Reading Notes #653

Welcome to Reading Notes #653—another packed edition of insights, tools, and updates from the tech world! This week's roundup dives into legendary engineering wisdom, AI controversies, and the latest innovations in Docker, Azure, and VS Code. Whether you're exploring MCP, refining your scripting skills, or gearing up for the newest Azure Developer CLI release, there's something here for every developer.

Let’s get into it!

Cloud

• Azure Developer CLI (azd) - June 2025 (Kristen Womack) - Love that tool, great updates, so many new features and improvements in this version, very looking forward to try all of them, turning them all

AI

• Publishing AI models to Docker Hub (Kevin Wittek) - Running model locally is a lot of people are looking forward to it, so this is good news can't wait to try it

• Build Agents using Model Context Protocol on Azure - MCP is still a thing and can definitely be used in your app, and helps your agents. Learn more about how to get started in the doc.

• The Complete MCP Experience: Full Specification Support in VS Code (Harald Kirschner, Connor Peet, Tyler Leonhardt) - Sweet, looking forward to try it with the URL shortener mCP server that I created but notification scaling everything is looking very exciting

• How to Build, Run, and Package AI Models Locally with Docker Model Runner (Vladimir Mikhalev) - Nice new model feature integrated within docker..

• AI Toolkit for VS Code June Update (junjieli) - Nice update to a great extension, learn more about it

• What humans and Github Co-Pilot have in common (John Hilton) - This controversial tool, is it good or bad? I like the way the author of this post answers that question.

Programming

• Run C# Scripts With dotnet run app.cs (No Project Files Needed) (Milan Jovanović) - Really cool and light way to use C#. Nice post with real scenarios.

Miscellaneous

• Why Legendary Engineers Build Systems, Not Just Code (Peter Smulovics) - So true! It's all a question of time, but maybe not where (or when) you think.

~frank

Reading Notes #652

This week, we explore a variety of topics, from database containerization and AI security risks to the evolving landscape of gaming devices and cloud technologies. We also explore the shift towards security-first development and the integration of .NET Aspire with SQL Server for integration testing.

Let's dive in!

Suggestion of the week

• GitHub MCP Exploited: Accessing private repositories via MCP (Marco Milanta, Luca Beurer-Kellner) - AI tools are very powerful but also pretty new in our lives. It's important to stay up to date and understand the risks. Not scared, but to see the potential flaws and how to avoid them.

Cloud

• Azure Container Apps vs AKS: Which Is Right for Your Enterprise Application? (Chris Pietschmann) - This post answers a common question about those two services.

Programming

• Beyond DevSecOps: The Rise of Security-First Development (Industry Perspectives) - DevSecOps was a wake-up call, and we need to build our app security first. That seems to make sense, right? Have a read of this post to dig deeper into this idea and understand its foundation

• .NET Aspire dev-time orchestration for SQL Server integration tests (Ian Griffiths) - First post of a series about the spire and database, this one just set the initial setup. Stay tuned for more

Databases

• Running a MySQL database in a Docker Container (Mercy Bassey) - Running databases in a container is a real game changer for developers.

Miscellaneous

• SteamOS puts the pressure on Microsoft’s Xbox-branded handheld (Tom Warren) - Gaming devices are in a completely different world, and, normally, all OS need to adapt. A fascinating post about steamOS and the future of Windows in that scope

~frank

Reading Notes #651

Welcome to another edition of my reading notes! This week brings some fascinating insights into AI's real-world impact, exciting developments in .NET and containerization, plus practical tools for improving our development workflows. 

From local AI-powered code reviews to Docker security hardening and the upcoming .NET 10 features, there's plenty to explore.

 

AI

• The promise that wasn’t kept (Salma Alam Maylor) - Interesting thoughts about AI and its impact on our work but also on our life, and the planet.

• Local code review with Docker and smollm2 before pushing to git (Gerardo Lopez) - This is a really cool idea! I'll have to try it.

