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GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT for Developers

Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

Intermediate content levelIntermediate

GenAI, AI Agents and MCP for better planning, coding, and testing

Course outcomes

  • Understand the capabilities of ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot and when to use these tools
  • Gain insights into how to use generative AI for brainstorming ideas, planning, and creating requirements
  • Learn how to write effective prompts to generate better code
  • Understand how to use GitHub Copilot and ChatGP to handle tedious tasks like regex statements
  • Learn how to use these tools for debugging, unit tests, and creating documentation
  • Understand the limitations of GenAI development tools, such as hallucinations, cut-off dates, and context windows
  • Learn how to use AI agent mode in GitHub Copilot and model context protocol (MCP)

Course description

Join expert Tom Taulli to learn how to integrate ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot into your workflows effectively and safely. You’ll explore effective prompting techniques and get hands-on experience with exercises covering key development activities like writing efficient code, advanced debugging, and deployment strategies. You will also learn how to use cutting-edge features like Agent mode in GitHub Copilot and model context protocol (MCP).

By the end of the day, you’ll not only understand the practical benefits of these powerful GenAI and agentic tools but you’ll also know when and how to apply them effectively to reduce risks and avoid common pitfalls. By adding ChatGPT and GitHub Copilot to your development toolkit you can be a more efficient and satisfied developer, with improved career prospects.

What you’ll learn and how you can apply it

  • Boost your career with generative AI
  • Speed up your software development
  • Develop prompts that generate better responses
  • Embed generative AI into your development process
  • Use next-generation features like Agent mode and MCP

This live event is for you because...

  • You're a software engineer aiming to boost productivity and want to understand how to get the most out of GitHub Copilot.
  • You are a machine learning engineer, web developer, or DevOps engineer looking to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies.

Prerequisites

  • GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT accounts with login credentials
  • A basic understanding of software programming

Recommended follow-up:

Schedule

The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.

GitHub Copilot basics (45 minutes)

  • Presentation: The fundamentals of GitHub Copilot; overview of the versions/pricing and features; pros and cons; setup; tour of the user interface; practical use cases; writing a function with autocomplete and Chat; brief case studies (Accenture, AMD, and Shopify); when to use GitHub Copilot

ChatGPT basics (45 minutes)

  • Presentation: The fundamentals of ChatGPT; overview of the versions/pricing and features; pros and cons; setup; tour of the user interface; understand the different models; practical use cases; GPTs; when to use ChatGPT; writing a function
  • Q&A

Break

Ideas, planning, and requirements (45 minutes)

  • Presentation: Brainstorming; market research; product requirements documents; software requirements specifications; whiteboarding; test-driven development; planning a website; use deep research capabilities in ChatGPT

Prompt engineering (60 minutes)

  • Presentation: Instructions (summarization, text classification, recommendations); context; formatting of responses; best practices; hallucinations; security
  • Q&A

Break

Writing code (60 minutes)

  • Presentation: Starter code; creating a GitHub README; regex statements; autofill; refactoring; frameworks and libraries; creating data; frontend development; APIs; creating a weather app; debugging; creating documentation; unit tests; deployment strategies

Agent Mode in GitHub Copilot and MCP (45 minutes)

  • Presentation: Overview of AI agents and MCP; using Agent Mode and MCPs for software development; how to build an MCP

Your Instructor

  • Tom Taulli

    Tom Taulli (@ttaulli) has authored several books, such as AI-Assisted Programming: Better Planning, Coding, Testing, and Deployment. He works as an IT consultant and has taught courses at UCLA, PluralSight, and O'Reilly Media. His teachings focus on a range of topics like AI, data analytics, and robotic process automation).

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Skills covered

  • GitHub Copilot
  • GPT