Add "GitHub Copilot experiments"

content/blog/github-copilot-experiments/index.md

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+---
+
+title: GitHub Copilot experiments
+date: 2021-11-06
+toc: true
+comments: true
+
+authors:
+  - bbaovanc
+
+tags:
+  - github-copilot
+
+resources:
+  - name: rust-poem
+    src: rust-poem.webp
+
+  - name: python-twinkle-poem
+    src: python-twinkle-poem.webp
+
+  - name: horrible-code
+    src: horrible-code.webp
+
+  - name: dropdown-css
+    src: dropdown-css.webp
+
+  - name: boba-shop
+    src: boba-shop.webp
+
+  - name: boba-shop-size
+    src: boba-shop-size.webp
+
+  - name: boba-shop-color
+    src: boba-shop-color.webp
+
+  - name: girlfriend
+    src: girlfriend.webp
+
+  - name: cheese-burger-poem
+    src: cheese-burger-poem.webp
+
+  - name: sing
+    src: sing.webp
+
+  - name: what-is-boba
+    src: what-is-boba.webp
+
+  - name: what-is-github-copilot
+    src: what-is-github-copilot.webp
+
+  - name: what-is-the-purpose-of-this-file
+    src: what-is-the-purpose-of-this-file.webp
+
+  - name: who-is-steve-jobs
+    src: who-is-steve-jobs.webp
+
+---
+
+I decided to play around with GitHub Copilot. Here's some of the code that I
+got as a result.
+
+<!--more-->
+
+## Poems
+
+First, I tried to get Copilot to write me a poem in Rust. It didn't really work.
+
+{{< figure src="rust-poem" >}}
+
+So, I tried Python instead.
+
+{{< figure src="python-twinkle-poem" >}}
+
+This is where I realized that Copilot was doing a little more than just
+repeating code it had seen before verbatim.
+
+Before this testing, my understanding was that Copilot was sort of like a search
+engine. It looked at the context and found a piece of code from GitHub that
+matched the functionality you wanted. This was the reason I had such a negative
+opinion about it. I saw it as a way to easily violate copyleft licenses such as
+GPLv3.
+
+Anyways, back to more testing.
+
+## Horrible code
+
+I decided to ask it to generate some horrible code for me. Unfortunately, it
+didn't quite do what I wanted.
+
+{{< figure src="horrible-code" >}}
+
+## Solving problems in bobatheme
+
+I decided to consult Copilot on how to make a nice CSS dropdown, which I need
+for the language picker in bobatheme.
+
+{{< figure src="dropdown-css" >}}
+
+Maybe I'll have to test it out.
+
+## Making a boba shop
+
+Now, I asked Copilot for help on creating a new
+[boba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea) shop, which got a little
+spammy.
+
+{{< figure src="boba-shop" >}}
+
+{{< figure src="boba-shop-size" >}}
+
+## More random code
+
+I got some ideas of important questions to ask Copilot thanks to the
+conversations going on in Discord.
+
+{{< figure src="girlfriend" >}}
+
+Turns out the API endpoint in that code is real, and returns a (presumably)
+nonexistent person.
+
+## Another poem
+
+I decided to generate one more poem, this time naming the function something
+different in hopes of getting a different result.
+
+{{< figure src="cheese-burger-poem" >}}
+
+It was a success! And the output of the program:
+
+```text
+Mary had a little lamb.
+Its fleece was white as snow.
+And everywhere that Mary went.
+..........
+Cheese Burger
+```
+
+## A song
+
+I decided to try and get it to sing a song.
+
+{{< figure src="sing" >}}
+
+According to Google Translate, here's what that says:
+
+```python
+def sing():
+    print("""
+    You are my little pig
+    I love you
+    You are my little pig
+    I love you
+    """)
+```
+
+## GitHub Copilot as an encyclopedia
+
+I decided to ask Copilot a few random questions to test its encyclopedia
+abilities.
+
+{{< figure src="what-is-boba" >}}
+
+{{< figure src="what-is-github-copilot" >}}
+
+{{< figure src="who-is-steve-jobs" >}}
+
+I had run out of questions to ask, so I just started the comment with a generic
+"what is" and let Copilot finish the question and answer.
+
+{{< figure src="what-is-the-purpose-of-this-file" >}}
+
+That last line came out of nowhere!