Blog

Using Azure DevOps Pipeline Variables in PowerShell Script Files

Azure Pipelines inherently provides the ability for PowerShell scripts to be defined and executed inline.

1- task: AzureCLI@2
2  displayName: Bicep apply
3  inputs:
4    azureSubscription: MyAzureDevOpsConnectionName
5    scriptType: pscore
6    scriptLocation: inlineScript
7    inlineScript: az deployment group create --resource-group $(AZ_PLATFORM_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME) --name $(AZ_DEPLOYMENT_NAME)-$(AZ_ENV_NAME) 

Unfortunately, this can become very confusing in many situations and also repetitive, since, for example, an Azure Bicep deployment task is required in several stages, so that the task is repeated accordingly.

Efficient deserialization of Json files on Azure Blob Storage with .NET

System.Text.Json is currently the most modern way to handle Json files efficiently. Efficiency here also means that memory sparing files are read in.

Use constants in Azure Bicep to simplify your IaC life.

Azure is an ecosystem full of constants, identifiers, IDs or role definitions. Unfortunately, ARM and Bicep do not provide as much support as they could.
So you have to become active yourself, as bitter as it sounds.

Microsoft has moved Teams backend service to .NET 6 - the performance results

September last year, Microsoft announced that a large number of backend services would be migrated to .NET 6. This, they said, was an enterprise-wide initiative .

A struct with an interface is inefficient in .NET

Structs have their advantages in .NET: they are especially efficient in the runtime if used correctly.

But if you use structs with an interface, the massive advantages unfortunately turn into disadvantages:
As soon as an interface is attached to a struct, Boxing comes into effect; the values are thus copied over and over again, which is usually not what you want - but it also shows up in the benchmarks.

Difference of is null vs equals null and why is null is recommended

Both C# is null and == null are used to check if a variable or object is null, but they work slightly differently.

Create Symbolic Links on Windows with .NET

Symbolic Links (often abbreviated as symlinks) are a type of file or folder shortcut in Windows that reference another file or folder in the file system, rather than copying its contents. Unlike a normal shortcut, a symlink acts as if it were the original file or folder, so any changes to the symlink will affect the original file and vice versa.

Benefits of using isolated mode of Azure Functions with .NET

The isolated mode of Azure Functions with .NET allows for greater control over the runtime environment and dependencies of the function. In this mode, the function runs in its own process, separate from the Azure Functions host. This allows for custom runtime versions and specific versions of dependencies to be used.

Web performance tests with k6

Performance testing is a crucial step in ensuring that your website can handle high levels of traffic and provide a smooth user experience. One tool that can help you perform performance tests on your website is k6. In this blog post, we’ll go over how to use k6 to test the performance of your website.

Multi Query Selects with EF Core

Often there is a situation where you need to load several pieces of information from a database or table at the same time in order to display certain content. The prime example of such a situation is paging: