Reading Notes #182

Suggestion of the week

• Orchestrating massive parallelisation of Azure WebJobs for fun and profit (Troy Hunt) - An awesome post. I really like those post where we learn step by step what has been tried and failed, and how to move from point A to Z.

Cloud

• Azure Mobile Services and APIs – RESTful and Custom (Adarsha Datta) - Nice tutorial about how to use Azure service Api and customizes it.
• How Azure Web Apps Hosts an ASP.NET 5 Application (tugberkugurlu.com) - Interesting post th0at shows how aspnet works with Azure under the hood.
  
• NoSQL database service Azure DocumentDB now Generally Available (John Macintyre) - Know everything you need to get started on DocumetDB, now in GA. Nice free import tool was also released.

released the DocumentDB Data Migration tool, an open source solution that imports data from a variety of sources, including JSON files, CSV files, SQL Server, MongoDB and existing DocumentDB collections.

• Mostly Cloudy - April 14th - This post is a nice overview of the Azure actuality for April.
  
• Think #Microservices - Very interesting post that explains why microservices could be so promising.

Programming

• How to Update a Forked Repository (blog.falafel.com) - Nice little how to for Github and sourcetree.
  
• Understanding Internationalization in ASP.NET MVC (About the Author) - Nice tutorial that explains the difference between: Internationalization, localisation, globalisation and how to use them to build a nice app.net website.
  
• New book: Node.js for .NET Developers (KimSpilker Kim Spilker) - Today nodejs is an unavoidable language, this book explains how it works from a c# point of view.

Miscellaneous

• Free ebook: Managing Agile Open-Source Software Projects with Microsoft Visual Studio Online (KimSpilker Kim Spilker) - A free book, that's always welcome.
  
• Avoiding Common Executive DevOps Mistakes (Ericka Chickowski) - Interesting post about common mistakes when people are trying to do agile methodology.
  
• Microsoft BUILD Announces #BuildTour (MVP Award Program) - Great news!
  
• Dropbox can now open documents straight into Microsoft Office Online (Dave Yin) - Now that what I call a reel int0egration, and a great feature!

~Frank B.

Reading Notes #181

Suggestion of the week

• MVP Virtual Conference - A date to reserve, this conference look amazing.

Cloud

• The Kudu Debug Console, Azure Websites best kept secret (Jonathan Rozenblit) - This post is a nice introduction to a very useful debugging tool: Kudu.
  
• Node.js and Visual Studio: From Zero to a Cloud Foundry Deployment in 2 Minutes (Richard Seroter) - This great post shows us how to deploy a node.js app as in the same amount of time it took us to read the post.
  
• Azure API App and Logic App. In depth look into Hybrid Connector. Marriage between cloud and on-premise (Saravana Kumar) - Great tutorial / demo of an Azure logic app, the BizTalk way.
  
• First Look at Azure API Apps and Logic Apps (Ricardo Torre) - Great post that explains the similitude and difference between BizTalk and the new Azure Logic App.
  
• Introducing Azure Resource Explorer for the Azure Resource Management APIs (Scott Hanselman) - This project look great! It's a good opportunity to know more about what is happening under the hood. I'm looking forward to knowing more...
  
• Fail fast when the cloud fails you (Troy Hunt) - Very interesting true story about how to investigate an unpredictable problem involving the cloud.
  
• How we deploy Visual Studio Online using Release Management (Buck Hodges) - Interesting post that relates a reel d0eployment process.

Programming

• Node.js development with Visual Studio - Quick post to get stated with the new Node.js tool in Visual Studio.
  
• How to wait for DOM elements to show up in modern browsers - This post that explains how we should wait for an element in modern browser using javascript.
  
• How to Update a Forked Repository (blog.falafel.com) - Nice little howto for Github and Sourcetree.

Miscellaneous

• Making the Complex Simple - Not sure how to "classify" this post, is it a top list of the best bad practices, or literally "du bonbon"? A post to read, and relax.

From Ottawa to Montreal in April 2015

This April two event kept my attention, let me present them.

The MVP Cloud RoadShow - April 11

Where: Ottawa
Register: Meetup

Bored that every one is telling you to move to the cloud, but don't explain how to get there or are how it's working in the cloud?

The MVP Cloud RoadShow, is the perfect opportunity to meet Microsoft Azure MVPs. These specialists will talk about: Intune, Hybrid Identity, Rights Management, SQL Business Intelligence and Building a Lab in Azure.

Here all the information you need on the Meetup page.

Global Azure Bootcamp (Montreal edition) - April 25

Where: Montreal
Register: Meetup

This year is marks the third edition of this great event. In more than 190 locations around the globe, people will develop Cloud Computing applications for Azure, this is definitely a great learning opportunity. Many goods hands-on-labs:

• Infrastructure as a Service in Microsoft Azure (Virtual Machines)
• Getting started with Azure Websites and ASP.NET
• Building a web application with ASP.NET MVC using DocumentDB
• Get Started with the Azure WebJobs SDK
• Get started with Mobile Services
• How to Use Azure Redis Cache
• etc.

