Intro to GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio
Summary
TLDRThe video script introduces GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio 2022, highlighting their seamless integration and powerful features. It demonstrates the ease of installation, the real-time code suggestions, and the ability to learn new coding patterns. The script also explores advanced functionalities like code optimization, cross-file interaction, and context-aware AI support through Copilot Chat. The video emphasizes the productivity boost and learning opportunities offered by these tools, making coding more efficient and interactive.
Takeaways
- 🚀 **Easy Installation**: Installing GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat in Visual Studio 2022 is straightforward, found under the extension menu.
- 🔍 **Code Suggestion**: As you type, Copilot analyzes your code and provides suggestions, which can be accepted using the Tab key.
- 📌 **Multiple Suggestions**: Use Alt + . or , to navigate between multiple suggestions for a specific scenario.
- 📝 **Comment-Based Suggestions**: Generate suggestions using comments, which can be invoked at any time with Alt + /.
- 🌟 **Inline Documentation**: Use the '/**' command to automatically generate documentation for functions.
- 🔄 **Code Optimization**: The 'optimize' slash command analyzes and suggests cleaner or more efficient code solutions.
- 🔗 **Cross-File Interaction**: Reference and interact with code in external files using hashtags and questions.
- 🔧 **Customizing Copilot**: Enable or disable Copilot globally, for C, or for the current solution through the editor options.
- 🤖 **Copilot Chat**: Accessible via the view menu, it offers explanations, help, unit testing, profiling, and more.
- 📊 **File and Project Insight**: Use Copilot Chat to gain insights about open or external files, and to understand project files better.
- 🛠 **Refactoring Assistance**: Ask Copilot Chat to refactor code into new functions or to change IDE themes and settings.
- 📚 **Learning Resources**: The script encourages users to explore additional resources for in-depth knowledge of GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2022.
Q & A
What are the prerequisites for using GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2022?
-To use GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2022, you need the latest version of Visual Studio, which can be downloaded from visualstudio.microsoft.com, and a GitHub account.
How easy is it to install GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat in Visual Studio 2022?
-The installation process is described as 'super super easy'. You go to the extension menu, search for GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat, and install them. The installation will be triggered upon closing Visual Studio.
How does GitHub Copilot assist with coding in Visual Studio?
-GitHub Copilot analyzes the code as you type and provides suggestions. You can accept suggestions by pressing the Tab key, which not only adds new code but also helps you learn new coding patterns.
What is the purpose of the 'alt and Dot' or 'comma' keys in GitHub Copilot?
-These keys allow you to move forward and backward between multiple suggestions provided by GitHub Copilot for a specific scenario.
How can you invoke GitHub Copilot with a specific task or question?
-You can generate suggestions using comments. For example, if you want to create a function to calculate the year of birth, you can write a comment about the desired function, and Copilot will assist.
What are the benefits of using slash commands in GitHub Copilot?
-Slash commands in GitHub Copilot are self-describing and super useful. They allow you to add documentation, fix code, generate code, and more, depending on the specific command used.
How does the 'optimize code' slash command work in GitHub Copilot?
-The 'optimize code' command analyzes a piece of code and proposes a cleaner or more efficient solution. It can simplify complex functions or smaller pieces of code by removing unnecessary parts.
Can GitHub Copilot interact with multiple files in a solution?
-Yes, GitHub Copilot can use hashtags to reference external files and interact between different files within a solution, allowing for a comprehensive understanding and assistance across the entire project.
How can you customize GitHub Copilot's behavior in Visual Studio?
-You can enable or disable GitHub Copilot globally, for C only, or for the current solution only, depending on your needs. This flexibility allows you to tailor the AI's assistance to your specific coding tasks.
What is GitHub Copilot Chat and how does it enhance the coding experience?
-GitHub Copilot Chat is a feature that provides context-aware AI support. It can explain code, offer help with coding tasks, perform unit testing, profiling, and more. It can also answer questions about external files without the need to open them.