Programming

• Converting a docker-compose file to .NET Aspire (Andrew Lock) - Cool experiment. I must say I did the same thing, and I encourage you to do it too!

• Inside GitHub: How we hardened our SAML implementation (Greg Ose, Taylor Reis) - Very interesting post that pushes the curtain a little bit so we could see behind the scene how this very used but notification system works and has been updated

• Announcing dotnet run app.cs - A simpler way to start with C# and .NET 10 - .NET Blog (Damian Edwards) - That's a really cool new feature (that we can test in C# preview), It will be so useful in automation!

Cloud

• Introducing Docker Hardened Images: Secure, Minimal, and Ready for Production (Michael Donovan, Nikhil Kaul) - Security is the concern of everyone. I like this idea of like more secure but still flexible container images. Have a look and see for yourself

• Podman vs. Docker: Containerization Tools Comparison (James Walker) - A nice post that explains the difference at a high level. This isn't a command-to-command comparison, but more scenarios and performance.

Miscellaneous

• Enhance productivity with AI + Remote Dev (Brigit Murtaugh, Christof Marti, Josh Spicer, Olivia Guzzardo McVicker) - I love the dev container environments, they are so useful! And I also use the remote one when I'm not on my dev device so easy. Happy to see that Copilot will be right there with me.

~frank

Reading Notes #650

It's time for another edition of Reading Notes! This week brings exciting developments in the open source world, with major announcements from Microsoft making WSL and VS Code's AI features open source. We've also got updates on Azure Container Apps, .NET Aspire, and some great insights on developer productivity tools.

 

Let's dive into these interesting reads that caught my attention this week.

Cloud

• Happy 5th Birthday Bicep! (Sam Cogan) - What?! Five years already! That's incredible, I remember all the discussion about how we make our business better and honestly, bicep is a big success. Congrats to the team

• Have I Been Pwned 2.0 is Now Live! (Troy Hunt) - New look, new merch, and confetti, all without API breaking changes! Learn all about this major update in this post.

• Announcing Workflow in Azure Container Apps with the Durable task scheduler – Now in Preview! (greenie) - Exciting news about a new service. It looks solid and perfect for integration scenarios. Looking forward to experimenting with it.

Programming

• Pushing a whole stack of branches with a single Git command (Andrew Lock) - I'm always amazed to learn how people use git. This post shares a very smart way to push clear feature in multiple branches

• What's new in .NET Aspire 9.3 (David Pine) - Wow! How so many great new features can be added in a single version?! Aspire is a must for all .NET developers.

• Accelerate Your .NET Upgrades with GitHub Copilot (McKenna Barlow) - That's the tool I've been waiting for ages! Adding a Copilot to the extension is the smartest move they could make. I'm going to update an app right away. I'll share more later

Open Source

• Edit is now open source (Christopher Nguyen) - That's a great news! I installed it half through the post and it great! Fast, simple, and tiny!! Love it!

• The Windows Subsystem for Linux is now open source (Pierre Boulay) - And another project that turns out to be open source, I love it, it's just fantasti,c read all the details and dispose

• VS Code: Open Source AI Editor (VS Code team) - I strongly believe in open source. Very happy to see this change!

AI

• Agent mode for every developer (Katie Savage) - Great new for everyone as the agent mode become available in so many different editor. This post also contains videos to shows some scenarios.

Podcasts

• Reimagining the Windows Terminal with Warp's Zach Lloyd (Scott Hanselman) - A very interesting talk with the CEO of Warp that answers so many questions I had about this very different terminal. Really interesting episode, and terminal too BTW)

• The power of empathy in leadership with Jerry Colonna (Macmillan Holdings, LLC) - This very interesting episode is about the power of empathy in leadership.

• 362. Maximal Fitness with Minimum Time with Ben Greenfield (Part 1) (Greg McKeown) - Interesting conversation with a triathlete about different ways to train and nutrition

Miscellaneous

• The experience is enough (Salma Alam-Naylor) - Whether we like it or not, we are people creature. We all need to stop hiding behind our screens and get out there!

