Engineer Prompts for Performance GH-300 Practice Questions (Page 1)

Questions 1–5

1. 1expert · hard

   A developer is using GitHub Copilot Chat to generate a complex algorithm. The first prompt, "Write a function to find the shortest path in a graph," produced a basic Dijkstra implementation. The developer needs the function to also handle negative edge weights and return the path, not just the distance. The developer also wants to use the chat history to refine the solution. What is the best approach?

   • AManually modify the Dijkstra code to handle negative weights.
   • BAsk Copilot to "make it better" without specifying the changes.
   • CRefine the prompt in the same chat: "Modify the function to handle negative edge weights using the Bellman-Ford algorithm, and return the path as well as the distance."
   • DStart a new chat and ask for a Bellman-Ford implementation.
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2. 2expert · hard

   A developer is using GitHub Copilot to generate a Python function that calculates the Fibonacci sequence. The developer wants the function to be efficient and handle large numbers. The first prompt, "Write a Fibonacci function," produced a recursive implementation that is slow for large inputs. What should the developer do to get a more efficient implementation?

   • AUse the recursive implementation and hope it is fast enough.
   • BStart a new chat and ask for an iterative Fibonacci function.
   • CRefine the prompt: "Write an efficient Fibonacci function that uses memoization or iteration to handle large numbers."
   • DAsk Copilot to "make it faster" without specifying how.
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4. 3foundation · easy

   When writing a prompt for GitHub Copilot to generate a function that calculates the total price of items in a cart, which prompt best applies the principle of specificity?

   • A"Write a function to calculate the total price."
   • B"Create a function that takes a list of item prices and returns the sum, applying a 10% discount if the total exceeds $100."
   • C"Write a function that processes data."
   • D"Help me with my cart."
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5. 4expert · hard

   A developer is using GitHub Copilot Chat to generate a complex SQL query that involves multiple joins and a subquery. The first prompt, "Write a SQL query to get customer orders," produced a simple `SELECT * FROM orders`. The developer needs a query that returns customer names, order totals, and only orders placed in the last year. The developer also wants to use a CTE for readability. Which sequence of prompts best follows the prompt process flow?

   • AAsk Copilot to "make it more complex" without specifying the details.
   • BManually write the query and use Copilot only for the CTE part.
   • CStart a new chat and ask for a complex SQL query with CTEs and joins.
   • DRefine the prompt to: "Write a SQL query using a CTE to return customer names and order totals for orders placed in the last year. Join the customers and orders tables."
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6. 5application · medium

   A developer is using GitHub Copilot in Visual Studio Code to write a Python function that parses a custom log format. The log lines look like: `2024-05-01 12:33:45 ERROR user123 failed to connect to db`. The developer wants Copilot to generate a parser that extracts the timestamp, level, user ID, and message into a dictionary. Which prompt best follows prompt engineering principles for this task?

   • AParse this log: 2024-05-01 12:33:45 ERROR user123 failed to connect to db.
   • BWrite a Python function that parses a log line and returns a dictionary with the timestamp, level, user ID, and message.
   • CCreate a regex to extract fields from a log line.
   • DHelp me with my logging code.
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