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A common execution path optimization
Today I want to talk about one interesting optimization pattern that you may face in framework code or in high-performance libraries. The idea is simple: suppose you have a commonly used method that has two execution paths – one is very common and simple, and the second one takes longer to execute, has more steps but happens not that often. As an example, let’s consider a List<T>.Add method. On the “happy-path” Add method is very simple and efficient: if there is enough space it adds an item to an internal array. But if the internal array is full, Add method resizes the underlying array (by allocating...
When using SharePoint, don’t use $
In the latest post on his blog, Senior Premier Developer Consultant Brian Gregor discusses an error when using Distributed Cache PowerShell cmdlets with a user account that includes a $ in the name. https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/briangre/2017/01/24/when-using-sharepoint-dont-use/
Microsoft Graph – Consolidating multiple APIs into one
Paul King, Senior Application Development Manager, introduces Microsoft Graph API as the unifying endpoint for many APIs As Microsoft’s cloud services has evolved, so have the APIs used to reference them. When Microsoft first offered cloud services like Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive and others, and API to access that service was launched too. There would be little use for a cloud service if developers could not access the content. This brought us to a huge list of new SDK’s and REST endpoints to service each of these individual technologies as they were released. Each of these endpoints required A...
Investing In Improvement
In this post, Principal Application Development Manager, Larry Duff asks “How will you identify your normalized deviances and invest in improvement?” I've been following a recent blog about the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy and was struck by a phrase in a recent entry, "normalization of deviance." They were describing a piece of foam falling off the external tank and striking the orbiter as being acceptable because it happened before with no consequences. This was eerily familiar to Challenger where burn through on the Solid Rocket Booster O-rings had become acceptable. In both cases they had tr...
Congratulations Visual Studio on 20 amazing years! Join the VS2017 Launch Event
If you were developing code back in ‘97, perhaps you remember the mind blowing concept of Microsoft delivering a single IDE that could do it all. Up to this point, developers were used to juggling debuggers, compilers, linkers, editors, and more to build integrated solutions. It was a special time to experience development technology coming together in a way that truly challenged the imagination. Here’s everything you need. What can YOU build? Calling Visual Studio ambitious would be an understatement. 20 years later, we’ve come a long way. Whatever the platform of choice, developers tend to agree – Visu...
Power BI–A case study to end homelessness
Keith Anderson, Senior ADM, shares a practical example of how Power BI quickly transformed a project using simple, out-of-the-box features to integrate data and provide visualizations. I had the opportunity recently to work with the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness (CCEH) on their yearly Youth Point-in-time (PIT) Count event. Microsoft worked with them on a pro-bono basis to create a mobile application using Xamarin. Microsoft Developer Experience engineers in collaboration with Nutmeg Consulting created a survey application that could be loaded onto devices running iOS, Android, or Windows through ...
The High Availability Conversation Part 1: Introduction
In this post, Senior Consultant, Bradley Ball discusses High Availability for SQL Server. In this latest blog post PSfD Consultant Bradley Ball begins the High Availability Conversation based off of a question on Twitter. He answers the questions what do the Three Bears have to do with HA planning and the business users and IT management. Let’s define a couple terms up front. HA in this case is High Availability. It is the capability for a database or data store to maintain availability and connectivity to a Graphical User Interface, Web Service, or some other data consuming application despite a localized...
Dissecting the new() constraint in C#: a perfect example of a leaky abstraction
Most likely you’ve heard about The Law of Leaky Abstractions coined by Joel Spolsky. Even if you never heard of it, you definitely faced it in your day-to-day job. The “law” is pretty simple: “All non-trivial abstractions, to some degree, are leaky”. And this is 100% true. But sometimes even not that complicated abstractions can leak their internal details. Let’s consider the following code snippet: Do you see any issues with it? Will it pass a thorough code review? Of course, you need to know the context. For instance, you need to know what the TNode types are, whether the constructor of those types can th...
[Service Fabric] Securing an Azure Service Fabric cluster with Azure Active Directory via the Azure Portal
In this post, Senior Consultant, Larry Wall demonstrates how to secure Azure Service Fabric Cluster using Azure Active Directory via the Azure Portal. To make sure appropriate credit is given to a great article on this topic, I did take some of the information for the steps below from this article https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/service-fabric/service-fabric-cluster-creation-via-arm. The article found at the link focuses on using an ARM template to do the deployment and secure setup. Using ARM would be the way you would want to set this up in a production environment. My post is going to be using...