Part of: ASP.NET Core: a working guide for .NET developers, C#: a working guide for .NET developers, EF Core: a working guide for .NET developers, Performance: a working guide for .NET developers
Editor's note
I put together another intentionally mixed issue here, with a few practical pieces that should age well. The Newtonsoft.Json vs System.Text.Json comparison is useful because that choice still affects compatibility and performance, and the ASP.NET Core global error handling article is the kind of fundamentals work teams benefit from immediately. I also liked the Cosmos DB cost guidance since AI-flavored workloads can amplify bad data-layer assumptions fast.
JSON choices, API reliability, and C# internals
Jasen Fici
April 29, 2026
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Today's Articles
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Jasen's take on today's picks
Newtonsoft.Json vs System.Text.Json Which Should You Use in .NET?
A solid practical comparison of the two JSON stacks, especially if you're balancing legacy compatibility against newer platform defaults and performance.
Beyond the Wizard: Why Modernization Chat is the New Standard for .NET Upgrades
Modernization is less about running a wizard now and more about guided decision-making, which is the interesting shift this piece highlights.
Claude Code: Two-Agent Workflow
The architect-developer split is a familiar pattern, and the article frames it as an AI-assisted workflow for microservice implementation.
C# Dotnet collection internals — Dictionary
Collection internals posts are always worthwhile, and this one walks through how Dictionary is organized under the hood.
Setup CI Build Pipeline in Azure DevOps for ASP.NET Core Web API
Useful if you need a straightforward Azure DevOps starter pipeline for an ASP.NET Core Web API without extra ceremony.
Global Error Handling in ASP.NET Core Web API: Building Reliable, Secure, and Production-Ready APIs
Global exception handling is foundational API work, and this article rightly ties reliability to security and production readiness.
#VSCode Newsletter on LinkedIn 📩
This is more of a short promo format, but the DateTime versus DateTimeOffset reminder is still a perennial source of bugs.
Microsoft .NET Code Analysis: Avoid Out Parameters in Methods
I generally agree with discouraging out parameters because clearer method shapes usually age better in real codebases.
What is the difference between struct and class in C# with performance comparison?
A decent refresher on value versus reference semantics, with the performance angle that newer C# developers often need.
Good to see GroupBy treated as a modeling tool rather than just query syntax, because that mindset opens better designs.
7 tips to optimize Azure Cosmos DB costs for AI and agentic workloads
This one stands out for being immediately actionable if you're running AI-heavy workloads on Cosmos DB and watching the bill.
C# Dotnet collection internals — Queue
Another internals walkthrough that helps explain why Queue behaves the way it does under pressure.
Record vs Class in C#: When to Use What (With Real Examples & EF Core Guide)
The record versus class decision keeps tripping teams up, and including EF Core constraints makes this more grounded.
On why devs from other languages find Authentication in .NET the most difficult part
Authentication in .NET can feel alien if you come from lighter frameworks, and this translator-style framing is sensible.
Fail Fast — for incorrect or missing configuration
Fail-fast configuration checks save time and prevent ugly runtime surprises, so I’m always glad to see this pattern reinforced.