent features introduced by OpenAI, for example, allow the underlying LLM...

Augmenting LLMs with RAG

Coined for the first time in a 2020 paper, Lewis, Patrick et al. (2005). “Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks”. arXiv:2005.11401 [cs.CL] (https://arxiv.org/abs/2005.11401), published by several researchers from Meta, RAG is a technique that combines the powers of retrieval methods and generative models to answer user questions. The idea is to first retrieve relevant information from an indexed data source containing proprietary knowledge and then use that retrieved information to generate a more informed, context-rich response using a generative model (Figure 1.5):

Figure 1.5 – A RAG model

Figure 1.5 – A RAG model

Let’s have a look at what this means in practice:

  • Much better fact retention: One of the advantages of using RAG is its ability to pull from specific data sources, which can improve fact retention. Instead of relying solely on the generative model’s own knowledge –...

Summary

In this chapter, we covered a quick introduction to GenAI and LLMs. You learned how LLMs such as GPT work and some of their capabilities and limitations. A key takeaway is that while powerful, LLMs have weaknesses – such as the potential for false information and lack of reasoning – that require mitigation techniques. We discussed RAG as one method to overcome some LLM limitations.

These lessons provide useful background on how to approach LLMs practically while being aware of their risks. At the same time, you learned the importance of techniques such as RAG to address LLMs’ potential downsides.

With this introductory foundation in place, we are now ready to dive into the next chapter where we will explore the LlamaIndex ecosystem. LlamaIndex offers an effective RAG framework to augment LLMs with indexed data for more accurate, logical outputs. Learning to leverage LlamaIndex tools will be the natural next step to harness the power of LLMs in a proficient...

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Key benefits

  • Examine text chunking effects on RAG workflows and understand security in RAG app development
  • Discover chatbots and agents and learn how to build complex conversation engines
  • Build as you learn by applying the knowledge you gain to a hands-on project

Description

Discover the immense potential of Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) with this comprehensive guide. Learn to overcome LLM limitations, such as contextual memory constraints, prompt size issues, real-time data gaps, and occasional ‘hallucinations’. Follow practical examples to personalize and launch your LlamaIndex projects, mastering skills in ingesting, indexing, querying, and connecting dynamic knowledge bases. From fundamental LLM concepts to LlamaIndex deployment and customization, this book provides a holistic grasp of LlamaIndex's capabilities and applications. By the end, you'll be able to resolve LLM challenges and build interactive AI-driven applications using best practices in prompt engineering and troubleshooting Generative AI projects.

Who is this book for?

This book is for Python developers with basic knowledge of natural language processing (NLP) and LLMs looking to build interactive LLM applications. Experienced developers and conversational AI developers will also benefit from the advanced techniques covered in the book to fully unleash the capabilities of the framework.

What you will learn

  • Understand the LlamaIndex ecosystem and common use cases
  • Master techniques to ingest and parse data from various sources into LlamaIndex
  • Discover how to create optimized indexes tailored to your use cases
  • Understand how to query LlamaIndex effectively and interpret responses
  • Build an end-to-end interactive web application with LlamaIndex, Python, and Streamlit
  • Customize a LlamaIndex configuration based on your project needs
  • Predict costs and deal with potential privacy issues
  • Deploy LlamaIndex applications that others can use
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Publication date : May 10, 2024
Length: 368 pages
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Table of Contents

17 Chapters
Part 1:Introduction to Generative AI and LlamaIndex Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 1: Understanding Large Language Models Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 2: LlamaIndex: The Hidden Jewel - An Introduction to the LlamaIndex Ecosystem Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 2: Starting Your First LlamaIndex Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 3: Kickstarting Your Journey with LlamaIndex Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 4: Ingesting Data into Our RAG Workflow Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 5: Indexing with LlamaIndex Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 3: Retrieving and Working with Indexed Data Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 6: Querying Our Data, Part 1 – Context Retrieval Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 7: Querying Our Data, Part 2 – Postprocessing and Response Synthesis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 8: Building Chatbots and Agents with LlamaIndex Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Part 4: Customization, Prompt Engineering, and Final Words Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 9: Customizing and Deploying Our LlamaIndex Project Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 10: Prompt Engineering Guidelines and Best Practices Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Chapter 11: Conclusion and Additional Resources Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Other Books You May Enjoy Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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Diego Martínez Rodríguez Sep 19, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
It's a book written with love. The author spent a lot of time organizing a large amount of information that, although it is publicly available, is not well organized on the Llama Index site. It was a great tool to advance my understanding of that RAG framework.
Feefo Verified review Feefo
N/A Jun 27, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A comprehensive and understandable introduction to LlamaIndex.
Feefo Verified review Feefo
Om S May 31, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I mean, if you're into building AI-driven apps, "Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex" by Andrei Gheorghiu is the guide you've been waiting for. This book is a practical roadmap to enhancing your Python apps using the LlamaIndex for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Starting with basic LLM (Large Language Model) concepts, it swiftly moves into more complex applications like chatbots and dynamic knowledge bases.The guide excels in explaining how to set up the LlamaIndex ecosystem, ingest and index diverse data sources, and tailor queries for optimal results. It's pretty cool how it lays out step-by-step instructions for building an interactive web app using LlamaIndex, Python, and Streamlit. Plus, it doesn't just leave you hanging with the build; it goes into deploying your application effectively, considering cost prediction and privacy concerns.What's truly useful are the sections on prompt engineering and troubleshooting, which are gold for developers looking to polish their skills in LLM applications. Whether you're a newbie to NLP and LLMs or an experienced developer, this book has nuggets of wisdom for everyone.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Mojeed Abisiga Jun 08, 2024
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If you want to learn how to connect a powerful LLM, like GPT-4, Claude3, Gemini or LLaMA3 to your existing proprietary data using LlamaIndex, in a clever way, with basic coding effort, I strongly recommend “Building Data-Driven Applications with LlamaIndex” by Andrei Gheorghiu
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Andrei Fajardo Aug 07, 2024
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
In my opinion, this book by Andrei Gehorghiu should be viewed as an essential guide for anyone looking to master the LlamaIndex Python framework.For one, it teaches off of version 0.10.x (i.e., post our big migration from a monolithic library), and begins with a nice introduction to LLMs and motivation for RAG or context augmentation. Second, the author adopts a hands-on approach building a project called PITS throughout the book — this allows the readers to gradually learn the concepts of both RAG and LlamaIndex chapter by chapter, making it an ideal starting point for beginners.The book also covers, in a sensible ordering, the core classes of LlamaIndex including our various Index, Storage, Retrieval, Post-Processors, Response-Synthesizer classes, and others. In addition to RAG, it also covers our Agent abstractions, which by the way can be used in our multi-agent system with our latest library called llama-agents (this came after the publishing of this book). Finally, the book explores various aspects of customization, the LlamaIndex CLI tool, as well as LlamaPacks!In future editions, I would hope to see our latest Workflows classes get added to this book, and some coverage on building multi-agent systems with LlamaAgents. Overall, Building Data-Driven Applications With LlamaIndex is a valuable resource for anyone interested in developing data-driven applications using the LlamaIndex Python framework, and I highly recommend it!
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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