Code is easier when the why sticks.

In the archive48 articles

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Practical walkthroughs, runnable examples, and the tradeoffs that never fit in the happy path docs.

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Newest first. Pick the problem in front of you, or wander around until something useful falls out.

Five DI Anti-Patterns Haunting .NET Apps and how to fix Them

Dependency injection is powerful until small mistakes turn into late night outages. This post walks through five common DI anti patterns in .NET, shows why they fail, and gives compact fixes. Learn lifetime rules, avoid hidden dependencies, and make testing easy.

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Aug 17 Article / csharp

Measure Twice Allocate Once: Faster Lists in .NET

Lists grow by reallocating and copying, which adds hidden cost as data scales. This post shows why setting List capacity up front reduces allocations and improves cache behavior. You will see small runnable examples and practical patterns you can drop into production.

4 min1 like Aug 03 Article / aspnetcore

Tame Configuration in ASP.NET Core with IValidateOptions

Silent misconfiguration is sneaky and expensive. Learn how to validate strongly typed settings in .NET using IValidateOptions, add cross property rules, inject services, support named options, and fail fast at startup with ValidateOnStart.

5 min1 like Jul 20 Article / csharp

Virtual vs Override vs Partial in C# Explained with Small Runnable Examples

Virtual, override and partial are tiny C# keywords with huge impact on design. This post explains how they work, when to use them, and where bugs appear. Learn the difference between override and new, why sealed override matters, and how partial classes and partial methods keep generated and hand written code happy. Every section comes with short, runnable snippets and real project tips.

4 min1 like Jul 06 Article / data

EF Core Query Performance Tips for Everyone

EF Core does not make queries fast by default. You do. This guide shows how to cut query time by fetching less with projection, turning on AsNoTracking for reads, avoiding N+1, choosing AsSplitQuery for big includes, paginating, indexing and compiling hot queries. Each concept comes with small runnable C# snippets and clear explanations so you can apply them today without rewriting your app.

4 min0 likes Jun 22 Article / csharp

Sealed by Default in .NET: when it Shines and when it Bites

Sealed looks like a tiny keyword, but it carries serious weight in modern .NET. This post explains what sealed does at class and member level, why the JIT can make sealed code faster, when you should not seal, and how to keep code testable with interfaces. You will see small, runnable examples and practical patterns that balance performance, clarity, and flexibility.

5 min0 likes Jun 08 Article / csharp

Smarter Error Handling in C#: Try, Result and Fewer Tears

Exceptions are powerful for diagnostics but expensive in tight loops and high traffic code. This post explains what the runtime does when you throw, why that cost adds up, and when exceptions are the right tool. You will see small, runnable C# examples that model expected failures with Try, Result and tuples, plus a minimal API that returns HTTP results without throwing. We will also cover a micro tip for library authors to keep fast paths fast.

5 min0 likes May 25 Article / aspnetcore

Stop Breaking Clocks in ASP.NET Core with UTC and TimeZoneInfo

Time bugs are sneaky and expensive, but they do not have to be. This post shows a practical UTC first approach for ASP.NET Core using DateTimeOffset and TimeZoneInfo. You will learn how to design your data model, return UTC from APIs, convert to a user’s local time, and avoid DST traps without hard coded offsets. We will also wrap conversions in a clean service and make time testable with TimeProvider.

4 min0 likes May 11 Article / aspnetcore

From Layers to Slices: How I Ship Faster ASP.NET Core APIs

Your API should feel like a collection of small, focused stories, not a scavenger hunt through Services and Interfaces. This tutorial shows how to build a feature first Vertical Slice Architecture in ASP.NET Core using Minimal APIs, MediatR, and FluentValidation. You will see how commands and queries stay tidy, how validation runs before handlers, and how the folder structure reduces friction as your API count grows.

4 min0 likes Apr 27 Article / csharp

Stop Parallelizing Everything: A Practical Guide to Parallel.ForEach

Parallel.ForEach feels like a free speed boost, until it slows your app to a crawl. This post explains when parallel loops shine, when they backfire, and how to avoid the classic traps. You will see small runnable C# examples for CPU bound work, shared state pitfalls, and I/O scenarios. We will also cover safer async alternatives, thread local aggregation, and simple tuning with ParallelOptions. By the end, you will know how to pick the right approach and measure the impact with confidence.

4 min0 likes Apr 13 Article / data

EF Core Audit Logging with Interceptors that do not Clutter Your DbContext

Learn how to build a clean, production ready audit trail in EF Core that records who changed what and when without stuffing logic into your DbContext. We walk through a practical SaveChanges interceptor, compare it to overriding SaveChanges, and review trusted NuGet options. The post closes with performance and security practices that keep your database fast and your compliance officer calm.

