Get Started with the Future of Coding: GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an innovative AI-powered coding assistant that acts as an AI pair programmer, offering autocomplete suggestions to speed up the coding process. It's designed to enhance productivity by providing coding suggestions in real time, which can be especially helpful for tasks like writing regular expressions, unit testing, and working with SQL. The tool also supports direct technical queries within the code comments, providing explanations for concepts like SOLID principles in object-oriented programming. Users can sign up for GitHub Copilot through a GitHub account and install the extension in Visual Studio Code. It's a valuable resource for developers, simplifying complex tasks and offering multiple solutions to coding problems. Additionally, it's beneficial for students through the Student Developer Pack. GitHub Copilot represents the future of coding assistance, with AI making the process more efficient and accessible.

Takeaways

• 🤖 GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered pair programmer that provides autocomplete suggestions to assist in coding more efficiently.
• 🚀 To get started with Copilot, you need a GitHub account and the Copilot extension installed in Visual Studio Code.
• 💡 Copilot can answer technical questions directly within the code editor, such as explaining the SOLID principles in object-oriented programming.
• 🔍 It can also generate and test regular expressions, making complex pattern matching more accessible.
• ⚙️ Copilot speeds up HTML coding by predicting and suggesting tags and attributes, even with inline styling and stylesheet references.
• 📝 In Python, Copilot can parse lists, ignore comments, and apply specific date formats as per user instructions.
• 🔧 It assists in unit testing by generating test conditions and using assertions to validate code functionality.
• 🧩 Copilot can help with SQL syntax, making it easier to write queries and understand database interactions.
• 🔀 Users have the option to choose from multiple solutions provided by Copilot, allowing for flexibility in coding approaches.
• 📈 Copilot's ability to generate code and solve problems can significantly save time, especially in large applications with complex requirements.
• 📊 Pricing information and a free trial are available for GitHub Copilot, with special offers for students through the Student Developer Pack.
• 🔬 The future of coding with AI, as represented by GitHub Copilot, holds great promise for enhancing developer productivity and learning.

Q & A

What is GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that offers autocomplete-style suggestions as you code, aiming to help you code quickly and efficiently.

How does GitHub Copilot assist with coding?

GitHub Copilot assists by providing autocomplete suggestions as you type, which can speed up the coding process and offer solutions to technical questions directly within the code editor.

What is the prerequisite for using GitHub Copilot?

To use GitHub Copilot, you need to have a GitHub account. If you don't have one, you can sign up using your email on GitHub's website.

How do you install GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code?

You install GitHub Copilot by searching for 'Copilot' in the Visual Studio Code extension marketplace and installing the extension.

What happens after installing the GitHub Copilot extension?

After installing the extension, GitHub Copilot will prompt you to sign in to your GitHub account. Once signed in, you'll start receiving predictions and suggestions as you code.

How can GitHub Copilot help with technical interviews?

You can ask GitHub Copilot technical questions directly in the form of comments with a 'Q' followed by a colon. It will provide suggestions, which you can accept by hitting the tab key.

What is an example of how GitHub Copilot speeds up HTML coding?

GitHub Copilot can predict and suggest the next HTML tags you might want to use as you type, such as DOCTYPE, HEAD, TITLE, and BODY tags, making the coding process faster.

How does GitHub Copilot assist with styling in HTML?

GitHub Copilot can suggest how to add inline styling to HTML elements and can help reference external stylesheets, adjusting the code accordingly.

What is the role of GitHub Copilot in regex pattern creation?

GitHub Copilot can assist by writing specific regex patterns for you when you request it, making it easier to interpret and use regex in your code.

How can GitHub Copilot help with unit testing?

GitHub Copilot can create unit tests for your functions, suggesting test conditions and using assert statements to check each condition, which can save time when dealing with complex applications.

What assistance does GitHub Copilot provide with SQL syntax?

GitHub Copilot can help with SQL syntax by suggesting queries and assisting in writing functions that interact with databases, making it easier for developers who find SQL syntax challenging to remember.

How can GitHub Copilot help with parsing complex data structures?

GitHub Copilot can parse complex data structures by following specific instructions provided in comments, such as parsing a list of expenses with conditions and formatting dates according to a specified format.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Introduction to GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered pair programmer that assists in coding by providing autocomplete-style suggestions. It aims to increase coding speed by offering relevant code predictions as developers type. To use Copilot, one must have a GitHub account and install the extension in Visual Studio Code. Once set up, it will start giving coding predictions, which are shaded in gray. Copilot can also answer technical questions directly in the code comments, providing explanations for concepts like SOLID principles in object-oriented programming. Additionally, it can help with HTML coding by suggesting tags and styles, including the use of external stylesheets and frameworks like Bootstrap.

05:02

🔍 Regex and Unit Testing with Copilot

Copilot simplifies complex tasks like working with regular expressions (regex) by generating specific patterns when asked. It can also assist in unit testing by creating test conditions for functions. For instance, it can generate test cases for a calculator function, using assertions to verify the correctness of operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. This feature can save significant time when dealing with large applications and numerous test conditions.