~frank

Reading Notes #649

Welcome to another edition of my reading notes! This week I've come across some interesting articles spanning from programming decisions to career tips and AI innovations. Hope you find something valuable in this collection.

Programming

• Why we built our startup in C# (Sam Cox) - I really like those true-story blog posts; they teach us about the thought process and the reason behind a decision.

• It wasn’t the idea that failed: it was the execution (Salma Alam-Naylor) - Even though I feel like I'm missing a few points about sigma and new stuff coming up in 2025, this post is an amazing memory of our past in terms of evolution in the web industry

AI

• Accelerate AI innovation and business transformation (Byron Rader) - It's important to look forward, and you know what? There are people to help and guide you and your enterprise.

• Why APIs Are Essential and MCP Is Optional (for Now) (Gil Feig) - Great post that clarified the distinction between an API and the mCP servers. It's an interesting post.

Miscellaneous

• Thriving After a Layoff: The First 30 Days (scrappy girl project) - A friend of mine shared with me this post, and I think it will help me in the upcoming days. So here I am sharing so more can benefit from it

Books

• The Let Them Theory (Mel Robbins) - Stop wasting energy on things you can’t control. It something we all know, but probably forgot the power if it. Let go is hard, but it works in so many scenario. In this book Mel explains how to make it works, and how to use it with a let me action.
   

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #648

Welcome to this week's reading notes! Dive into the latest on Microsoft's new AI chat template, explore Docker's MCP CLI, learn about integrating AI into .NET applications, and discover how to automate .NET MAUI library publishing with GitHub Actions. 

Whether you're interested in AI advancements, programming techniques, or DevOps practices, there's something valuable waiting for you below.

MsDevMtl Meetup - Uno

Suggestion of the week

• Exploring the new AI chat template (Andrew Lock) - This new .NET template looks pretty useful and has a lot of components already baked in. This post explains those and shows how to customize it for our usage.

Programming

• Crates and Dependencies: NuGet, Meet Cargo - Chris Woody Woodruff (Chris Woodruff) - Interesting comparison there, a bit more love toward Rust, I think, but that doesn't make this series less valuable.

• How to Host Blazor WASM on Docker (Rikam Palkar) - Nice post with all the code you need to reproduce.

DevOps

• Packaging and Publishing a .NET MAUI Library with GitHub Actions - .NET Blog (Sweeky , David) - I'm always amazed by what we can do with automation. Second post of a series on .NET MAUI.

AI

• Getting Hands-On with the Docker MCP CLI (Sarthak Varshney) - How to get, use, and connect the brand new MCP tool from Docker.

• AI Repo of the Week: GitHub Copilot Adventures (Dan Wahlin) - When open-source meets AI, and this time, games! Interesting series where AI-related repositories are featured.

• Microsoft.Extensions.AI: Integrating AI into your .NET applications (Japhlet Nwamu) - This package is amazing. It allows you to connect to many models hosted in many different places. This post is the perfect place to get started.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #647

This post is a collection of my latest reading notes, highlighting interesting articles and resources on AI, programming, databases, and more. Each link includes a brief summary of what I found valuable or noteworthy.

AI

• Getting Started with Azure MCP Server: A Guide for Developers (Lee Stott) - Quick post about this new feature.

• Protecting against indirect prompt injection attacks in MCP (Sarah , Den) - Security must be in our list of priorities in all types of projects. This post explains how we can secure them.

• How to build and deliver an MCP server for production (Colin McNeil) - That makes sense doctor is known to encapsulate and simplify the portability of application

Programming

• Set the default file encoding - Visual Studio Blog (Mark Downie) - Nice tip! As a developer who works daily on different operating systems, I know to well this issue.

• 4 real-life examples of using reflection in C# ( Ali Hamza Ansari) - Very interesting and useful post that go over 4 scenarios

• Microsoft Extends SLNX Solution File Support in .NET CLI - InfoQ - Have you tried yet the new format? It's still on my to-do list.