For all the detail about the Montreal edition be sure to go on the Meetup page. For more information about the global event go on http://global.azurebootcamp.net/

~Frank B.

Reading Notes #180

Suggestion of the week

• Microsoft Azure dev/test scenario considerations (Graham Smith, Kim Spilker) - Very useful articl0e with a lot of information. Many deferent scenarios are explained.

Cloud

• Microsoft Virtual Academy presents Developing Solutions with Azure DocumentDB (Ryan CrawCour) - A date to mark on our calendar. A free deepdive on DocumentDB.
  
• Azure, Cloud and Enterprise Icon Set - Nice icon pack.
  
• Azure Resource Explorer: a new tool to discover the Azure API (David Ebbo) - Nice post that introduces a nice tool. Azure Ressources Explorer is in preview but looks very promising.
  
• Delphi Automotive - Interesting post about IoT and the cloud.
  
• Microsoft Virtual Academy presents Developing Solutions with Azure DocumentDB (Ryan CrawCour) - Free training about documentDB... on the April 7.
  
• Getting interesting data into Azure Machine Learning (AzureML) (jennmar) - Nice post that explains what we needto get started with AzureML.

Programming

• What’s New in Fiddler 4.5 (Eric Lawrence) - Great news, this fantastic tool has just been updated.
  
• Node.js Tools 1.0 for Visual Studios - Nice post that explains how this new addon to Visual studio is helping us to debug our Node.js code.
  
• Continuous Integration for Node.js Projects with TeamCity - Nice tutorial that explains what are our free options to get started.
  
• Getting to know the new ASP.NET 5 configuration framework (Andrei Dzimchuk)- Great post that explains what are the new configuration options with the new .Net and how it works.
  
• On the importance of OpenSearch (Scott Hanselman) - Nice post. Looking forward to see more sites (and blog) using this feature.

Miscellaneous

• 9 Fundamental Laws of Effective Communication Skills - Interesting post about essentials skills.
  
• Microsoft reveals Surface 3 with Windows 8.1, starting at $499 and on sale May 5 - Nothing more to say...
  
• Deconstruct websites, get hired: hiding recruitment messages in source code (Troy Hunt) - Interesting post, and funny facts about site code.

~Frank B.

Microsoft Azure MVP 2015

With April came the MVP nominations, and I'm very happy to receive the 2015 Microsoft Azure MVP award, and to join the great MVP's family.

I would like to thanks everyone who helps me to share my passion, push me to always move forward, stimulate me to get outside my comfort zone to meet other passionate around the globe. Be sure that this is only the beginning!

The Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs is an award that Microsoft gives to exceptional, independent community leaders who share their passion, technical expertise, and real-world knowledge of Microsoft products with others. It is part of Microsoft’s commitment to supporting and enriching technical communities.

To know more about the MVP program, or to know how you could become an MVP, visit Microsoft MVP website.


See you soon.

~ Frank B

Reading Notes #179

Suggestion of the week

• Welcome Azure App Service. Some of my thoughts (Sam Vanhoutte) - Interesting post about the new apps thing that just been announced and the "link" with BizTalk.

Cloud

• Pragmatic IoT on Azure Part 1: Introduction - Interesting post about a very popular topic, a series to follow...
  
• ScottGu's Blog - ScottGu's Blog - Perfect post to have a high level overview about this great Azure update.
  
• Announcing Azure App Service (Bill Staples) - Get all the information about the new Azure App Services.
  
• Introducing Azure App Service - You missed the live announcement? Look the recorded conference here.
  
• A Dev and Test Adventure on (Alexandre Brisebois) - If like Alex, you're one of those who are still not using Azume VM for your dev... Here is your chance, the scripts and the Vm are all done for you.

Programming

• dotnetConf 2015 - If you missed this online event, all videos are available here on demand.
  
• Using Gulp for ASP.NET 5 & Visual Studio 2015 (Shayne Boyer) - Until the new release that will include template using Gulp, here is a great tutorial that will show how to achieve that.
  
• Visual Studio Tools for Windows 10 Technical Preview (S.Somasegar) - Get an idea of what' s coming next... with our favorite tool.
  
• The Dew Review – DevExpress TestCafe - This post introduces an interesting test tool. We can try it 30 days for free.

~Frank B.

Reading Notes #178

Suggestion of the week

• Scaling #Azure Cloud Services to Zero - This post is a really important piece of the puzzle that a lot of us don't see clearly.
  
• The Zen of Code Reviews: Pre-Review Comments (Michael Sorens) - Very interesting post that all developers should read. This post is a must.

Cloud

• Application Insights: Moving from Visual Studio Online Portal to Azure Preview Portal (Rahul Bagaria) - This move is a good decision. It will simplify things.
  
• New additions to the Azure VM PowerShell DSC Extension (Kundana Palagiri) - Great news, very powerful command.
  