10:03

📝 SQL and Advanced Copilot Features

For developers who find SQL syntax challenging to remember, Copilot offers assistance by generating SQL code snippets. It can create functions to interact with databases, such as generating category summaries from a database. Copilot provides multiple suggestions for coding tasks, and users can choose the most suitable solution. It also allows for multi-condition prompts, enabling it to generate more complex functions based on specific requirements. For example, it can parse a list of expenses with conditions specified in the comments, such as ignoring lines starting with a hash symbol and parsing dates with a specific datetime format. Lastly, Copilot offers pricing plans and a free trial, with special options available for students through the GitHub Student Developer Pack.

Keywords

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code assistant that works within the Visual Studio Code environment. It acts as an 'AI pair programmer' by offering autocomplete-style suggestions as developers write code. This tool is designed to help programmers code more quickly and efficiently by predicting and suggesting the next lines of code based on the current context, which can significantly speed up the coding process.

AI pair programmer

The term 'AI pair programmer' refers to the concept of an artificial intelligence working alongside a human programmer to assist with the coding process. In the context of the video, GitHub Copilot embodies this role by providing code suggestions, which can lead to faster and more efficient coding sessions, similar to the benefits of human pair programming.

Autocomplete style suggestions

Autocomplete style suggestions are a feature provided by GitHub Copilot where it predicts and offers the next likely lines of code or code structures as a programmer types. This feature is akin to the autocomplete functionality found in many text editors and IDEs but is specifically tailored for coding, making it highly relevant for enhancing productivity in software development.

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a popular, open-source code editor developed by Microsoft. It is the platform where GitHub Copilot is integrated as an extension. VS Code is known for its rich ecosystem of extensions, which allow for a highly customizable coding experience. In the video, it is where the user interacts with GitHub Copilot to receive coding assistance.

Technical questions

The video demonstrates that GitHub Copilot can be used to ask and receive answers to technical questions directly within the code editor. For instance, when studying for a technical interview, a user can ask what 'SOLID' stands for in object-oriented programming, and Copilot provides the answer, showcasing its utility in learning and understanding programming concepts.

HTML

HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the standard markup language used to create web pages. In the video, GitHub Copilot is shown to assist in writing HTML by suggesting tags and attributes as the user types, making the process of creating a structured web document quicker and easier.

Bootstrap

Bootstrap is a popular front-end framework for developing responsive and mobile-first websites. The video illustrates how GitHub Copilot can help in adding Bootstrap to an HTML document by suggesting the correct classes and elements to use, which aids in styling the web page efficiently.

Regex

Regex, short for regular expressions, is a powerful tool used in programming for matching patterns in strings. The video demonstrates that GitHub Copilot can assist with regex by writing specific patterns when prompted, making it easier for developers to work with this complex aspect of programming.

Unit testing

Unit testing is a method of testing individual units or components of a software to ensure they function correctly. In the context of the video, GitHub Copilot is shown to help create unit tests for a calculator function, suggesting test conditions and assertions, which can save developers time and improve code quality.

SQL

SQL, or Structured Query Language, is used for managing and manipulating relational databases. The video shows how GitHub Copilot can assist in writing SQL queries by suggesting the correct syntax and structure for database operations, which can be particularly helpful for developers less familiar with SQL.

Pricing and Student Developer Pack

The video mentions the pricing for GitHub Copilot and highlights the availability of a Student Developer Pack, which is a program that provides students with free access to a variety of developer tools, including GitHub Copilot. This is significant as it makes advanced coding assistance more accessible to the next generation of programmers.

Highlights

GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that offers autocomplete style suggestions as you code, aiming to help you code quickly.

To get started with Copilot, you need a GitHub account and the Copilot extension installed in Visual Studio Code.

Copilot provides predictions as you start coding, such as suggesting the next logical tag or element in your code.

You can ask Copilot technical questions directly in the form of comments, and it will provide answers in gray.

Copilot can help with writing regular expressions by suggesting patterns for you to use.

It can assist in unit testing by generating test conditions and assertions for functions.

Copilot can help with SQL syntax by suggesting queries and handling database operations.

You can choose from multiple solutions offered by Copilot, and it provides options to navigate to the next solution if the current one is not satisfactory.

Copilot can parse and process data based on specific conditions you provide in comments, such as parsing a list of expenses with certain filters.

It can speed up the coding experience by quickly generating code snippets and handling repetitive tasks.

Copilot can help with styling HTML using frameworks like Bootstrap by suggesting class names and elements.

You can use Copilot to reference external style sheets and integrate them into your HTML code.

Copilot can assist in creating and testing functions, including reversing a string or performing calculations.

It can save you time by automating the generation of unit tests for larger applications with many conditions to test.

Copilot's suggestions can be accepted one word at a time or as a whole, giving you flexibility in how you want to use its assistance.

For pricing and a free trial, you can visit the GitHub Copilot website and compare plans or sign up for the student developer pack if eligible.

The presenter plans to release more videos on Copilot, showcasing its capabilities and how to make the most of its features.

GitHub Copilot represents the future of coding, integrating AI to assist developers in a practical and impactful way.