How can you switch the theme of Visual Studio using GitHub Copilot Chat?
-You can use the 'ask Visual Studio' slash command within GitHub Copilot Chat to ask for instructions on how to change the theme. For example, typing 'how can I switch to a dark theme' will provide you with the necessary steps to make the change.
Outlines
🚀 Getting Started with GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio 2022
This paragraph introduces the setup process for using GitHub Copilot with Visual Studio 2022. It emphasizes the ease of installation through the extension menu and the necessity of having a GitHub account and basic familiarity with Visual Studio. The speaker shares their experience with installing both GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat, highlighting the straightforward process and the immediate availability of the extensions upon reopening Visual Studio. The paragraph also delves into the functionality of Copilot, which provides code suggestions as you type, allowing for enhanced productivity and learning of new coding patterns.
🤖 Invoking and Interacting with GitHub Copilot
The second paragraph focuses on the interactive aspects of GitHub Copilot. It explains how to invoke Copilot using keyboard shortcuts and the various ways to receive suggestions, such as using comments or slash commands. The speaker demonstrates how to use slash commands for tasks like adding documentation, fixing code, and optimizing code snippets. The paragraph also touches on the ability to reference external files and interact with them using hashtags, showcasing the versatility of Copilot in understanding and assisting with complex coding tasks across multiple files.
💬 Exploring GitHub Copilot Chat Features
This paragraph introduces the capabilities of GitHub Copilot Chat, which provides a separate panel for more interactive and context-aware AI support. It outlines the range of features available, such as code explanations, help with coding tasks, unit testing, and profiling. The speaker gives examples of how Copilot Chat can explain the differences between programming constructs, convert code from one format to another, and offer insights into open or external files without the need to read the entire codebase. Additionally, it highlights the use of slash commands within Copilot Chat for various tasks and the ability to ask general questions related to Visual Studio.
🎨 Customizing GitHub Copilot Experience
The final paragraph discusses the customization options available for GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio 2022. It explains how users can enable or disable Copilot globally, for specific languages, or for individual solutions. The speaker also explores the context-aware AI support provided by Copilot Chat, which can answer questions and provide insights into code files. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the resources available for those interested in learning more about the topics covered in the video script.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡GitHub Copilot
💡Visual Studio 2022
💡Installation Process
💡Code Suggestions
💡Tab Key
💡Copilot Chat
💡Slash Commands
💡Code Optimization
💡Documentation
💡Code Refactoring
💡Context-Aware AI Support
Highlights
GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio 2022 offer an integrated development experience.
To get started, you need the latest version of Visual Studio and a GitHub account.
Installation of GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat in Visual Studio 2022 is straightforward.
Copilot provides real-time suggestions as you type code, enhancing productivity.
Accept suggestions by pressing the Tab key, which also helps in learning new coding patterns.
Multiple suggestions for a specific scenario can be navigated using Alt + Dot or Comma.
Copilot can generate suggestions using comments, aiding in solving specific coding tasks.
Invoke Copilot at any time inside the IDE with Alt + Forward Slash.
Copilot provides insights about the code, such as describing variables and functions.
Slash commands in Copilot, like '/optimize', offer code improvement suggestions.
Reference external files and interact between them using hashtags in Copilot.
Enable or disable Copilot globally, for C, or only for the current solution.
GitHub Copilot Chat offers context-aware AI support, accessible via the View menu.
Copilot Chat can explain code differences, provide help, and even perform unit testing.
Slash commands in Copilot Chat include '/doc' for automatic documentation generation.
Copilot Chat can describe open files or external files without the need to read the entire code.
Use 'ask Visual Studio' slash command in Copilot Chat for general questions related to Visual Studio.
Copilot Chat can refactor code into new functions based on user selection.
Switch themes in Visual Studio using guidance from GitHub Copilot Chat.
