Accelerate App Development by Using GitHub Copilot 

Duration: 1 Day / 8 hrs

Introduction 

This one-day, hands-on workshop shows developers how to use GitHub Copilot effectively to build, document, test, and improve applications faster. The focus is on real-world usage—what Copilot does well, where it needs human judgment, and how to use it responsibly in daily development work. 

Objectives 

By the end of this course, participants will be able to: 

  • Use GitHub Copilot across coding, documentation, testing, and refactoring 
  • Write better prompts and interact effectively with Copilot Chat 
  • Apply best practices to ensure code quality, performance, and security 
  • Integrate Copilot into their existing development workflow 

Key Takeaways 

Participants will leave with: 

  • Practical experience using Copilot end-to-end in app development 
  • Faster and more confident AI-assisted coding skills 
  • The ability to review, refine, and trust (but verify) AI-generated code 

Introduction to GitHub Copilot 

  • Overview of GitHub, OpenAI, and Microsoft AI tools 
  • Benefits and limitations of GitHub Copilot 
  • Exercise: Install GitHub Copilot extensions in Visual Studio Code 
  • Exercise: Explore autocomplete and AI assistance features 

Documentation with Copilot 

  • Use “document” and “explain” features in Copilot Chat 
  • Exercise: Generate code explanations 
  • Exercise: Create project and inline documentation 
  • Challenge: Complete the “code documentation” task 
  • Review: Analyze the solution 

Code Development with Copilot 

  • Explore Copilot’s code generation capabilities 
  • Best practices for using Copilot 
  • Exercise: Generate code using line completions and Inline Chat 
  • Challenge: Create new code and solve logic problems 
  • Exercise: Convert code between programming languages 
  • Review: Evaluate solutions 

Unit Testing with Copilot 

  • Understand Copilot’s unit testing support 
  • Exercise: Generate unit tests using Copilot Chat 
  • Exercise: Create condition-specific tests 
  • Challenge: Complete the “create unit tests” task 
  • Review: Assess the solution 

Code Improvement with Copilot 

  • Improve code quality, reliability, performance, and security 
  • Exercise: Use Copilot Chat for code enhancements 
  • Challenge: Complete the “app improvement” task 
  • Review: Evaluate the solution