Level Up with GitHub Copilot
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
How an AI pair programmer can increase your productivity
Course outcomes
- Understand how GitHub Copilot works under the hood
- Learn how GitHub Copilot can be helpful for you as a programmer
- Explore the features available to you within GitHub Copilot
Course description
GitHub Copilot, a cloud-based artificial intelligence tool developed by GitHub and OpenAI, has helped increase productivity for millions of developers by introducing them to AI assistance. The tool automatically fills out entire blocks of code, but knowing exactly how to leverage it requires skill.
Join GitHub expert Rizel Scarlett to discover the programming benefits of Copilot and use the tool effectively to level up your software engineering career. You’ll understand the do’s and don’ts for maximizing Copilot’s effectiveness, learn how to write a regular expression or interact with an API for the first time without leaving your editor, and see how Copilot’s other features can improve your productivity.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Incorporate GitHub Copilot into your daily software engineering workflow
- Pair GitHub Copilot with other products within the GitHub Ecosystem such as GitHub Actions and GitHub Codespaces
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a programmer who’s curious about using an AI pair programmer to boost your productivity.
- You want to learn how you can gain the most value from GitHub Copilot.
Prerequisites
- The ability to navigate a code editor and write code
- A GitHub account
- A computer with GitHub Copilot (either free trial or paid)
- An editor compatible with GitHub Copilot (Visual Studio Code, JetBrains, Neovim, or Visual Studio)
- Read “Research: Quantifying GitHub Copilot’s Impact on Developer Productivity and Happiness” (article)
- Read: “8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with GitHub Copilot” (article)
Recommended preparation:
- Connect with course repository
Recommended follow-up:
- Explore Building with the GitHub EcoSystem: Copilot, CodeSpaces, and GitHub Actions (on-demand course)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Overview (5 minutes)
- Presentation: What is GitHub Copilot?
Under the hood (10 minutes)
- Presentation: How GitHub Copilot leverages OpenAI Codex to suggest lines of code
- Hands-on exercise: Experiment with Open AI Codex’s API playground
Use cases (15 minutes)
- Group discussion: Share your software engineering goals
- Presentation: Applying Copilot features to write better documentation, produce cleaner code, and enhance productivity
Understanding context (10 minutes)
- Demonstration: Gaining context from code and comments to generate creative coding with p5.js
- Q&A
Your turn (35 minutes)
- Presentation: Installing for individuals versus for teams
- Hands-on exercise: Use GitHub Copilot to interact with an API for the first time
- Break
Beyond your editor (20 minutes)
- Presentation: Using GitHub Copilot to explain your code; using GitHub Copilot with your voice; other experiments developed by the GitHub Next team
Pair Copilot with your GitHub ecosystem (10 minutes)
- Demonstration: Pairing GitHub Copilot with GitHub Codespaces and GitHub Actions
Wrap-up and Q&A (15 minutes)
Your Instructor
Rizel Scarlett
Rizel is a Developer Advocate at GitHub. In 2018, she helped found and lead programming for G{Code} House, an organization aimed at teaching women of color and non-binary people of color to code. Rizel believes in leveraging vulnerability, honesty, and kindness as means to educate early-career developers. In her free time, Rizel enjoys watching anime and annoying her husband.