Databases

• DuckDB in Depth: How It Works and What Makes It Fast (Barry Smart) - This is a very interesting post that explains a little bit more how a vectoral database works and why it's so performant with documents

Miscellaneous

• Help yourself to thrive (Salma) - The human body is an extraordinary machine, extremely strong and conciliant, but it also requires a fine turning. Great post, we must learn from it.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #646

Welcome to this week's collection of fascinating reads across cloud computing, AI, and programming! As technology continues to evolve at breakneck speed, I've gathered some of the most insightful articles that caught my attention. From securing MCP servers to exploring Rust, there's something here for every tech enthusiast. 

Dive in and discover what's new in our rapidly changing digital landscape.

Cloud

• Azure API Management Your Auth Gateway For MCP Servers | Microsoft Community Hub (PranamiJ) - Why all the fuss about MCP, we must not forget security. This post suggests a simple solution.

AI

• How Azure Copilot Helped Me Quickly Troubleshoot a Demo (David Giard) - That's a good example of how AI can help you not do the job for yourself but avoid mistakes and do it faster.

• Secure Remote MCP Servers With Entra ID And Azure API Management (Den Delimarsky) - Nice solution in Python to secure your MCP servers

Programming

• When ASP.NET Core Identity Is No Longer Enough (Andrea Chiarelli) - Authentication and authorization have an important place in our Apps. This post shares details about how things work and the different processes.

• New Docker Extension for Visual Studio Code (Remy Suen) - This extension was already a must, they made it better, it's a must must! But seriously give it a try and try it by yourself.

• From C# to Rust: A 42-Day Developer Challenge (Chris Woodruff) - Cool tease of an experiment that promises a lot of learning.

• How to Programmatically Create MS Word DOCX Documents with .NET C# on Linux (Bjoern Meyer) - Cool package that helps create Word documents. Perfect when running in a Linux container.

• Preview 2 of the .NET AI Template Now Available (Jordan Matthiesen) - New templates with AI, Qadran and Aspire, oh boy life is good!

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #645

Welcome to this week's reading notes! I've found some great articles that caught my eye - from security tips for MCP servers to exciting updates in Rust and AI. Whether you're into cloud services, programming tools, or wondering about the future of coding with AI, there's something here for you.

Let's dive in!

 

Programming

• The Aspire Compiler (David Fowler) - I really appreciate Aspire. It's one of the tools that completely changed my experience as a developer. Learning more about it is, without a doubt, interesting.

• Verifying tricky git rebases with git range-diff (Andrew Lock) - Is it possible to really master Git? There is always something new to learn. Nice post going deep.

• Azure SDK for Rust Goes Beta (Nikos Vaggalis ) - Great news for the Rust developer, this is an important milestone.

AI

• Calling MCP Servers in C# with Microsoft.Extensions.AI (Mark Heath) - Many options, new tools, fresh possibilities, it's only missing our ideas.

• If LLMs Can Code, Why Are We Building More IDEs? (Mark Downie) - That's an excellent question, and I agree with Mark.

• Understanding and mitigating security risks in MCP implementations (Sarah Young) - The MCP servers are opening many opportunities, and it's important to know the risk. This post is a must.

• Build MCP Remote Servers with Azure Functions (Matt Soucoup) - A quick post that shows how a serverless MCP server can be hosted Azure and be secure; all code included.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #644

This post gathers my recent reading notes on artificial intelligence, programming, and a few inspiring podcasts. It includes links to articles, tutorials, and fascinating discussions. Whether you're interested in the latest AI developments, .NET tools, or modern architectures, there's plenty here to spark your curiosity. 

Happy reading!

AI

• Microsoft Copilot in Azure is now generally available | Microsoft Community Hub (Ruhiyyih Mahalati) - Oh wow! That was fast! If you haven't tried it yet, you should it's extremely useful and quick. Ask something about your resources or services you would like to use.

