2 Getting Started with Copilot

 

This chapter covers

  • Setting up Python, VSCode, and Copilot on your personal system
  • Introduction to the design process with Copilot by writing (mostly) human language
  • Copilot’s value in writing code for a basic data processing task

This chapter will help you get started working with Copilot on your own machine and will familiarize you with how to interact with Copilot. After getting you setup with Copilot, we’ll ask that you follow along with our examples when you can. There’s no substitute for practice and we believe you’ll be able to learn right alongside us for the remainder of the book.

Once you’ve set up Copilot, we’ll walk through a fun example with Copilot that showcases the power of Copilot in solving standard tasks. As we walk through that example, you’ll see how we’re interacting with Copilot and how we’re able to write software without writing any actual code ourselves.

2.1 Time to setup your computer to keep learning

2.1.1 Overview of the software in your programming environment

2.2 Getting your system setup

2.3 Working with Copilot in Visual Studio Code

2.4 Addressing common Copilot challenges

2.5 Our first programming problem

2.6 Summary

2.7 References