Transcripts
let's get started with GitHub copilot
and visual studio 2022 this is an
amazing experience that I want to share
with you you just need Visual Studio the
latest version you can get this from
visual studio. microsoft.com and you
also need a GitHub account all of the
links all of the necessary information
you can find in the main Visual Studio
page and I will also advise that you
have general knowledge of how to work
move around and do stuff inside Visual
Studio let's start using giab C pilot
and copilot chat in Visual Studio the
installation process in Visual Studio
2022 it's super super easy so let's take
a look in Visual Studio let's go to
extension menu and manx extension and
here in the extension manager we are
going to search for GitHub copilot I'm
searching for copilot and I have here
copilot and copilot chat this is the CH
that we are going to install now let's
go for install and we are going to see
that hey the installation process is
going to be triggered when we close
Visual Studio let's do the same with
Copilot chat now we can close visual
studio and let's see how the
installation starts the extension
installer is going to ask us to install
both of them so let's click modify and
wait a couple of seconds the
installation is complete now so let's
start the game visual
studio and compilot is already here if
we go to extension and extension and
manx extension we are going to see in
the installed tab that we have both HIIT
have copilot and copilot chat in silen
in our machine we can be ready to work
now now that we have Visual Studio 2022
and gith have copilot let's take a look
how it works inside the ID the whole
idea is that as you type code copilot is
going to analyze your code and you're
going to suggestion make a lot of
suggestions every time that you have a
suggestion you can get and accept the
suggestion pressing the Tab Key this is
super important let's take a look at the
code right now I have a C Class here I
have some very simple variable for f
name John and when I go to the next line
we can see here in gray that we have a
suggestion about a you have the first
name you may want a last name in this
case it's going to be though I am going
to say yes let's press the Tab Key and I
have my suggestion here this is
important because it's not only going to
suggest me new code I can even learn new
coding pattern and more while I am using
co-pilots let's take a look at the next
suggestion some AG I like it I will
press T and accept this again as you see
it's going to analyze my code it's going
to detect what I am going to do right
now I'm writing very simp Le code about
a sample user and it's going to suggest
me code for this when you start to work
with copilot you are going to see that
you have tons of suggestions for your
code to solve problems to complete code
to work in a lot of different scenarios
but there is a cool feature here you can
have multiple suggestion for a specific
scenario in order to do this you can use
the keys alt and Dot or comma to move
forward and backward between the
suggestions we have a class here a
simple class this is a C Class with two
variables first name last name and a
simple function to get the full name of
course this is a simple solution that we
can have here with just concatenate the
string but let's see what are the
copilot suggestions here so I'm going to
go inside the the function and we'll see
here that hey Co pilot suggest to do an
string interpolation here with first
name space and last name if I go alt and
Dot I will see a different suggestion
now I have a scenario where I am
concatenating the strings here where I'm
going to do first name plus space plus
last name let's see if we have a third
one we not go back to the first one this
is a simple scenario but hey this is a
cool way to see the options that we have
here for different suggestions copilot
is going to be with you all the time
making suggestion while you are coding
but how about when you want to ask a
specific scenario a specific question a
specific task to be solved with copilot
there are several ways that we can do
this one of the most popular one is to
generate suggestion using comment let's
take a look how this works so we have
here A C class this class has a couple
of variables string variables first name
and last name we also have an age and I
want to have right now a function to
okay I know the age of a user but what
year when he was born so let's create a
function for this so let's do something
like function to get the year of birth
from the as you can see also copilot is
helping me suggest here so I am pressing
tab tab to do this when I am here we are
going to see that the suggestions go
here to literally create a function that
is going to have as an input the AG as
an integer and then it's going to return
May a little math here to say hey today
minus the AG this is probably the year
of born of the user let's press St and
accept this I have my function here
working with comments for get
suggestions copilot is here to help and
you can invoke copilot at any time
inside the ID he's going to make
suggestion you are going to see
different suggestion but at any time
that you need copilot you can invoke
copilot with the keys alt and forward
slash the slash that we use in url and