• Build a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server in C# - .NET Blog (James Montemagno) - A nice tutorial about the MCP server and how to use one in VSCode

Programming

• Generating architecture diagrams from .NET Aspire resources at publish time (Anthony Simmon) - This is one new feature that will be so useful. How many times did I need to refer to a diagram that was outdated.

• Exploring new .NET releases with Dev Containers - .NET Blog (Mike Kistler) - Really cool trick shared in this post. Yes, trying the new version in a container but how that container is build; that's cool!

• .NET Aspire 9.2 is Now Available with New Ways to Deploy - .NET Blog (Jeffrey Fritz) - This week was the release of Aspire new version, and it's packed with many features. The launch party video is also very interesting.

• Aspire: A Platform for Reusable Infrastructure (David Fowler) - For once, I think Aspire is the perfect name because it's inspiring.

• How we ended up rewriting NuGet Restore in .NET 9 - .NET Blog (The NuGet Team) - A very interesting article that explains how a tool that all .NET developers use got rewritten

• Porting Code with LLMs (Mark Heath) - It's always interesting to see how people use AI to help them do their work. Love it!

Podcasts

• Per Kops: Architecture of Ollama and Local LLMs - Episode 342 (Azure & DevOps Podcast) - An interesting discussion about Olama (local LLMs), .NET architecture, and Semantic Kernel.

• Vertical Slice Architecture with Jeremy Miller (.NET Rocks!) - This episode is about Vertical Slice Architecture, what it is, when it makes sense to use it, and some comparisons with the others that we know.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #643

In this week Reading Notes, we explore a diverse range of updates and insights from the tech world. From the latest features in the Azure SDK and Developer CLI, to an introduction to .NET Aspire and its innovative approach to Infrastructure as Code, there's plenty to catch up on. 

Jump into discussions on AI productivity, free Azure SQL tiers, and even a refreshing podcast on stress-free living. 

Let's get started!

Cloud

• Azure SDK Release (March 2025) (Hector Norzagaray) - Many languages are supported and now Rust is part of it. There also some new bits for Node and Python.

• Azure Developer CLI (azd) - April 2025 (Kristen Womack) - New features in the CLI, bug fixing and new possibilities in the website to search templates!

Databases

• Are You Azure SQL Database Curious? (Karen Lopez) - What?! Didn't know about that free tier. I could definitely use that; great news!

AI

• Does AI really make you more productive? (Salma Alam-Naylor) - I trust AI as much as I trust any code found after googling.Meaning it might works but to I need to understand what it is doing. There is no trust, is always gambling.

• Microsoft partners with Anthropic to create official C# SDK for Model Context Protocol (Mike , Maria) - New SDK is already available and it works!

Programming

• .NET Aspire - Microsoft's Attempt at Infrastructure as Code (darren horrocks) - This is a quick intro to .NET Aspire, perfect to learn what it is without going deep into the details.

• Making Software Like LEGO: How Aspire Brings the Pieces Together (David Fowler) - I really liked that image with the construction blocs. And also it seems my hobbies didn't change much in the past fifty years.

Podcasts

• Forking around (with the Linux Desktop) and Finding Out with Justin Garrison (Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman) - Interesting discussion about Linux desktop and everything they can do. More people should know about that

• 359. Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want with Courtney Carver (The Greg McKeown Podcast) - Episode with the author of the book Gentle: Rest More, Stress Less, and Live the Life You Actually Want. It seams simple but must be hard to apply in today's word.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #642

This week, I explored posts about improving cache management for ASP.NET Core applications and understanding error handling in Blazor. These articles, along with others on AI model selection and development productivity, offer valuable insights for developers.

Cloud

• Hello HybridCache! Streamlining Cache Management for ASP.NET Core Applications - .NET Blog - Already GA! Wow, great library that really simplifies having the best cache experience possible.

