The goal of this exercise is to learn how to use GitHub Copilot, using an exercise that consist of building a REST API using Spring Boot.
We have created a Spring Boot project with some files already created, you can find the project in the folder exercisefiles/springboot.
Let's start copiloting!!!
Move to the DemoController.java file and start writing the code to handle a simple GET request. In this first exercise, we have provided a comment that describes the code you need to generate. Just press enter and wait a couple of seconds, Copilot will generate the code for you.
Tip: If nothing happens, then change the comment (add a word or 2) - sometimes Copilot needs a little nudge.
There is already a unit test implemented for this exercise. Open the terminal in the Codespace. cd to the correct folder by entering this command: cd exercisefiles/springboot/copilot-demo. Now, you can run the test by entering the command mvn test before and after you make changes to validate that the code generated by Copilot is correct.
Tip: If the tests fail and you get a
404 not found, try open the DemoController.java file and the CopilotDemoApplicationTests.java files. Then open Copilot Chat and ask Copilot: "Why is this the hello test failing
Then, create a new unit test for the case when no key is provided in the request.
After every exercise, feel free to package and run your application to test it.
Package: mvn package
Run: mvn spring-boot:run
Test: curl -v http://localhost:8080/hello?key=world
New operation under /diffdates that calculates the difference between two dates. The operation should receive two dates as parameter in format dd-MM-yyyy and return the difference in days.
Additionally, create a unit test that validates the operation.
From now on, you will have to create the unit tests for every new operation. Wasn't it easy with Copilot?
Validate the format of a spanish phone number (+34 prefix, then 9 digits, starting with 6, 7 or 9). The operation should receive a phone number as parameter and return true if the format is correct, false otherwise.
Validate the format of a spanish DNI (8 digits and 1 letter). The operation should receive a DNI as parameter and return true if the format is correct, false otherwise.
Based on existing colors.json file under resources, given the name of the color as path parameter, return the hexadecimal code. If the color is not found, return 404
Hint: Use TDD. Start by creating the unit test and then implement the code.
Create a new operation that call the API https://api.chucknorris.io/jokes/random and return the joke.
Given a url as query parameter, parse it and return the protocol, host, port, path and query parameters. The response should be in Json format.
List files and folders under a given path. The path should be a query parameter. The response should be in Json format.
Given the path of a file and count the number of occurrence of a provided word. The path and the word should be query parameters. The response should be in Json format.
Create a zip file with the content of a given folder. The path of the folder should be a query parameter.
Use the Dockerfile provided to create a docker image of the application. There are some comments in the Dockerfile that will help you to complete the exercise.
In order to build, run and test the docker image, you can use Copilot as well to generate the commands.
For instance, create a DOCKER.md file where you can store the commands to build, run and test the docker image. You will notice that Copilot will also help you to document your project and commands.
Examples of steps to document: Build the container image, Run the container, Test the container.