Reading Notes #714

This week's collection highlights practical advice for managing Azure Service Bus and making more cost-effective choices when selecting AI models. I have also gathered some useful perspectives on layered security for authentication and the nuanced debate surrounding SQL foreign key constraints.

Cloud

• Azure Service Bus - what to watch out for (Dominique St-Amand) - A nice post that shares tips and best practices.

AI

• Getting started with GitHub Copilot Spaces - I confess, I'm one of those who didn't realize (or know) that space was included in my GitHub Copilot subscription. Interesting feature!

• Your work might not need the smartest model - Microsoft for Developers (Waldek Mastykarz) - This post shares thoughts about model requirements and some tips to save money.

Programming

• Your access token was stolen. Now what: three layers of defence in your own OpenID providerty (rinat kozin) - Great post to learn more about security best practices and some patterns (ex: bff)

Databases

• Should your SQL Server database use foreign key constraints? | Simple Talk (Greg Low) - The eternal debate... How do you like your databases?

Sharing my Reading Notes is a habit I started a long time ago, where I share a list of all the articles, blog posts, and books that catch my interest during the week.

 ~frank

Reading Notes #713

This week’s collection explores the practical side of AI, focusing on governance in multi-model environments and the security advantages of robust sandboxing. I’ve also included some foundational perspectives on and organizational goals, along with a look into the history of one of my favorite tools, VS Code.

AI

• James Shore: Are You Getting Your Money’s Worth from AI? (James Shore) - Interesting first post of a series. This one focuses on what we should or shouldn't measure to see and understand the performance of our teams using AI.

• Project HydraFusion: Frontier quality via multi-model orchestration - The GitHub Blog (GitHub Staff) - That looks very interesting, and it's available in the CLI via the experimental features.

• Below the Harness: Governing a Multi-Model, Multi-Harness World | Docker - Interesting thought about the future (probably not that far because it's about AI) and how we will interact or work with it.

• 6 Benefits of Sandbox Environments (Kevin Wittek, Srini Sekaran) - I really like how this post explains the security issues, how Docker sandboxes address the weaknesses, and how its sandboxes differ from others.

Programming

• The Story of VS Code | Official Documentary - A ninety-minute documentary about VS Code. From where the idea started to what we know it as today.

Books

Measure What Matters 

by John Doerr 

That book has been on my to-read list for a very long time. As someone who worked at Microsoft using many OKRs, I was comfortable with the topic. Nevertheless, it was interesting to learn how other people use it in many different contexts.

Reading Notes #712

I’ve put together a few articles that caught my attention this week, ranging from .NET updates and Azure migration paths to the nuances of AI evaluation workflows. These pieces offer practical insights into the tools and design choices we encounter in our daily work.

Cloud

• Azure Service Bus: Migrate topology one event at a time - Nice first post of a Siri about service bus, and this one focuses on migration and the pattern you can follow

AI

• Building Reproducible AI Evaluation Workflows with Docker Sandboxes (Karan Verma) - Wow! Very interesting open-source project that tries to help with the question: before comparing benchmark scores or choosing a judge model, can someone else reliably run the same workflow under comparable conditions? Definitely worth the read.

• What is YOLO Mode? - Yolo mode is the most productive way to use AI. It is better for developer habits and the brain, but it also comes with some risks. This nice post provides clarity on the topic.

Programming

• The best dark mode toggle is probably none (Lea Verou) - You could think that this little theme toggle is a simple thing, but you would be wrong. Interesting post that explains all the thoughts behind that design.

• .NET Conf 2026 - Save the Date (Jon Galloway) - There it is! The date is out; the call for papers is for next week.

~frank