2024 - January/February
The collection of articles spans diverse aspects of software development and technology. Sahil Malik's exploration of web API authentication underscores the intricacies involved in validating access tokens, focusing on identity, security, and best practices. Paul Sheriff provides practical guidance on XML serialization and validation in .NET 6/7, covering rules, control mechanisms, and effective usage for C# objects. Kevin Goff delves into SQL Server data handling, offering recommendations and insights into various scenarios, including subqueries, logging, and handling null values. Shawn Wildermuth introduces "Bun," a JavaScript tool with potential revolutionary impact, emphasizing its speed, compatibility, and support for server-side JavaScript development. Lastly, Mike Yeager introduces Semantic Kernel (SK), an open-source AI framework for .NET, highlighting its role in abstracting large language models, handling complex implementations, and aiding user-generated content integration.
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Citizen Developers
Melanie explores the pros and cons of citizen developers: Are they a benefit or a hindrance?
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CODE: 30 Years Ago
Once upon a time, Markus started a one-man consulting company. Now, with multiple divisions and a magazine to run, he takes a look back to see how much has changed. Overall, it is a nostalgic reflection on the technology and development trends since 1993.
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Web API Authentication
In this article, Sahil explores the intricacies of validating access tokens in web API authentication. They emphasize the importance of identity and security in this process and discuss the parties involved, such as the identity provider, the relying party (RP), and the web API. The article delves into topics like acquiring and caching access tokens, as well as validating their signatures and claims. Sahil also touches on best practices for storing and managing refresh tokens.
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XML Serialization and Validation in .NET 6/7
Paul shows you how to use XML serialization to store C# objects on disk or in tables. It covers topics such as XML serialization, rules for XML serialization, serialization of C# objects to XML, controlling XML serialization process, working with XML attributes, handling nested objects and lists, working with namespaces, using XML schemas to validate XML documents, and handling schema errors.
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Stages of Data: Some Basic SQL Server Patterns and Practices
This article explores various scenarios in SQL Server data handling, providing recommendations and identifying potential pitfalls. Topics covered include identifying patterns in data scenarios, using subqueries when dealing with multiple one-to-many relationships, logging database changes, handling null values versus empty values, using functions in WHERE and HAVING clauses, cumulative sums, using the PIVOT statement, and dealing with rounding errors.
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Real-Time Communication in PHP Laravel: Part 2
Bilal shows you how WebSockets in PHP Laravel orchestrate real-time communication and interactions. The article provides a comprehensive overview of WebSockets, along with practical examples of their implementation in Laravel using packages such as Laravel Echo and Pusher. It covers the different types of broadcasting channels, including public, private, and presence channels, and explains how to authenticate users for private and presence channels. The article also explores broadcasting events and notifications, and provides step-by-step instructions on setting up and configuring a Laravel application for real-time communication with WebSockets.
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Bun in the Oven
In this article, Shawn Wildermuth introduces a new JavaScript tool called Bun and examines its potential as a revolutionary solution for JavaScript and TypeScript developers. Bun aims to handle the four main scenarios of JavaScript tooling: JavaScript runtime, package management, bundler, and test runner. With its high speed, compatibility with Node.js/NPM, support for TypeScript and JSX/TSX, and incorporation of web browser APIs, Bun claims to be four times faster than Node.js. Shawn emphasizes the need for further testing and refinement before fully adopting Bun, but highlights its potential benefits for server-side JavaScript development.
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Automatic Resource Management in .NET 7 Core
Joydip covers the core concepts of resource management in .NET Core and then helps you build something with it.
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Semantic Kernel 101
Mike Yeager introduces Semantic Kernel (SK), an open-source AI framework developed by Microsoft for .NET for working with large language models (LLMs) and specifically to help create Copilots. Yeager explains that SK serves three main purposes: to abstract the underlying LLMs, APIs, and tooling; to handle complex implementations in a generic way; and to facilitate the integration of user-generated content. He also discusses the benefits of using SK, such as its ability to create prompt templates, handle ad hoc scenarios, and assist with tasks like tokenization and text splitting. Despite still being in preview, Yeager suggests that SK is a powerful SDK that is worth exploring.