How 3 Java Champions are using GitHub Copilot for increased productivity

AI coding tools can generate code quickly, but speed alone does not solve the hardest software engineering problems. Developers still need to provide context, validate results, protect maintainability, and remain accountable for what ships.

To learn how experienced developers strike that balance, we spoke with three Java Champions, all with over a decade of experience in using Java. They shared concrete examples of using GitHub Copilot in production and open source, along with the practices they use to turn AI-generated output into reliable software.

Vlad Mihalcea, founder of Hypersistence and author of the book High-Performance Java Persistence

Patrick Baumgartner, software crafter at 42talents with 20+ years of Java experience

Frank Delporte, senior technical writer at Azul and maintainer of Foojay.io with 15+ years of Java experience

How has GitHub Copilot helped you recently?

I’ve been using it to analyze, design, and implement various features in both Hypersistence Utils and Hypersistence Optimizer.

For example, I’ve been wanting for a long time …