• Getting admin by adding a new user to sudoers when you're locked out of an Azure Linux VM (Scott Hanselman) - Oh! That a really nice ninja trick!
  
• Pragmatic IoT on Azure Part 1: Introduction - A truly interesting post about a very popular topic, a series to follow...

Programming

• Understanding ASP.NET 5 middleware (Andrei Dzimchuk) - Very nice tutorial about how to implement a middleware in AspNet.
  
• Rapid PowerShell Development with ISESteroids (Tobias Weltner) - An incredible tool that every developer should know and try.
  
• Bitbucket Launches Snippets for Teams (Steffen Opel) - An interesting new feature that a lot of people were waiting for...

Miscellaneous

• Tragedies of the Remote Worker: "Looks like you're the only one on the call" (Scott Hanselman) - As a remote worker myself, I can say that if feel less alone in my loneliness... ;)
  
• Wake Up and Get S#!t Done – A Practice of Awesome (James Chambers) - Wow. Your are I mind reader! I love this post.

~Frank

Reading Notes #177

Suggestion of the week

• The Modern JavaScript Developer’s Toolbox  - If you eared about those buzz words: Grunt, Gulp, Sublime, LESS, Angular, want to know more, This is THE post you are looking for.

Cloud

• Get Your Reading On: Azure eBooks (Jonathan Rozenblit) - 8 free books, what else to say... Thanks of course.
  
• Cloud Computing Can Make Any Old Beater a Connected Car (Alex Davies) - Interesting article about the close future.
  
• Azure API Management Part 1: An Introduction - Nice introduction about the APIM, nice warm up.
  
• Free ebook: Microsoft Azure Essentials: Azure Automation (Kim Spilker, Mark) - Nice free ebook.

Programming

• Getting Started with TypeScript – Classes, Types and Interfaces - Very nice and clear introduction wit also a video.
  
• Welcome Back! - The AJAX Control Toolkit March 2015 Update (Vittorio Bertocci) - Yeah! A long wait but it's here now... Learn all the nice features of this new release in this post.
  
• Comprendre et maîtriser npm - Introduction - The perfect post to get started, for whom read French.

Miscellaneous

• How Leaders Should React When Someone Disappoints (Peter Bregman) - Interesting post about how we should react, simple and efficient.

Tons of statistics and metrics for Microsoft Azure websites (not only Asp.Net)

Your website is finally online. That great, good job. But now, you have a lot of questions: How much visits do I have? Which part of the site is mostly visited? Does the site performs well? In this post, I will show you some tools that exist in Microsoft Azure that will help you to get some answers.

Request and Error

When you create a website in Azure, you automatically got some monitoring. Go on portal.azure.com (the preview portal), and select your website.



This will be useful to see how many requests and errors you got. You could create some alerts, by clicking the "+" sign, and you would be notified by e-mail if the number of request is greater than x, over the last hour.

Analytics

The first time you will click on this section all the instruction will be given to you.

To collect end-user usage analytics about your application, insert the following script into each page you want to track. Place this code immediately before the closing </headtag, and before any other scripts. Your first data will appear automatically in just a few seconds.

To get analytics for the whole web site, in an Asp.Net MVC site, a good place will be: \Views\Shared\_Layout.cshtml.

In a Ghost blog, if you are using the default theme, the file will be /content/themes/casper/default.hbs. Otherwise, just replace "casper" by your theme name in the path.

Once your website is re-deployed, re-open the website blade and click again on the Analytics graph. And you will be able to see a lot of information: Session per browser, information on page's views, slowest pages, details on sessions, etc.





When you click on a graph, the Metrics Explorer blade will be visible. On the top of this blade, you will have many different options to customize your results. You will be able to add a chart, change the time range, add some filter and even set some alerts.





Moreover, if you click on those Charts, tables or even on a row, you will have more details and options to fine-tune the result.

Application Insights

You thought it was enough? Well, Microsoft Azure still has one more tool for you, that will cover in this post: Application Insights. With this one, you will be able to see the health of your application by adding some tests, custom events, logs, errors, etc.
Adding Application Insights to your Asp.Net website, can easily be done via Visual Studio, like I explained in a previous post.

Since Azure is compatible with many different languages, chances are that you are using one of those. Let say you are running a node.js Ghost blog, how could you add Application Insights? By using website extensions. To add an extension you could use the Kudu interface. This interface is easy to access. In a browser, type the URL of the website but inject "scm" between the name of the application and the azurewebsites.net. Something like http://mybookmanager.scm.azurewebsites.net/





Once you are in the Kudu interface, click on the tab Site Extensions, then section Gallery. Add the Application Insights Extension.
It's also possible to add a website extension using the website blade.





This will gives you a lot of information already, but to add more customs metric in .Net by sure to add the Application Insights SDK to your porject. In node.js use the applicationinsights package from npm,

~Frank Boucher

References

• Microsoft Azure
• Ghost
• Application Insights Extension
• Write custom telemetry with Application Insights API
• Applicationinsights package (npm)
• Kudu