AI/ML, Copilot, GitHub

4 Mins Read

A Deep Dive into GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer

Voiced by Amazon Polly

Overview

In the fast-paced world of software development, the demand for tools that enhance productivity and streamline coding processes has never been higher.

Developers facing tight deadlines often turn to AI coding assistants to meet their goals efficiently. Two prominent players in this arena are GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer, each offering unique features and capabilities.

This comprehensive blog post will explore the key differences, advantages, and distinctive characteristics of GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer. Ultimately, businesses will better understand which tool aligns best with their development needs. 

Why Use an AI Coding Assistant?

Before diving into the specifics of GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer, let’s first understand the benefits of AI coding assistants. These tools are designed to improve productivity, save time, and enhance efficiency by providing real-time suggestions and automating repetitive tasks. Furthermore, they contribute to code quality by offering suggestions, catching potential errors, and promoting best practices. Additionally, AI coding assistants are crucial in employee learning and skill development, providing insights and suggestions to expand knowledge and follow best practices. 

Ready to lead the future? Start your AI/ML journey today!

  • In- depth knowledge and skill training
  • Hands on labs
  • Industry use cases
Enroll Now

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot, developed in collaboration between GitHub, OpenAI, and Microsoft, is an advanced AI coding assistant released in 2022. Unlike traditional code completion tools, Copilot analyzes the written code and generates context-aware code suggestions based on natural language input. Trained on billions of lines of code from public repositories, Copilot excels in generating entire lines or blocks of code to improve developer efficiency. It supports multiple programming languages and frameworks, making it a versatile choice for various development tasks. 

Key Features of GitHub Copilot

  • Context-Aware Code Generation: GitHub Copilot goes beyond simple auto-complete suggestions by generating context-aware code based on the provided comments and context. It can generate entire lines or blocks of code, significantly improving developer efficiency. 
  • Language and Framework Support: Copilot supports an impressive range of programming languages and frameworks, allowing developers to work in their preferred coding environment. This flexibility makes Copilot suitable for a broad spectrum of development projects. 
  • Integration with Popular IDEs: GitHub Copilot seamlessly integrates with popular IDEs and code editors, including Azure Data Studio, Visual Studio, and JetBrains IDEs. This ensures accessibility for various developers with different coding environment preferences. 
  • Copilot Chatbot Tool: Copilot offers a chatbot tool called Copilot Chat, allowing direct interaction and assistance with tasks such as generating unit tests, explaining code, and suggesting bug fixes. 

Amazon CodeWhisperer

Amazon CodeWhisperer is a formidable AI coding assistant developed by Amazon. It operates by providing real-time, contextually relevant code suggestions directly within the integrated development environment (IDE) of developers. This tool is tailored to accelerate software development by offering code suggestions, comment completions, and security scans to detect vulnerabilities. Amazon CodeWhisperer integrates deeply with AWS, providing specialized guidance for AWS-specific coding and infrastructure. It supports popular programming languages and is compatible with various IDEs, including Visual Studio Code and JetBrains IDEs. 

Key Features of Amazon CodeWhisperer

  • Tailored Guidance for AWS Development: Amazon CodeWhisperer specializes in providing tailored guidance and suggestions for AWS-specific coding and infrastructure, making it highly beneficial for developers working on AWS projects. 
  • Integration with AWS Services: Amazon CodeWhisperer seamlessly integrates with AWS services, offering users code suggestions for AWS application programming interfaces (APIs) and enhancing the AWS development experience. 
  • Training Data and Security Measures: Amazon CodeWhisperer is trained on billions of lines of code publicly available and exclusive to Amazon, ensuring accurate and helpful code suggestions. It emphasizes data security through encryption of data in transit and at rest, giving users control over data retention and telemetry data collection. 
  • Collaboration with Amazon Q: Amazon CodeWhisperer integrates with Amazon Q, a chat-style tool for AWS powered by Amazon Bedrock. This enhances the AWS development experience by providing developers with a chat interface within their IDE. 

Key Differences Between Amazon CodeWhisperer and Copilot

Now that we have an overview of each AI coding assistant let’s delve into the key differences between Amazon CodeWhisperer and GitHub Copilot. While both tools aim to enhance the coding experience and improve developer efficiency, they cater to distinct use cases and have unique features. 

Specialization and Use Cases

  • Amazon CodeWhisperer Specializes in AWS Development: Amazon CodeWhisperer stands out for its specialization in providing tailored guidance and suggestions for AWS-specific coding and infrastructure. It is particularly beneficial for developers building applications within the AWS ecosystem. 
  • Copilot: A General-Purpose AI Coding Assistant: GitHub Copilot, on the other hand, positions itself as a general-purpose AI coding assistant that handles a wide range of programming tasks across languages and frameworks. It offers flexibility and supports numerous languages, making it suitable for various development scenarios. 

