Reading Notes #719

Welcome back for another round of Reading Notes, the weekly list of links I wish I had found sooner. This edition leans into .NET performance with CBOR and NativeAOT, includes what you need to know before touching Xcode 27 in your MAUI apps, and answers the question everybody keeps asking about the Copilot SDK. Skim the headings and jump straight to whatever catches your eye.

Programming

• An introduction to Compact Binary Object Representation (CBOR) in .NET (Andrew Lock) - When space or resources are limited, it's nice to see there is something smaller than JSON.

• Stripping extra dependencies in .NET NativeAOT apps using linker substitutions (Andrew Lock) - Nice post that shares many lessons learned while trying to reduce a package's size.

• Get Your .NET MAUI App Ready for Xcode 27 - .NET Blog (Gerald Versluis) - Looks like things have changed with Xcode 27, but the good news is we have the CLI and the skills to help us migrate easily.

AI

• Bring Your Own Model to the GitHub Copilot SDK with C# - .NET Blog (Bruno Capuano) - This post answers the most-asked question about the Copilot SDK. After reading this, you are set to go.

• Azure MCP Server 3.0 stable release: More tools. More possibilities - Azure SDK Blog (Sandeep Sen) - Nice New version!

LowCode

• Making n8n Workflows Testable and Maintainable with Runtime Variables (Caleb Jenkins) - Testing is important. This post shares how to use dependency injection in workflows.

Miscellaneous

• Swipe, Match, Cook! (Alexandre Brisebois) - Really cool app that solves a real problem. Love it!

~frank

Reading Notes #718

This week’s Reading Notes covers key updates ranging from new Blazor AI components that handle agent UIs to Docker announcements you definitely shouldn’t have missed at the recent WeAreDevelopers event. I also recommend checking out resources on why SDK integrations like Squad now support HydraFusion and how MCP servers might help restore our speed with Aspire infrastructure work today.

Programming

• Build Agentic UI with the new Blazor AI components (Daniel Roth) - A second set of AI-packed components for Blazor. Just like the first time, it looks very useful, assuming they match the scenario in your applications

AI

• How to be more ambitious: A tutorial for humans with models - Four different ways to use AI, and you probably already use one. Learn how else you could approach the next task

• Docker Cloud Sandboxes: Recap from WeAreDevelopers | Docker - This post recaps all the announcements made at the WeAreDevelopers event, and oh boy, I wish I hadn't missed it.

• Coming in Squad 1.1.0: you won't have to choose between Squad and HydraFusion anymore (Brady Gaster) - I really like those posts that explain the why. Why the version number? Why this change now?

• AG-UI Protocol now has a first-class .NET SDK - .NET Blog (Daniel Roth) - Nice native way to orchestrate agent connections.

Miscellaneous

• Console and worker apps | Aspire - I used to spend my days around Azure resources and IaC files, but much less recently. This MCP server is, I believe, what will help me get back to my speed
  

~frank

Reading Notes #717

This week we have a collection of tools and articles that genuinely improve how we build software and manage our daily workflows. From automating pre-push checks to refining SQL formatting, these notes share practical wins for the modern .NET developer. Give them a read through before your next commit or sprint starts.

Databases

• I Built My First VS Code Extension: Meet Rainbow SQL (Frank Boucher) - A simple but very useful VS Code extension that helps when writing SQL. And yeah, a shameless plug.

Programming

• A faster, lighter C# Dev Kit - .NET Blog (Drew Noakes) - Understand better all the goodness in this upcoming new release of our beloved VS Code extension, C# Dev Kit

• Should I break down my Blazor page into multiple components? - I will have to try that Blazrlytics, and I know exactly which project to use it for.

• Use C# unions and closed hierarchies in ASP.NET Core (Dmitrii Korolev) - Really nice way to use a union to make a C# type accept both int and string. Like Kubernetes maxUnavailable, which accepts 3 or 42%

DevOps

• Before you push or deploy: Automate nine .net project checks with the spargine dev tool (David McCarter) - Interesting script, curious to see the output on some of my projects

Open Source

• Why every .NET library deserves a proper start Dennis Doomen - A really cool series of templates to help us start writing.NET package. It brilliant and customizable

Miscellaneous

• Volunteers Don't Quit. They Fade. (Henk Boelman) - Communities are so important; would it be in person or online. We really need to learn how to be better at keeping a healthy balance

• Anti-Patterns in Software Blogging · Refactoring English - Love it! So much best practices in a single post. I'm guilty of doing some of those patterns, but will do my best to change that right away.