Editor's note
I put together a pretty mixed issue this time, with EF Core, API design, and Azure pieces all sitting side by side. The Minimal APIs standup and the observability-debt article are the two I’d especially read first if you care about shipping and debugging real systems.
Entity Framework, APIs, and Observability
Jasen Fici
July 17, 2025
It’s Thursday, folks! Between code refactoring and coffee refueling, it's time to turbocharge your week with some .NET knowledge. Today’s newsletter is packed with the sharpest insights and freshest updates, aiming to keep your skills as polished as a well-tuned engine. Let’s rev up our .NET acumen and drive today's learning routes straight into your developer toolkit!
Today's Articles
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Jasen's take on today's picks
AsNoTracking ve ChangeTracker: Entity Framework’te Felsefi Bir Yolculuk
A thoughtful look at EF Core tracking behavior, especially if you still treat AsNoTracking as a default instead of a deliberate choice.
Nullable Reference Types in C# — A Deep Dive with Real-Life Analogies
A practical refresher on nullable reference types, using analogies that make the compiler’s warnings feel less abstract.
A straightforward architecture refresher that’s useful if your codebase has grown faster than your boundaries.
Why Most .NET Developers Misuse Records — and What It’s Costing Them
A records article that challenges common misuse and reminds you they’re not a universal replacement for classes.
15+ .NET Best Practices Every Developer Should Know in 2025 (From Real Projects)
A broad best-practices roundup that seems aimed at developers trying to tighten everyday decisions without overengineering.
My Friend Charges $500/hour for .NET (Here’s His Stack)
The “$500/hour” stack piece is more lifestyle than technique, but it’s a nice peek at the tools behind polished delivery.
You’re Still Using Try-Catch Wrong in .NET — Here’s the 2025-Ready Way
A useful reminder that try-catch should be intentional, not a blanket around every method body.
ASP.NET Community Standup - Why aren't you using Minimal APIs?
The Minimal APIs standup is worth a watch if you want the ASP.NET team’s current reasoning, not just blog-post summaries.
Less Code, More Impact: The Art of Doing More by Writing Less
A short essay on writing less code that will resonate with anyone who’s had to maintain the code they admired a year ago.
Stop Using Count() == 0! Here’s Why Any() Is the Better Choice in C#
A classic performance gotcha: use Any() when you mean existence, not Count() when you only need a yes or no.
Differences between Data Center, Zone, Region, and Geo Location in Microsoft Azure
A clear Azure explainer that helps untangle data center, zone, region, and geo terms for cloud planning.
Top 10 Exception-Handling Strategies in .NET
Exception-handling strategies are always worth revisiting, because the right pattern depends heavily on the failure mode.
Duplicate Message Detection for an Azure Service Bus
Duplicate detection in Service Bus is one of those practical messaging topics that saves you from painful downstream retries.
Essential C# Enum Tricks: From Strings to Bitwise Flags (Part 1)
Enum tips are evergreen, and the strings-to-flags progression is especially handy for API and configuration code.
Debugging .NET Core APIs Like a Pro: Hidden Performance Traps You’re Probably Missing
A performance-and-debugging piece that looks at API slowdowns through hidden traps rather than surface-level symptoms.
How I Secured a .NET Core API Without JWT or Cookies — The Power of Custom Authentication
Custom authentication without JWT or cookies is an interesting read if your security model doesn’t fit the usual templates.
Your API Isn’t Slow — Your Logs Are Lying: How Observability Debt Is Killing .NET Systems
The observability-debt article is my kind of warning shot: sometimes the API isn’t the problem, the telemetry is.
Building RESTful APIs in C# (.NET 8) — And Why They Still Matter
A solid REST-focused refresher in .NET 8 for teams that still need clean, understandable HTTP APIs.
Understanding Entity States in EF Core — A Complete Guide for .NET Developers
Entity states in EF Core is one of those topics that pays off immediately when change tracking starts getting confusing.
Modern MediatR Library in .NET Core 9.0
MediatR in .NET 9 is a good fit for folks comparing request pipelines and handler-based composition.
Understanding Azure Synapse Analytics
Azure Synapse coverage rounds out the issue with a broader data-platform angle beyond app code.