Working as a software developer in today’s world without the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an unnecessary limitation. This way we are purposefully refusing to lighten our daily activities and instead impose significant restrictions on the tools at our disposal.
This situation mirrors the pre-Google era when developers relied solely on books and documentation for references. You can be a software developer without using Google, but the odds of that happening are very slim.
Just as Google has become indispensable, tools like GitHub Copilot are becoming essential, if they haven’t already.
Introduction
With the advancement of technology there comes a time that technology itself helps in the creation process. There are many powerful tools nowadays, for example, that can assist developers in their day-to-day tasks of making software.
GitHub Copilot is one of those tools that utilizes AI. That doesn’t mean, however, that it can think on its own and it can do a software engineer’s job for them. At the end of the day, it remains a tool that has to be used properly by someone who understands how it works.
In order to understand how GitHub Copilot can be useful for a developer, we must first learn its capabilities and its costs. Familiarizing ourselves with this tool can significantly enhance our productivity and efficiency.
What is GitHub Copilot?
GitHub Copilot is an artificial intelligence-powered code completion tool that generates code suggestions based on context and patterns. The tool assists developers quite a bit by allowing them to write code faster and more cleanly. It leverages machine learning and public GitHub repositories to train its model.
Having access to a large base of code from different projects allows Copilot to provide context-aware suggestions that support a wide range of programming languages and frameworks.
Furthermore, the assistant offers help when writing in unfamiliar languages by providing inline suggestions and a chat feature. The GitHub Copilot chat feature itself can be used for asking questions and getting code recommendations in various scenarios.
Additionally, Copilot can create commit messages and give references and documentation for the code that the developer is writing. This is a feature that can significantly speed up the process and allow programmers to easily find relevant information for their current project.
The creators of GitHub Copilot are constantly integrating it with other software like Office 365. Even so, the code suggested by the assistant has to be carefully reviewed and not simply used without expert human supervision.
To see how the developers work together with the software, we must see what other benefits the Copilot can offer.
Benefits of GitHub Copilot
There are many different advantages that such software can bring to the workflow of a developer.
One of the primary ones is that GitHub Copilot expedites the coding process and enhances its efficiency. The tool provides consistent, well-formed suggestions that help maintain high code quality. These suggestions are so good because it draw its information from a large database of source code of successful projects. This allows developers to focus on more complex tasks rather than routine coding, reducing errors and increasing productivity.
Additionally, Copilot assists in learning new languages and technologies by offering relevant examples and guidance. It promotes better coding practices through suggestions based on best practices from public repositories, pointing developers towards a path with more maintainable code.
These features make Copilot an invaluable asset for improving workflow and output in software development..
How GitHub Copilot works
When considering all the different benefits of such software, we must also understand how it works.
Copilot uses machine learning algorithms that have been trained on a vast number of public GitHub repositories to generate code suggestions.
The assistant learns from the code you write to offer context-aware recommendations. After this, the recommendations can be particularly helpful when working with a new or unfamiliar programming language since it can show you how some of the fundamentals of the new framework work.
Limitations and considerations
Despite all the powerful features GitHub Copilot offers, it has its limits just like every software.
The suggestions it provides are not always perfect and may require adjustments. Enterprise companies might have concerns about code security when using Copilot.
Considering such potential risks from the assistant it becomes essential to review and validate the generated code before implementation.
Integration and licensing options
Another important aspect of GitHub Copilot to take into consideration is its capability to integrate with other software.
The assistant is made to function without a problem with Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) like:
- Visual Studio;
- IntelliJ IDEA;
- PyCharm;
- WebStorm.
The assistant further supports training on your own code thanks to the public GitHub repository license. For those needing more advanced features, paid licenses are available for personal and client use, providing flexibility for various user needs.
Future developments
The developers of GitHub Copilot are not finished with allowing for even more integration options.
The future plans for the tool include integration with Office 365 and other Microsoft products. There is also the GitHub Copilot Workspace, which is a new feature that enables web-based code browsing and collaboration. It allows developers to work together on code by exploring and editing it. This feature is especially useful for remote teams, as it facilitates real-time collaboration and easy access to projects without the need for local development setups.
Best practices for using GitHub Copilot
There are a couple of practices to fully utilize all the advantages GitHub Copilot provides:
- You should ask specific and well-defined questions to get the most accurate and helpful suggestions from GitHub Copilot. The precision ensures that Copilot understands the context and provides relevant code snippets.
- Always validate the suggestions and review the generated code to ensure it meets your project’s requirements and coding standards. This step is crucial for maintaining a code’s quality and security.
- Copilot can be leveraged as a learning tool for new languages and technologies. The assistant can offer valuable guidance and examples, helping you quickly adapt to unfamiliar programming environments.
Taking full advantage of these tips on using Copilot can elevate it even more into an indispensable tool for any developer.
Conclusion
As AI finds more and more use in different areas of the software development lifecycle, denying it can be counterproductive.
When it comes to GitHub Copilot, we see how it can significantly improve a developers’ productivity by providing code suggestions and assistance in various coding tasks. However, while it is a valuable resource, it should not be solely relied upon. The suggestions must always be reviewed and validated by human experts to ensure their accuracy.
The tool’s continuous enhancements and integration with other platforms make it increasingly versatile and useful not only for different developers but also for a variety of projects.
Developers working with an unfamiliar programming language or technology can particularly benefit from Copilot, as it offers valuable guidance and accelerates learning. The introduction of workspace tools for code browsing and exploration further expands Copilot’s capabilities, enhancing collaboration among developer teams.
Combining Copilot with code reviews and peer collaboration can be the way to move forward without having to take too many risks in the process.
Harry is a GMP Validated Systems Champion and solution architect for BGO Software’s Validated Systems portfolio. With nearly ten years of experience in GxP processes and more than 15 in software development, including work with leading pharmaceutical companies, Harry is the ideal choice for learning about Good Manufacturing Practices, processes, and the technology that goes with it.
