GitHub Copilot just got exponentially smarter

GitHub Copilot has recently become significantly more intelligent, allowing for more comprehensive assistance in coding projects. The tool now features a workspace command that enables it to search through an entire project, providing more holistic and accurate responses. This advancement is facilitated by the integration of GPT 4, which has improved the system's ability to understand and interact with users' code. The summary also covers the introduction of a new VS Code Speech extension, which supports speech-to-text functionality, allowing developers to communicate with Copilot through voice commands. Additionally, Copilot can now automatically generate commit messages and pull request descriptions, further streamlining the development process. These enhancements aim to make coding more efficient and less laborious.

Takeaways

• 🚀 GitHub Copilot has become significantly smarter with new updates, enhancing its capabilities to assist developers.
• 🔍 A new workspace command allows Copilot to search through the entire project on the local machine, providing more comprehensive answers.
• 🔗 The limitation of message size, known as tokens, has been removed, enabling Copilot to better understand the context of large projects.
• 📚 GitHub Copilot is now powered by GPT-4, which offers more advanced and holistic responses.
• 🔄 Iteration is crucial when working with Copilot, allowing for real-time adjustments and improvements to code.
• 🎨 Copilot can anticipate user needs, such as automatically generating a Facebook URL or suggesting CSS styles based on known logos.
• 📝 Copilot can provide context-aware assistance, including specific instructions from a README file when requested.
• 💬 A new VS Code Speech extension enables developers to interact with Copilot using voice commands, streamlining the development process.
• 🤖 Copilot can automatically generate commit messages and pull request descriptions, saving developers time and effort.
• 🛠️ Developers can now use Copilot to add new features, such as a Facebook login button, with minimal manual coding required.
• 🔧 Copilot offers real-time solutions to errors, providing suggestions to resolve issues based on the last terminal command and output.

Q & A

What recent improvements have been made to GitHub Copilot?

GitHub Copilot has become exponentially smarter with the addition of a workspace command that allows it to search the entire project locally, providing more holistic and accurate answers. Additionally, it is now powered by GPT 4, enhancing its capabilities.

Why was GitHub Copilot previously limited in understanding the full scope of a project?

Due to the limitations on the size of messages (tokens) that can be sent to the language model, it was impossible to upload the entire project and source code to the model. This resulted in GitHub Copilot having only a partial view of the user's project.

How does the new workspace command in GitHub Copilot help developers?

The workspace command enables GitHub Copilot to search through the entire project on the local machine, providing developers with a comprehensive view of where functionalities like logins are implemented.

What is the significance of GitHub Copilot being handled by GPT 4?

The transition to GPT 4 means that GitHub Copilot can now provide more nuanced and context-aware assistance, including understanding the project as a whole and offering more precise and relevant suggestions.

How does GitHub Copilot assist in adding a new login button for Facebook?

GitHub Copilot provides code suggestions for adding a new login button and can even guide the user to the specific file where the login functionality is implemented. It also assists in modifying the code to suit different platforms like Facebook.

What is the role of iteration in using GitHub Copilot effectively?

Iteration is key to success with Copilot as it allows developers to refine and improve their code through continuous feedback and suggestions from the AI.

How does GitHub Copilot help in anticipating the next steps in coding?

Copilot has the ability to predict what the user might do next, such as automatically generating code for a Facebook URL or suggesting a color for a button based on the platform's branding.

What is the VS Code Speech extension and how does it interact with GitHub Copilot?

The VS Code Speech extension provides speech-to-text support in VS Code, allowing developers to communicate with GitHub Copilot using voice commands, making the interaction more natural and efficient.

How does GitHub Copilot assist in writing commit messages and pull request descriptions?

Copilot, acting as a pair programmer, can automatically generate commit messages and pull request descriptions based on the context and changes made during the coding session.

What does the new Copilot icon in VS Code signify?

The new Copilot icon, represented by sparkles, indicates the presence of Copilot's assistance throughout various parts of the VS Code interface, making it easier for users to access its features.

How does GitHub Copilot help in resolving errors during the build process?

Copilot can analyze the last terminal command and output to provide suggestions for resolving errors, such as recommending a different version of Node to use.

What are the benefits of using the 'pound file' command in GitHub Copilot?

The 'pound file' command allows users to specify context for their chat, including specific files, which helps Copilot provide more accurate and relevant information related to the user's query.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Enhanced GitHub Copilot Features

The video introduces recent updates to VS Code and GitHub Copilot, highlighting how Copilot has become significantly more intelligent. The host demonstrates how to use Copilot to locate a Facebook login implementation within a complex project. It explains the limitations of large language models due to token size constraints, which prevent the entire project from being analyzed at once. The new workspace command is introduced, allowing Copilot to search the entire project on the local machine. The host also discusses the integration of GPT 4, which provides more holistic and accurate responses. The video showcases how Copilot can generate code for a Facebook login button, anticipate user needs, and even style elements like buttons. It also covers how to use Copilot for troubleshooting errors and the introduction of the VS Code Speech extension for hands-free coding assistance.