Programming

• Blazor Basics: Handling Errors and Exception Logging (Claudio Bernasconi ) - This nice post explains the fundamentals about the errors with Blazor.

AI

• Selecting the right model for coding (Mark Downie) - Nice post that answers a question, that I'm sure many of us thought without really knowing the answer.

Miscellaneous

• Announcing Dapr AI Agents (Mark Fussell, Yaron Schneider, Roberto Rodriguez) - I like those tech savvy agent that knows about one thing. I f|l I can trust them more and it usually go faster.

• Mastering GitHub Copilot: When to use AI agent mode (Andrea Griffiths) - Using copilot the "good way" can and will definitely improve your productivity. This post helps you to get started

• Xbox + .NET Aspire: Transforming Local Development Practices (Craig Taylor) - Since I started using Aspire, I want to use it everywhere. Yes, it's that good and this story is just another proof.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #641

This week's reading notes cover an array of topics, from programming insights and AI advancements to cloud solutions and practical tips for developers. Explore the updates, tools, and advice that could inspire your next project!

prompt: Web dev in a D&D monsters card style

 

Suggestion of the week

• Profiles in Visual Studio Code - I used two profiles to control an extension. But after reading this, I may create more! I have so many ideas.

Cloud

• Hello HybridCache! Streamlining Cache Management for ASP.NET Core Applications - Already GA! Wow, a great library that simplifies have the best cache experience possible.

Programming

• Introducing support for SLNX, a new, simpler solution file format in the .NET CLI - The XML format for the solution file has been around but no it's supported everywhere. "dotnet sln migrate" to convert yours.

• .NET Aspire Integration Testing Quick Start (James Gould) - This is a nice post sharing tips and tricks about .NET and unit test.

AI

• Introducing Azure AI Foundry — Everything you need for AI development (Zachary-Cavanell) - Quick intro whatinis and how to get started. There is the video and transcript.

Miscellaneous

• The Principal Developer Advocate Paradox: Scaling Impact Without Burnout (Dewan Ahmed) - Yes, that's exactly that. I think all jobs have theirs completely, but the advocate is definitely one that is hard to understand and measure.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it!

~Frank

Reading Notes #640

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it! 

Cloud

• Azure Developer CLI (azd) - March 2025 - The azd CLI just got better, with some new features, improved error messages, and of course bug fixes. Don't forget to update your version.

• Dapr in Two Minutes: Simplifying Distributed Application Development (Whitney Lee) - A great explanation of Dapr. Spoiler, it's a great tool.

AI

• .NET AI Template Now Available in Preview (Jordan Matthiesen) - .NET new AI stuff, I love it! You can add new templates for you 'dotnet new' to get AI project!

Programming

• .NET Aspire and Dev Container (Laurent Kempé) - DevContainers are really a game changer. You don't have to be a container guru to use it, and it will make a dev environment constant everywhere on any device.

• A 10x Faster TypeScript - TypeScript (Anders Hejlsberg) - Very impressive results. The video is great.

• .NET Aspirations - Embracing OpenTelemetry (Alexandre Nédélec) - This nice post explains how the open telemetry is set in .Net Aspire Dashboard.

~frank

Reading Notes #639

Welcome to Reading Notes #639, a curated selection of intriguing articles across programming, AI, cloud computing, and more. Dive into new productivity features in Visual Studio, the latest front-end development trends, .NET AI evaluations, and essential learning techniques. 

Grab your coffee and enjoy the read!

Cloud

• Some observations while writing my first Azure Function (Tim Deschryver) - I really like those types of posts where we follow the journey of the author going through learning or completing tasks.

Programming

• Great new productivity features in Visual Studio - Visual Studio Blog (Mads Kristensen) - Wow, there are so many cool features! I personally love the new line wrap and horizontal scroll bar—little details that make a big difference.

• Is this the next step in the evolution of front end dev? (Salma Alam-Naylor) - I never used those frameworks, but I'm curious now and will have to try.