more let's take a look how this
experience works so inside the ID I am
going to have very simple piece of code
here in C and am going to press alt
slash and I see here the copilot window
this is the embedded copilot window in
visual studio and I can ask here
something like an sample to describe the
variables and functions in these codes
once I do this copilot will work and we
start to analyze my code and give me a
super amazing Insight of what is
happening here we have three variables
here first name last name and age okay
this is right it makes sense and we also
have two functions here to get the year
of birth of based on an age and also to
get the full name using the first name
and last name this is how you can invol
a pilot to do a lot of amazing things at
any time inside the idid we can in B
pilot to help us code vet SU suggestions
and more but we also have the chance to
use slash commands which are Super
useful and very specific with different
scenarios so I am going to B here
copilot with alt slash and then if I
press a slash again I will see here a
set of commands doc to add documentation
explain to explain the code fix generate
help and more self describing super
useful and also is going to give you
kind of superpowers if you want to code
here like an example I am not a of
writing documentation but I can do here
slash Doc in this function and it will
automatically generate the necessary
attribute and documentation for this
function so I'm going to accept the
changes and we see here the year of
birth that I have a summary of the
function the par and description and
also what is returning this this is
super super useful one of the commands
that we have available as a SL command
in copilot is the optimized code command
which is amazing because it's going to
analyze a piece of code can be a very
big function a very small piece of code
is going to analyze code and is going to
propose maybe a cleaner version or a
different way to solve the program we
are going to take a look right now how
it works we have here A C function that
it's name get full name two parameters
first name and last name and the whole
idea here is to concatenate the
parameters and propose a full name for
the user we see here that the code is
fine it's working but probably we can do
more here so let's select this code
let's alt slash to invoke copilot and
then do optimize this code let's take a
look at the output for this one it's
really really straightforward and
amazing what he doing here basically
said the selected code can be optimized
but removing a lot of unnecessary code
you can return this string interpolation
but first name and last name let's go
with this solution let's do a preview
it's going to show here the full set of
changes that we have and once we have
set this we have the first code at the
beginning and I'm going to delete the
not user code here code optimization
really in two clicks I love it when you
work in complex Solutions or very big
pieces of code you're probably working
with different files not only a single
file and you can we can use copilot and
we can use the hashtags to reference
external files and to ask questions and
even interact with the between the two
files let's take a look we are working
here in the main file we also have here
in our solution we have a util files
that has a couple of function internally
so I have a get year of birth get full
name get full name from email hey I want
to know more about that so I can go here
start C pilot and I am going to
reference the file utils I want to know
more about what is the get full name
from email function do and I can start
to take a look now and see that hey this
get full name from email in the U class
extract the first name and last name
from the email address and then return
return the full name
calling internally the full get full
name function this is literally what I
am looking right now which is kind of an
amazing way to see what is happening in
other files from my current file copilot
is here to help you in Visual Studio
2022 but you can also enable a disab
copilot dependent on units if we go to
our ID we are going to see options in
the editor and you have the option to
enable copilot globally only for C or
even only for this solution so if you
have multiple Solutions different type
of languages and multiple files you can
do a lot of stats here so let's disable
go pilot here and we see how the icon
Chang it right now there is no more
copilot for me I can start to work if I
want to enable this again just go back
again
here I will enable copilot globally and
that's it copilot is back online to help
me work with while I am coding and if
you want to have context aware AI
support here we can also use copilot CH
we need to go to visual studio and go to
view and again we are going to see here
GitHub copilot chat you can also have a
shortcut here to enable once you click
here and enable we going to have a new
panel usually on your right of your ID
we are going to see different options
here let's take a look at new one and
there are a couple of things that we can
do with copilot chat we can ask for code
explanations code help code Prof find me
we can even do some unit testing
profiling and the booking here I have a
little sample to show here we have five
