Question

A developer is using Copilot Chat to generate validation functions. They want every generated function to return a structured result object like { valid: boolean, errors: string[] } rather than throwing exceptions, which is the pattern Copilot keeps defaulting to. They decide to use few-shot prompting. Which addition to the prompt is MOST likely to reliably steer Copilot away from the throwing pattern toward the desired return-object style?

Accepted Answer

Include two or three complete example functions in the prompt that show input and the exact { valid, errors } return shape being produced.

Answer

Add a single sentence at the end saying 'Do not throw exceptions' without any example implementations.

Answer

Increase the number of examples to ten, mixing several that throw and several that return objects, so Copilot sees the full range.

Answer

Ask Copilot to first explain the difference between throwing and returning before writing any code.