• What are Custom Integrations in .NET Aspire? (Kalle Marjokorpi) - This second post in a series shows how to configure the identity server name Curity. It's implemented in a .NET Aspire solution and looks very well structured.

AI

• Unlock new possibilities for AI Evaluations for .NET - .NET Blog (Wendy Breiding (SHE/HER)) - That looks like a cool plugin for Azure DevOps Pipeline

• Announcing new models, customization tools, and enterprise agent upgrades in Azure AI Foundry | Microsoft Azure Blog (Asha Sharma) - So many models and plenty of new features, that's a great update!

Miscellaneous

• 5 Learning techniques you should know (Marco Siccardi) - Learning how to learn is a concept that in underrated. This post shares 5 accessible tips with big impact.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it! 

~frank

Reading Notes #638

Welcome to Reading Notes —a curated dive into the latest and greatest in programming, cloud, and AI. From mastering multithreading with Azure to exploring GitHub Copilot's productivity potential, this collection is brimming with knowledge. Let's unravel what's new, innovative, and worth your attention!

Cloud

• Azure Functions – Part 1 (Jesse Liberty) - Quick launch of a series about Azure Function.

• How to Multistream Using Azure, Azure VM, MonaServer 2, and FFmpeg with OBS Studio (Maho Pacheco) - That's a very cool idea! This post also made me understand better how those things work.

Programming

• Dapr v1.15 is now available (Dapr project maintainers ) - This new release is anticipated by the community with new features and many bug fixes

• Building a CRUD API with ASP.NET Core Web API and PostgreSQL (M. Oly Mahmud) - This is a nice step-by-step tutorial with all the code snippets required to get started.

• .NET Aspire 9.1 is here with six great new dashboard features, and more! - .NET Blog (Maddy Montaquila) - Learn more about many dashboard updates in this post like the grouping, theme, localization and logs management.

AI

• Let's Learn .NET: GitHub Copilot Event - .NET Blog (James Montemagno) - A new cool event is coming up to improve our productivity. Learn how to use copilot as a developer.

• Claude 3.7 Available for Visual Studio - Having options is interesting, I should try Claude to see the difference.

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. 

If you have interesting content, share it! 

~frank

Reading Notes #637

In this edition of my Reading Notes, I've curated some fascinating content that spans across programming, creativity, and enlightening podcasts. Whether you're eager to enhance your coding skills, explore unique ideas, or stay updated with the latest in the tech world, there's something here for everyone. 

Dive in and enjoy these insightful reads and discussions!

Programming

• New Features for Enhanced Razor Productivity! (Leslie Richardson) - I love the new component feature that's one that I will use over and over for sure.

• Abstract vs Interface: Deep dive (Serhii Korol) - You probably know the difference between those two just like me, but do you know how the code is interpreted that's very interesting.

• Riverdam - Feature Gates Finally Made Easy (David Guida) - A cool tool to ease development. This new project definitely looked interesting.

• 11 Must Read Software Design and Architecture Books for Developers (Soma) - I like books. It's a great way to go deeper about a topic at your own pace and when you want. This post has great recommendations, and I really enjoy the authenticity in the comments.

Podcasts

• Static Websites in 2025 with Stacy Cashmore (.NET Rocks!) - It was nice listening to the discussion with Stacy about how are Azure Static Websites are evolving.

Miscellaneous

• Typing tests were boring, so i built TypeTheLyrics. (Arjun Vijay Prakash) - Cool idea! It's true that music always has a big impact on everything.

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. If you have interesting content, share it! 

 ~Frank

Reading Notes #636

Welcome back to another edition of my Reading Notes! This week, we've got some great content lined up, including insights on cloud development with Azure Developer CLI, tips for promoting your open source projects, updates on .NET, and more. Dive in to explore a wealth of knowledge and stay updated with the latest trends and developments.

Cloud

• Azure Developer CLI (azd) - February 2025 (Kristen Womack) - Nice to see the work of this very active team.

