AI assistance for developers is not just for executing well-defined tasks - you can get a lot of value out of tools like Copilot by rubberducking or simply by asking explanatory questions to the assistant.
This is particularly true for new joiners to any codebase, the time it takes for anyone to be up and running is significantly less than what it used to be.
If you want to try that with Copilot Workspace, click on the Brainstorm button without any context or question:
This will give you a starter list of questions Copilot believes are applicable to your codebase:
Each question will be answered by an understanding of the code repository by Copilot Workspace - this not not just about a single file (as we got to know) but rather the whole of your code:
You can use this answer to understand the code at hand, and use it as a starting point for further development:
You will get amended code and documentation:
Now, it does not mean this will achieve exactly what you want. In this case, I don’t want a matrix strategy but rather the choice of running the build in either environmment. So I can ask to revise the answer:
Much better!
It did not, however, update the documentation. Let’s fix that:
Done:
This is a simple example however it shows how you can start an exploration and then implement something directly from the Copilot Workspace context.
If you ask broader questions, you will get broader answers:
Each will obviously kick-off a new session where you can implement the suggested changes.