Complete Guide to GitHub Copilot for Developers by Microsoft Press

4h 58mIntermediate2024-12-02

Authors

Microsoft Press

Microsoft

Tim Warner

Technical Trainer and Content Developer

Course details

This course is designed for developers of all levels who want to optimize their coding workflow and leverage the cutting-edge capabilities of Copilot. GitHub Copilot's significance lies in its ability to understand context and generate code suggestions, making it an indispensable tool for modern developers.

Grasp the fundamentals of GitHub Copilot and learn how to implement advanced coding techniques through hands-on exercises and real-world examples. This course equips you with the skills to maximize your productivity, improve code quality, and tackle complex programming challenges with the aid of Copilot. By the end of the course, you should be better prepared to integrate Copilot seamlessly into your development workflow and take your coding skills to new heights.

Learning objectives
Set up and configure GitHub Copilot in your preferred development environment, such as VS Code and GitHub Codespaces.
Utilize Copilot intelligent code completion capabilities to write code faster and more efficiently.
Use comments and descriptions to guide Copilot in generating code snippets, functions, and even entire classes.
Harness Copilot suggestions for refactoring code and identifying potential bugs or errors.
Employ Copilot capabilities in web development, data analysis, and DevOps workflows.
Fine-tune Copilot settings and preferences to align with your coding style and project requirements.
Integrate Copilot into a team development environment and establish best practices for collaborative coding.

Skills covered

Github CopilotVersion ControlGitHubSoftware Development ToolsSoftware DevelopmentOne-Off

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Complete guide to GitHub Copilot for developers - Introduction

1. Learning GitHub Copilot Essentials

02 - Learning objectives
03 - Learn what GitHub Copilot is
04 - Understand how AI assists in coding
05 - Grasp the principles of Responsible AI
06 - Set up GitHub Copilot in your code editor
07 - Discover GitHub Copilot for non-coders
08 - Explore GitHub Copilot and accessibility
09 - Hands-on lab - Configure Copilot in your development environment

2. Mastering Code Completion with GitHub Copilot

10 - Learning objectives
11 - Learn intelligent code completion with GitHub Copilot's Completion Extension
12 - Customize completion settings
13 - Apply best practices for code completion
14 - Understand GitHub Copilot s limitations
15 - Troubleshoot common issues
16 - Hands-on lab - Complete complex code snippets in GitHub Codespaces

3. Generating Code with GitHub Copilot

17 - Learning objectives
18 - Generate code from comments
19 - Create function stubs
20 - Generate test cases
21 - Emphasize secure coding principles
22 - Hands-on lab - Generate a basic application in Visual Studio

4. Refactoring and Debugging with GitHub Copilot

23 - Learning objectives
24 - Integrate with version control systems
25 - Refactor code using GitHub Copilot suggestions
26 - Optimize performance
27 - Debug code with GitHub Copilot assistance
28 - Integrate GitHub Copilot with your IDE's debugging tools
29 - Troubleshoot using the GitHub Copilot log streams
30 - Hands-on lab - Refactor and debug a sample project

5. Learning GitHub Copilot for Web Development

31 - Learning objectives
32 - Generate HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with GitHub Copilot
33 - Design CSS with GitHub Copilot
34 - Build web components and templates
35 - Use Copilot with front end frameworks like React or Angular
36 - Create accessible web content
37 - Develop accessibility-focused web content
38 - Hands-on lab - Build a web application with GitHub Copilot

6. Using GitHub Copilot for Data Analysis and Visualization

39 - Learning objectives
40 - Generate code for data manipulation
41 - Clean and preprocess data with GitHub Copilot
42 - Create data visualizations with GitHub Copilot
43 - Include data privacy and compliance in your development
44 - Apply Copilot with popular data analysis libraries
45 - Tell data stories with GitHub Copilot
46 - Hands-on lab - Analyze and visualize data using GitHub Copilot

7. Using GitHub Copilot in DevOps and Automation

47 - Learning objectives
48 - Implement CI CD processes with GitHub Copilot
49 - Generate configuration files
50 - Automate repetitive tasks with GitHub Copilot
51 - Manage cloud infrastructure with GitHub Copilot
52 - Apply infrastructure as code principles with GitHub Copilot
53 - Hands-on lab - Automate a DevOps workflow with GitHub Copilot

8. Leveraging Prompt Engineering Techniques

54 - Learning objectives
55 - Understand the importance of generative AI prompting
56 - Apply ethical prompting techniques
57 - Optimize your prompts for better responses
58 - Handle errors in prompts
59 - Sharpen your prompts for improved outcomes
60 - Use prompt libraries and templates
61 - Train GitHub Copilot to understand your work style
62 - Hands-on lab - Use GitHub Copilot s chat extension for unit test generation

9. Integrating GitHub Copilot in GitHub Enterprise Cloud

63 - Learning objectives
64 - Use GitHub Copilot in pull requests for code review
65 - Collaborate on code with GitHub Copilot
66 - Leverage GitHub Copilot in GitHub Codespaces
67 - Work collaboratively in GitHub repositories with GitHub Copilot
68 - Hands-on lab - Integrate GitHub Copilot into GitHub workflows

10. Learning GitHub Copilot in the CLI

69 - Learning objectives
70 - Set up GitHub Copilot in the CLI
71 - Improve efficiency with GitHub Copilot in the CLI
72 - Generate shell scripts with GitHub Copilot
73 - Perform system administration tasks with GitHub Copilot
74 - Debug errors in Copilot within the CLI
75 - Follow security best practices for Copilot in CLI commands
76 - Configure GitHub Copilot with CLI aliases
77 - Hands-on lab - Build powerful Git commands with GitHub Copilot in the CLI

11. Introducing the Capstone Project

78 - Learning objectives
79 - Introduce the capstone project
80 - Foster team collaboration with GitHub Copilot
81 - Design a full-stack application
82 - Implement the application using GitHub Copilot
83 - Deploy and present the GitHub Copilot-powered application
84 - Hands-on lab - Build a comprehensive application with GitHub Copilot

12. Summary and Next Steps

85 - Learning objectives
86 - Recap key lessons
87 - Compare GitHub Copilot with other vendors solutions
88 - Explore GitHub Copilot community resources
89 - Investigate AI development trends
90 - Explore the future of AI-assisted development
91 - Stay updated on GitHub Copilot's latest features

Conclusion

92 - Complete guide to GitHub Copilot for developers - Summary