6 min0 likes Mar 30 Article / aspnetcore

How .NET 10 speeds up API validation without code changes

Model validation has been a reliable but costly part of every ASP.NET Core request. In .NET 10 and C# 14, validation gets faster through precomputed metadata, typed execution, and fewer allocations. This post explains what changed under the hood, shows small runnable examples, and includes a micro-benchmark you can adapt. You will also see how to write lean custom validators and pair validation with faster JSON parsing.

4 min0 likes Mar 16 Article / csharp

The Traps of Nullable<T> in C#: a Practical Guide with Tiny Examples

Nullable<T> is not a mini reference type and pretending it is will bite you. This guide walks through how nullable value types work at runtime, how boxing really behaves, and what operator lifting does. You will see small, runnable C# snippets that expose common traps and safe patterns. Learn how to handle equality, pattern matching, and generics without surprises.

5 min0 likes Mar 02 Article / csharp

Stop Guessing Types in C#: typeof, GetType and IsAssignableFrom Explained

Let's break down the real jobs of typeof, object.GetType and Type.IsAssignableFrom with small, runnable examples and a few nerdy references for fun.

4 min0 likes Feb 16 Article / data

Repository Pattern vs DbContext in Entity Framework Core

Tired of arguing about repositories in EF Core? This practical guide compares direct DbContext, thin repositories, and specification style queries with small, runnable C# examples. Learn when each option shines, what to avoid, and how to keep your code clean without hiding EF Core features.

4 min1 like Feb 02 Article / csharp

C# 14's Unbound Generics in nameof Explained

C# 14 adds support for unbound generic types in nameof, so you can write nameof(Logger<>) and nameof(Dictionary<,>) without supplying throwaway type arguments. This post explains the syntax, shows practical examples for logs, exceptions, and attributes, and clarifies how nameof differs from typeof in this context.

3 min0 likes Jan 19 Article / data

Cleaner Joins in EF Core 10 with LeftJoin and RightJoin

EF Core 10 introduces LeftJoin and RightJoin to make outer joins readable and intuitive. This article shows how these methods translate to SQL, how to migrate from GroupJoin and DefaultIfEmpty, and how to handle nulls and filters without breaking semantics.

5 min0 likes Dec 19 Article / aspnetcore

The .NET Drip

A little .NET in your inbox.

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Code is easier when the why sticks.

Five DI Anti-Patterns Haunting .NET Apps and how to fix Them

Measure Twice Allocate Once: Faster Lists in .NET

Tame Configuration in ASP.NET Core with IValidateOptions

Virtual vs Override vs Partial in C# Explained with Small Runnable Examples

EF Core Query Performance Tips for Everyone

Sealed by Default in .NET: when it Shines and when it Bites

Smarter Error Handling in C#: Try, Result and Fewer Tears

Stop Breaking Clocks in ASP.NET Core with UTC and TimeZoneInfo

From Layers to Slices: How I Ship Faster ASP.NET Core APIs

Stop Parallelizing Everything: A Practical Guide to Parallel.ForEach

EF Core Audit Logging with Interceptors that do not Clutter Your DbContext

How .NET 10 speeds up API validation without code changes

The Traps of Nullable<T> in C#: a Practical Guide with Tiny Examples

Stop Guessing Types in C#: typeof, GetType and IsAssignableFrom Explained

Repository Pattern vs DbContext in Entity Framework Core

C# 14's Unbound Generics in nameof Explained

Cleaner Joins in EF Core 10 with LeftJoin and RightJoin

Choosing Between Controllers and Minimal API for .NET APIs

Alias any Type with C# 12

Using Primary Constructors in C# 12 & .NET 8

Integrating a Notion Database with an Astro Site

How to Email Phone Call Transcripts with Twilio Studio and Pipedream

Try Whisper: OpenAI's Speech Recognition Model in 1 Minute

Creating Short URLs with Netlify Functions and FaunaDb

Making a Man: Lessons Learned from My Single Mother

Updating Notion Cover Images with Pipedream and JavaScript

Building 404 Pages That Bring Joy

Building a Cross Platform NuGet Package

Building a Discord Bot to Improve Inclusive Language

Using Polywork to Break My Unconscious Biases

10 VS Code Extensions You Need Today

Choosing Between Blazor Server or WebAssembly

Building my Ultimate Rustic Developers Desk

Live-Coding to Learn, Share and Encourage

Using Apollo to Query GraphQL from Node.js

I See What You're Saying: Sentiment Analysis With OpenTok and Azure Face API

Using AutoMapper with ASP.NET Core 3

Adding HATEOAS to an ASP.NET Core API

Using Azure File Storage as Container Volume Mounts in App Services

Environment Variables in Azure Functions with Key Vault

Using SQL Server in Docker containers for basic tasks

Using a Code of Conduct and Contributing Guidelines in Public Repositories

Adding command aliases to Powershell

Current Twitch live-coding stream setup

Communication between containers using docker compose in Windows

Setting up Raspberry Pi for use in kiosk mode with Chromium

Automating release notes with GitHub, AppVeyor and Octopus Deploy

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