Improving EF Core performance with Compiled Queries

EF Core 2.0 is production ready and it's now fully RTM. Therefore, I hope that by now you have had the chance to take it for a spin and use it in your code. There are many compelling reasons why you would want to use EF Core such as performance, portability and size being. The latest release of 2.0 has added a number of new features making it a very compelling ORM. Friendly reminder: EF Core can run both on the full .NET Framework and .NET Core. Don't let the "core" in the name confuse you. Today I …[read more]

Working with Application Insights and NLog in Console apps (.NET)

Application Insights is a logging platform that allows the collection and, more importantly, the collation of log data from any application. It's primarily optimised and designed to work with web frameworks such as Node.js, ASP.NET (Core too) or PHP etc. You choose the language and AppInsight's got you covered. There are, however cases that you want to do some logging (and you should) from a different type of application, like an Azure WebJob or a Console App. AppInsights works flawlessly with web frameworks because under the hood it creates an HttpHandler that intercepts request/response data. This means …[read more]

Scaffolding DbContext and Models with EntityFramework Core 2.0 and the CLI

EF Core 2.0 has been out for a few weeks now. If you're looking at an ORM for your .NET application then EF Core should be at the top of the list of possible options. I say at the top and not the only one because depending on the project requirements, some features may be missing. For example, EF Core cut ties with .edmx so if you want to stick with the designer feature you will need to use EF6. There are other limitations so make sure you have a look at this post for API changes in 2. …[read more]

Getting started with public speaking, a guide for technical people

Hello new and seasoned speakers! Let's start with a definition on public speaking: Public speaking Speaking at conferences, user groups or anytime you have to stand in front of people and talk about something in a structured way. And the Merriam Websterdictionary definition of Public Speaking: The act or process of making speeches in public The art of effective oral communication with an audience It's funny how context makes such a big difference. If you're at the pub/bar/coffee shop with friends/colleagues and the conversation happens to turn technical you could spend hours talking about a "technology, language, …[read more]

Getting started with Azure Container Instances

Hot off the press! The new Azure Container Instances service is a new offering (still in Preview) from Azure that allows you to launch and run your Docker Images in less than 10 seconds. In this post, I'll show you how to get started and what you need in order to be able to leverage the service. Prerequisites In order to follow along you'll need the following: An active Azure Subscription A machine that has the following installed Azure CLI Docker .NET Core (if you want to deploy a .NET Core app). Alternatively, node or any platform you wish to …[read more]