Programming

• 5 tips for promoting your open source project (Klint Finley) - Great tips to promote your OSS project.

• C# Dev Kit Updates: .NET Aspire, Hot Reload, and More! - .NET Blog (Wendy Breiding (SHE/HER)Wendy Breiding) - Great updates that really make a difference. I'm already a fan of that improved Add Aspire experience.

• Announcing Our Work on a Blazor Component for Document Editing and Viewing (Bjoern Meyer) - Looking for fancier components have a look at this new one that you can try for free.

AI

• Announcing Generative AI for Beginners – .NET - .NET Blog (Pablo Lopes) - A new set of lessons to learn AI in c#. It's free and it's all available directly from a GitHub repo. You should go fork it right now!

Miscellaneous

• 3 reasons you should tour a conference talk (Salma) - I totally agree on the value of doing a session multiple times. However, sometimes finding opportunities can be hard.

• How I created a newsletter I actually enjoy writing (Salma) - Enjoy the moment! If you like what you do, it should help doing it right and keep doing it.

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. 

 If you have interesting content, share

~Frank

Reading Notes #635

This week Reading Notes, covers various topics in programming and databases. Discover the latest ASP.NET Core release, the importance of clear error messages, and coding with voice commands. Learn about new features in Azure EasyAuth and Microsoft Entra Authentication for Azure PostgreSQL. We also bid farewell to Azure Data Studio as it moves to VS Code extensions.

 
Let's get started!

Programming

• ASP.NET Core on .NET Framework servicing release advisory: ASP.NET Core 2.3 (Daniel Roth) - Learn more about this new release.

• The Importance of Good Error Messages (jdanton1) - I cannot agree more with the idea! How many of us have lost hours trying to figure out what was the error because the description wasn't clear!

• From pain to productivity: How I learned to code with my voice (Salma) - I watched a few of Salma's streams where she was struggling with those tools. This post shares the entire story, the different tools, and her progress.

• Giving Granular Controls to Azure EasyAuth | Microsoft Community Hub ( Justin Yoo) - EasyAuth is like the name suggests pretty simple to setup and use, but also more minimalist than other solutions. This OSS package changes everything making it more versatile.

Databases

• Microsoft Entra Authentication for Azure PostgreSQL (Arun S) - Learn how ease security enforcement (ex: password rotation) by centralizing the account with Entra.

• Azure Data Studio Retirement | Microsoft Community Hub (carlosrobles) - I used in love Azure Data Studio and I'm a little bit sad to see it go away but I think it's for the best since all the functionality will be now available in vs code extension

Miscellaneous

• A case for getting dressed every day (Salma) - I agree one hundred percent with her it's so true.

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. 

 If you have interesting content, share

 ~frank

Reading Notes #634

Each week, I read a myriad of topics that pique my curiosity and spark new ideas. From AI advancements and low-code solutions to tutorials on enhancing accessibility and performing database operations in .NET MAUI, this week's reading notes offer an eclectic mix of insights and practical knowledge. 

Dive in and explore the fascinating links that kept me captivated over the past few days! 

AI

• AI mistakes are very different from human mistakes (Mark Downie) - Very interesting thoughts. Looking forward to seeing how we adapt and integrate new security practices to avoid those new potential mistakes

• How To Extract Data From Web Page Using Power Automate (Matthew Devaney) - Cool project leveraging low-code and AI.

Programming

• Easily Bind SQLite Database and Perform CRUD Actions in .NET MAUI DataGrid (Jayaleshwari N) - A detailed tutorial with all the required code to do it. Super clear.

• How to build a copy code snippet button and why it matters (Salma Alam-Naylor) - Follow this developer as Salma builds a nice Copy button to improve the accessibility of blog. Really good idea!

Miscellaneous

• Using Tools (Safely) with LLMs (Mark Heath) - This is a nice C# tutorial that explains how to extend the capabilities of your AI without compromising security.

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.

If you have interesting content, share 

~frank