Increase Productivity in IBM App Connect Toolkit with Microsoft Copilot Agent

As an IBM App Connect developer, I'm always looking for ways to streamline my workflow and boost productivity. Recently, I've been experimenting with integrating the Microsoft Copilot Agent into my development process, and the results have been impressive. This blog post details how you can leverage Copilot to generate ESQL code directly within your IBM App Connect Toolkit workflow, significantly reducing development time and effort.

Why Use Copilot for ESQL Development?

Copilot offers a compelling solution by generating ESQL code snippets based on natural language prompts, effectively acting as an intelligent coding assistant. This allows you to focus on the overall integration logic rather than getting bogged down in the syntactical details of ESQL.

Configuring IBM App Connect Toolkit with Microsoft Copilot

There is a plugin for direct integration between eclipse and Microsoft Copilot, we can use the plugin to enable the copilot agent in IBM ACE toolkit.

Step 1: Install the eclipse plugin in IBM ACE toolkit.

Go to Help -> Eclipse Market place and search and install the copilot plugin. 

After the installation, you can see Copilot option.

Step 2: Follow the prompts and configure the GitHub copilot license.

You will get guidance in the wizard where you can add your GitHub copilot subscription.

Step 3: Create your application and with drag and drop create flow and put the compute node in flow where transformation is required.

I feel it is better to build the flow by ourselves. Though with command agent is creating the flow, not all components are correctly placed when I did a quick test.

Step 4: Now ask the agent to do the ESQL coding based on your requirement, it will create the ESQL code for you.

I did a POC on this and it generates the ESQL code almost 90%. I did update few lines only and then it works fine. My workspace was empty; hence it does not follow the coding pattern like any defined one. But I feel if you do it on a workspace where other code is present it will help agent to deliver better code.

Use case taken – an HTTP application which convert JSON to XML.

Prompt to agent - Please refer the site "https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/app-connect/13.0.x?topic=esql-overview" for the syntaxes. Rewrite the code with proper syntax.

Outputs:

Among all are generated code, I added the update only on the highlighted code. And commented on the few lines above the highlighted one. I get the below response.

Best Practices for Using Copilot with ESQL

Iterative Refinement: Don't expect perfect code on the first try. Iterate on your prompts and refine the Copilot-generated code. Also, you may give the error received during the test.
Thorough Testing: Always test the generated ESQL code rigorously within your App Connect integration to ensure correctness and error handling.
Understanding the Code: Don't blindly trust the generated code. Understand how it works and make any necessary modifications to fit your specific requirements.

Conclusion

Integrating Microsoft Copilot into your IBM ACE toolkit can significantly boost productivity by automating the generation of ESQL code. Remember to follow best practices to ensure the quality, security, and reliability of your integrations. By carefully crafting your prompts and meticulously reviewing the generated code, you can unlock the power of AI to enhance your IBM App Connect development experience.

To get further details, check out this insightful video: https://youtu.be/x3gaWwsJj6c