05:02

📝 Streamlining Development with AI Assistance

This paragraph focuses on the practical application of GitHub Copilot in the development process. It shows how Copilot can create and apply a new CSS class to HTML elements, such as login buttons, with voice commands through the VS Code Speech extension. The video also highlights how Copilot can streamline the process of writing commit messages and pull request descriptions, as it understands the context and the work done by the developer. The host emphasizes the current availability of these features and encourages viewers to check out the links in the video description to start utilizing Copilot for their coding projects.

Keywords

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code assistant developed by GitHub and OpenAI. It is designed to enhance developers' productivity by providing code suggestions, writing tests, and debugging code. In the context of the video, it has become 'exponentially smarter,' meaning it has received significant updates to improve its functionality and understanding of codebases.

VS Code

VS Code stands for Visual Studio Code, which is a popular source code editor developed by Microsoft. It includes support for debugging, Git control, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, and code refactoring. The video discusses updates related to VS Code in conjunction with GitHub Copilot.

Language Models

Language models are AI systems that understand and predict human language. They are used in various applications, including natural language processing and generation. In the video, the limitations of large language models like ChatGPT are discussed, particularly in relation to the size of messages (tokens) that can be processed.

Tokens

In the context of AI and programming, tokens refer to the units of input that a language model can process at one time. The video mentions that due to token limitations, an AI like GitHub Copilot cannot process an entire project's source code at once, which is why updates have been made to overcome this.

Workspace Command

The workspace command is a new feature in GitHub Copilot that allows it to search an entire project on the user's local machine. This provides a more holistic understanding of the project, enabling Copilot to give more accurate and comprehensive answers regarding the codebase.

GPT 4

GPT 4 refers to the fourth generation of the GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) model, which is a type of language model. The video mentions that all chat and GitHub Copilot interactions are now handled by GPT 4, indicating an advancement in the AI's capabilities.

Inline Chat

The inline chat is a feature within VS Code that allows developers to interact directly with GitHub Copilot without leaving the editor. It enables quick and efficient communication with the AI for code suggestions, debugging, and other development tasks.

Iterative Development

Iterative development is a process where the development cycle is repeated, incrementally adding features and refining the existing code. The video emphasizes the importance of iteration when working with AI like Copilot, as it allows for continuous improvement and refinement of the code.

CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, which is a stylesheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in HTML or XML. In the video, the AI's ability to suggest styles for a Facebook button, including knowing the logo's color, demonstrates its advanced understanding of web development.

README

A README file is a text file that provides information about other files in a directory or project. It is usually the first thing a user or developer sees when they encounter a project. The video shows how Copilot can assist with understanding the contents of a README file and provide instructions based on it.

VS Code Speech

VS Code Speech is a new extension for Visual Studio Code that provides speech-to-text support. This allows developers to interact with GitHub Copilot using voice commands, which can be more efficient and less laborious than typing, especially for repetitive tasks.

Commit Messages

Commit messages are short descriptions that accompany a commit in version control systems like Git. They are crucial for documenting changes made to the code. The video demonstrates how GitHub Copilot can automatically generate commit messages, making the process more efficient for developers.

Pull Requests (PR)

A pull request is a feature in Git that allows developers to propose changes to a project's repository. It initiates a discussion about the changes and can be reviewed by other developers before being merged. The video mentions how Copilot can assist in writing descriptions for pull requests, further streamlining the development process.

Highlights

GitHub Copilot has become exponentially smarter with recent updates.

A new workspace command allows Copilot to search the entire project on the local machine.

Copilot now provides holistic answers by understanding the entire project context.

GitHub Copilot is now powered by GPT 4, enhancing its capabilities.

The quick chat feature enables direct interaction with Copilot without using the sidebar.

Copilot can anticipate user needs, such as automatically generating a Facebook URL.

Users can request new styles for elements, and Copilot knows the specific brand colors.

Copilot can provide instructions on how to run an application by understanding the context.

An error encountered during the build process is addressed with suggestions by Copilot.

The VS Code Speech extension allows developers to interact with Copilot using voice commands.

Copilot can automatically generate commit messages based on the work done.

Pull request descriptions can also be written by Copilot, saving developers time.

The new features of Copilot are available for use immediately.

Copilot's limitations have been addressed by allowing it to process larger amounts of data.

The modal login component can be directly accessed and modified through Copilot's guidance.

Iterative development with Copilot is emphasized for successful outcomes.

Copilot's inline chat feature allows for real-time code adjustments and feedback.

The new Copilot icon in VS Code indicates the availability of its advanced features.

Developers can now use speech to text support for a more natural interaction with Copilot.