Intro to GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio

Summary

The 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

00:00

🚀 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.

05:00

🤖 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.

10:00

💬 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.

15:01

🎨 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.

Keywords

💡GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code assistant that helps developers write code more efficiently by providing suggestions and autocomplete options based on the context of the code being written. In the video, it is integrated with Visual Studio 2022, allowing users to enhance their coding experience with intelligent suggestions and code completions.

💡Visual Studio 2022

Visual Studio 2022 is the latest version of the popular integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It provides a comprehensive set of tools for developers to create, debug, and deploy software. The video emphasizes its compatibility with GitHub Copilot, showcasing how the two work together to streamline the development process.

💡Installation Process

The installation process refers to the steps taken to add a new software, feature, or tool to an existing system. In the context of the video, it details the straightforward steps required to install GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat extensions within Visual Studio 2022, emphasizing the ease of setup for developers.

💡Code Suggestions

Code suggestions are proposed pieces of code generated by AI that can help developers complete tasks more quickly or solve coding problems. In the video, GitHub Copilot provides code suggestions as the user types, which can be accepted to improve efficiency and learn new coding patterns.

💡Tab Key

In the context of coding and using an IDE like Visual Studio 2022, the Tab key is often used to navigate through the code or to accept suggestions made by AI tools like GitHub Copilot. The video highlights the use of the Tab key to quickly incorporate suggested code into the developer's work.

💡Copilot Chat

Copilot Chat is a feature that extends the functionality of GitHub Copilot, allowing developers to interact with an AI chatbot for various purposes, such as asking for code explanations, help with tasks, or even generating unit tests. It is designed to provide a more conversational interface for developers to engage with AI assistance.

💡Slash Commands

Slash commands are special shortcuts that can be used within the IDE to invoke specific functions or actions provided by an AI tool like GitHub Copilot. These commands typically start with a forward slash (/) and are followed by a command name or a question, allowing developers to interact with the AI in a more direct and efficient manner.

💡Code Optimization

Code optimization refers to the process of improving the efficiency of existing code without changing its functionality. In the context of the video, GitHub Copilot can analyze code and suggest optimizations that make the code cleaner, more efficient, or more maintainable.

💡Documentation

Documentation in software development is the practice of creating and maintaining written descriptions of code, its functionality, and its usage. The video shows how developers can use GitHub Copilot's slash commands to automatically generate documentation for their code, saving time and ensuring clarity.

💡Code Refactoring

Code refactoring is the process of restructuring existing computer code without changing its external behavior. Its purpose is to improve the nonfunctional attributes of the software, making it easier to understand, maintain, and extend. In the video, GitHub Copilot is shown to assist with refactoring by suggesting changes to improve code structure and readability.

💡Context-Aware AI Support

Context-aware AI support refers to artificial intelligence that adapts its assistance based on the specific context or environment in which it is being used. In the video, this concept is exemplified by GitHub Copilot Chat, which provides tailored assistance and insights relevant to the user's current coding task or the specific code file being examined.

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