lines of code which basically create an
array of integer numbers and then fill
our array
with random numbers this is kind of cool
and it works but I want to know more I
want to know in example copilot chat I
am going to ask copilot chat to explain
me the difference between arise and list
which is always super useful to know
when you are coding so I'm going to
enable copilot chat I have it here and
I'm going to ask the question what's the
difference between a list and an array
so calot chat is basically explain
explaining everything that I need to
know here about the size of an array
which is difference between arrays and
list performance functionality and it's
also giving me some examples in C about
how we can use arise and how we can use
list this is an amazing and I can even
do more I can ask copilot to convert my
code to use list instead of andrise this
is interesting is not going to this
doesn't know what is my code right now
so I'm going to say that convert the
code in my file to use
list and here I have my code that I can
use I can change it to use a list here
of integers instead of an array and
there we have the new code interesting
we use copilot here to reference the
current file and more to see how we are
working this is really amazing and we
can use copilot chat to ask for
descriptions or get more insights of an
open file or an external file without
reading all the code let's take a look
at this in copilot I am going to ask and
I'm going to say describe the file and
then using the hashtags I'm going to
select the file I have several files
here and I have two program CS files and
I want to know more about the Ubuntu one
I want to see what the wuntu one is
doing so I'm going to select again the
program wuntu and I'm going to ask for
describe the
file and hey this is amazing after a
couple of seconds I have the full
description of the file I know that it
create an instant of the C custom chat
completion service then we have some URL
it's using a large language model Lama
for this it us a semantic Kel and build
a builder it's analyze and give me all
the piece of codes and it even
understand that this code is wrapped in
a copyright notice here under the MIT
license and it's also giving insights
here this is a super useful way to know
more about the file without the need to
open the file and dig into the code and
hey like when we are coding and we have
the slash commands we also have a slash
commands inside the copilot chat but
there are a few new ones here that we
can probably take want to take a look
once we are here in the copilot chat we
can press forward slash and then we are
going to have access access to the all
of the set of that we have here and you
can see here a new one like ask Visual
Studio ask BS where we can do general
question related to visual studio this
is an amazing one and there are others
that we already seen or you already know
like documentation experimental
conversation this is a new one here
explain fix generate and More in copilot
chat we can use the slash command
explain to explain a piece of code a
file or more inside copilot chat I am
going to start the command I'm going to
do explain and let's explain this chat
completion service file after a couple
of seconds we see that giab copilot
analyze the file and it's going to break
down the key parts of the file for me
like the properties and more and it
works in a lot of places what about if I
want to know more about what is a
project file doing let's ask for explain
for a project file we can see here that
analyze the ISR project file and start
to give us information about the file
here we can see the project as case what
is is the target TR of this project hey
we are working with net8 the root name
space and more explain is an amazing way
to explain pieces of code files or more
when you are working with the GitHub
copilot chat and we have a super
powerful SL command Visual Studio 2022
and gith have copilot chat which is the
ask BS the ask Visual Studio we can use
this command to ask question on how we
can do how we can do things and interact
in Visual Studio I select a piece of
code and now I'm going to ask GitHub
compilot chat how can I refactor this
code I am going to select the file here
but I also going to select the file with
the lines 25 32 that the one that I have
and I'm going to ask to refactor this to
a new function compilot is going to
refactor the full code and it's going to
show me how I can change the code I can
generate here a function to generate the
chat request and also how I can use this
new code here and I can ask Visual
Studio related question like an example
how about if I want to change to a dark
theme I am working in Life theme right
now now let's switch to a to a dark
theme Cy is sinking and after a couple
of seconds I am going to have the step
by step necessary to change my ID to a
dark theme and there it is I can use the
askb command to do amazing SC where I'm
working with giab compilot chat The Full
Experience of using GitHub copilot in
Visual Studio 2022 is amazing I really
really like it if you want to learn more
if you want to go deep in any of the
topics that are available here please
take a look look at these
resources
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