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The main benefit I’ve seen from using Copilot Chat is the decreased feeling of “loneliness” when learning a new language. The chat feature does feel more of a “copiloting” experience, as if I was pair programming with someone. Here are some practical dos and don’ts I came up with when integrating copilot chat in my learning process.
Language Exploration
Dos
- Request code examples
- Ask to explain documentation
- Translate code to other language
- Evaluate small experiments
Don’ts
- Not consult official documentation
- Provide huge chunks of code to explain
- Ask to validate assumptions
Familiar Minor Project
Dos
- Ask to generate project boilerplate
- Ask to organize basic requirements
- Ask questions about design patterns
Don’ts
- Let it do all the work
- Try to understand generated boilerplate
Coding Problems
Dos
- Use it as a cheatsheet
- Ask about available APIs/Data Structures
- Ask for test cases
- Request hints
Don’ts
- Ask to write the algorithm
- Use it as an autocomplete feature
- Ask for it to solve the problem
Capstone Project
Dos
- Use chat as a rubber duck
- Generate basic automated test suite
Don’ts
- Use auto-complete features
- Ask for hints
- Use auto-generated boilerplate