“How to create issues and pull requests in record time on GitHub” by Jon Peck is a blog discussing the importance of issues and pull request as well as how to efficiently use them. This blog goes on to explain how GitHub has improved the process of creating issues and pull requests, particularly with the help of GitHub Copilot. Instead of manually drafting titles, descriptions, labels and then writing separate pull requests, developers can use Copilot to assist with both issue creation and the process of turning those issues into draft pull requests. To start this blog reminds readers why well structured issues and pull requests are important. They provide shared information, enable online coordination, and many more important matters. It then explores the concepts of a good issue, including clear titles, explanations of expected versus actual behavior, reproduction steps or visual evidence, definitions of done, scope, constraints and useful data. From there the article shows how you can use Copilot Chat to speed up drafting issues. A developer can describe what is needed, include screenshots, and let Copilot suggest labels. Finally it demonstrates how to turn issues into draft pull requests by assigning them to a Copilot coding agent which can clone the repository, work in a secured workspace and produce commits in a draft pull request that remains open to continuous integration.
I chose this article because in our first pogil activity I didn’t have much experience using git and it’s available tools. Having read up on how version control tools are used not just for storing code but also for managing collaboration, code quality and workflow efficiencies. I learned that Issues and pull requests are surprisingly important to that process. This post shows explains this, It connects directly to what we have worked on in lectures, more specifically about assignment 1 about github, pull request reviews, issue tracking and practices in version control.
After reading this blog, the idea of version control to me is more than committing code or branching, it is about clear communication, traceability and making sure issues and pull requests are useful. I realized how much poorly constructed issues and pull requests slow down not only human reviewers but also automation tools. The idea of assigning a coding agent to issues via Copilot is interesting because it includes both human oversight while utilizing automation. In my future projects, I plan to apply these ideas by using formatting every issue in a useful way, making sure pull request descriptions link back to the issue and clearly explain what was done, and paying attention to data early so that project tracking and team collaboration become easier.
https://github.blog/developer-skills/github/how-to-create-issues-and-pull-requests-in-record-time-
From the blog CS@Worcester – Coding with Tai by Tai Nguyen and used with permission of the author. All other rights reserved by the author.