Programming Language and Framework Support

  • CodeWhisperer Focus on AWS Development Languages: Amazon CodeWhisperer supports a limited set of programming languages, including C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, and TypeScript. While this aligns with the languages commonly used in AWS development, it offers less overall language flexibility. 
  • Copilot’s Versatility Across Languages: GitHub Copilot supports a broader range of languages, including Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, Go, C#, C++, and more. This versatility makes Copilot suitable for developers working in diverse language environments. 

Integration and Ecosystem

  • Amazon CodeWhisperer Tight Integration with AWS: Amazon CodeWhisperer and AWS are tightly integrated, offering developers the full power of AWS services. This integration enhances the AWS development experience, making CodeWhisperer a preferred choice for AWS-centric projects. 
  • Copilot’s Seamless Integration with Various Editors: GitHub Copilot can be seamlessly integrated into various code editors and IDEs, providing accessibility to various developers regardless of their preferred coding environment. While it may not have the specific AWS integration of CodeWhisperer, it offers flexibility in tool choice. 

Training Data and Security Measures

  • Amazon CodeWhisperer Extensive Training on AWS Code: Amazon CodeWhisperer is trained on billions of lines of code publicly available and exclusive to Amazon. This extensive training ensures accurate and helpful code suggestions, particularly in AWS development. 
  • Copilot’s Training on Public Repositories: GitHub Copilot is trained on billions of lines of code from public repositories, providing a diverse training set. However, the emphasis is on public code, which may lack the specificity of Amazon CodeWhisperer training on AWS-specific code. 

Collaboration and Additional Features

  • Amazon CodeWhisperer Collaboration with Amazon Q: Amazon CodeWhisperer integrates with Amazon Q, providing developers with a chat interface within their IDE. This collaboration enhances communication and collaboration within AWS development teams. 
  • Copilot’s Chatbot Tool for Assistance: GitHub Copilot offers a chatbot tool called Copilot Chat, allowing direct interaction and assistance with various tasks. This tool provides a conversational interface for developers to seek guidance and support. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, both GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer represent innovative approaches to automating and enhancing the software development process. GitHub Copilot focuses on natural language input and context-aware code suggestions, while AWS CodeWhisperer integrates with AWS services and emphasizes code optimization within the AWS ecosystem. The choice between the two tools depends on the specific needs of the development team, the preferred coding environment, and the level of integration required with AWS services. As AI-assisted development evolves, developers can expect even more sophisticated tools to streamline the coding process and increase productivity and efficiency. 

Drop a query if you have any questions regarding Amazon CodeWhisperer or Copilot and we will get back to you quickly.

Empowering organizations to become ‘data driven’ enterprises with our Cloud experts.

  • Reduced infrastructure costs
  • Timely data-driven decisions
Get Started

About CloudThat

CloudThat is a leading provider of Cloud Training and Consulting services with a global presence in India, the USA, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Specializing in AWS, Microsoft Azure, GCP, VMware, Databricks, and more, the company serves mid-market and enterprise clients, offering comprehensive expertise in Cloud Migration, Data Platforms, DevOps, IoT, AI/ML, and more.

CloudThat is recognized as a top-tier partner with AWS and Microsoft, including the prestigious ‘Think Big’ partner award from AWS and the Microsoft Superstars FY 2023 award in Asia & India. Having trained 650k+ professionals in 500+ cloud certifications and completed 300+ consulting projects globally, CloudThat is an official AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, Microsoft Gold Partner, AWS Training PartnerAWS Migration PartnerAWS Data and Analytics PartnerAWS DevOps Competency PartnerAmazon QuickSight Service Delivery PartnerAmazon EKS Service Delivery PartnerAWS Microsoft Workload PartnersAmazon EC2 Service Delivery Partner, and many more.

To get started, go through our Consultancy page and Managed Services PackageCloudThat’s offerings.

FAQs

1. Which programming languages does GitHub Copilot support?

ANS: – GitHub Copilot supports multiple programming languages, including but not limited to Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, and more. Its versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of development projects. 

2. What programming languages does Amazon CodeWhisperer support?

ANS: – Amazon CodeWhisperer supports multiple programming languages, similar to GitHub Copilot. This includes languages commonly used in the AWS environment, providing flexibility for developers working on AWS-powered projects. 

3. How should developers choose between GitHub Copilot and AWS CodeWhisperer?

ANS: – The choice depends on the specific needs of the development team, the preferred coding environment, and the level of integration required with AWS services. GitHub Copilot may be suitable for general-purpose development, while AWS CodeWhisperer is ideal for those working extensively within the AWS ecosystem with a focus on optimization. 

WRITTEN BY H S Yashas Gowda

Yashas Gowda works as a Research Associate at CloudThat. He has good hands-on experience working on Azure and AWS services. He is interested to learn new technologies and tries to implement them.

Share

Comments

    Click to Comment

Get The Most Out Of Us

Our support doesn't end here. We have monthly newsletters, study guides, practice questions, and more to assist you in upgrading your cloud career. Subscribe to get them all!