GitHub Copilot Step by Step

Navigating AI-driven software development

AvGomathi S.

Häftad, Engelska, 2026

Del i serien Step by Step Developer

606 kr

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Beskrivning

Microsoft MVP and MCT Community Lead Dr. Gomathi S. delivers the ultimate hands-on guide to mastering AI-powered coding with GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot Step by Step: Navigating AI-driven software development is a practical, hands-on guide for developers seeking to master AI-powered coding with GitHub Copilot. Blending clear reference material with step-by-step tutorials, this book makes advanced AI coding concepts accessible to developers and technology enthusiasts at all levels. You will learn to set up Copilot, generate and refine code, automate workflows, and integrate AI into their development process, gaining the essential skills to boost productivity, streamline tasks, and innovate in the rapidly evolving world of software engineering.

By reading this book, you will:

Understand the foundational concepts and architecture of GitHub Copilot
Set up and configure Copilot in popular development environments
Generate, review, and refine code suggestions for multiple programming languages
Accelerate development tasks from prototyping to debugging with AI assistance
Automate repetitive coding tasks and streamline workflows
Apply best practices for prompt engineering and troubleshooting
Integrate Copilot into team projects and collaborative coding scenarios
Explore ethical considerations and limitations of AI-powered coding assistants
Customize Copilot’s behavior to fit your unique development needs
Discover real-world use cases and advanced workflows for professional teams

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2026-03-04
Mått:186 x 232 x 19 mm
Vikt:658 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Step by Step Developer
Antal sidor:368
Upplaga:1
Förlag:Pearson Education
ISBN:9780135493045

Utforska kategorier

Affärsapplikationer inom Data och IT
Operativsystem inom Data och IT
Artificiell intelligens inom Data och IT

Mer om författaren

Dr. Gomathi S. is a globally recognized Microsoft MVP, MCT Community Lead, and technical trainer with extensive expertise in Power BI, Business Central, Copilot Studio, software development, Artificial Intelligence, and Microsoft technologies.

Innehållsförteckning

Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviiIntroduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . xxiii Chapter 1: Introduction to GitHub Copilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Understand GitHub Copilot and its core functionality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Explore the AI technology behind GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Learn how GitHub Copilot handles privacy and applies responsible AI. . . . . . . . 23Recognize the limitations and ethical considerations of GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . 25Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chapter 2: Setting up GitHub Copilot for your development workflow. . . . . . 33Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Set up your GitHub account and select a Copilot plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Install Copilot in your development environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Configure permissions and personal settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Test Copilot with sample prompts across languages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Troubleshoot installation issues and common errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Apply best practices for using Copilot effectively. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Explore Copilot’s functionality in online and offline modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Chapter 3: Writing effective prompts for AI-powered coding. . . . . . . . . . 67Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Understand what makes a prompt for AI code generation effective. . . . . . . . . . . 68Use comment-based, function signature, and docstring prompts. . . . . . . . . . . . . 71Refine or rewrite prompts to improve suggestion quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74Apply prompt templates for algorithms, tests, refactoring, and more. . . . . . . . . 77Customize prompts for specific languages, libraries, and frameworks. . . . . . . . . 81Identify and fix vague and inefficient prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Build an iterative workflow to continuously improve prompt results. . . . . . . . . . 88Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Chapter 4: Enhancing code efficiency with AI assistance. . . . . . . . . . 95Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95Apply advanced prompting to guide GitHub Copilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96Automate repetitive tasks using AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104Refactor inefficient or legacy code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Implement clean coding practices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118Improve code readability and structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124Evaluate AI suggestions for quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Chapter 5: Debugging and troubleshooting code with Copilot. . . . . . . . 139Practice Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Identify common code issues with GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Use Copilot to suggest and apply bug fixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Improve error handling by using AI-assisted recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150Optimize code performance through Copilot-driven insights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Chapter 6: Writing and automating tests with GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . 163Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163Generate unit tests and integration tests using GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Automate test case creation to reduce repetitive coding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169Work with popular testing frameworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175Write clear and structured test prompts for Copilot to follow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178Apply best practices to improve the reliability of AI-generated tests. . . . . . . . . 182Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Chapter 7: Using GitHub Copilot for code reviews and collaboration. . . . . . . 191Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191Explore Copilot’s help with code reviews. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192Generate refactoring suggestions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197Create clear inline documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Use Copilot for alternative implementations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Collaborate with teammates using AI-enhanced feedback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Chapter 8: Using AI-powered development workflows in real-world scenarios. . . . . 223Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Discover real-world Copilot use cases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224Explore AI workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239Understand the role of AI across industries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Apply practical examples of AI in your projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259Reflect on Copilot’s impact on teams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Chapter 9: Avoiding common pitfalls with GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . . 269Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269Spot and fix common Copilot mistakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270Understand why Copilot mistakes happen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274Fix and refine AI-generated code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279Guide Copilot effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284Practice real-world examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Chapter 10: Exploring the future of AI in software development. . . . . . 303Practice files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303Explore upcoming AI trends in coding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304Understand the evolution of GitHub Copilot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309Discover new developer roles in the AI era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316Skills review. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322Practice tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325