Editor's note
I kept this one deliberately mixed, which is how I like these issues. The EF Core query tuning piece is useful for teams feeling database pain in production, and the Azure DevOps service connections article is the kind of practical API walkthrough that saves real time. I also liked the snapshot testing guide because it focuses on a technique plenty of .NET teams still underuse.
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Today's Articles
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Jasen's take on today's picks
Optimizing Entity Framework Core Queries for Large-Scale Applications
Solid refresher on the usual EF Core hotspots: projection, tracking, pagination, and indexes still move the needle first.
Vertical Slice Architecture in C# (.NET 8): A Complete Guide with Production-Ready Examples
If you like feature-first organization, this is a good production-minded vertical slice walkthrough with familiar CQRS and MediatR tradeoffs.
Get Service Connections with the Azure DevOps API (REST and TypeScript)
Useful nuts-and-bolts Azure DevOps API post. I appreciate seeing both curl and TypeScript instead of a hand-wavy overview.
Cosmos DB Shell unlock agentic workflows with MCP toolkit
Interesting crossover of Cosmos DB tooling and MCP-style agent workflows; worth a look if you're experimenting with AI-assisted data access.
Building an Intelligent Feature Flag Management Platform with ASP.NET Core
Feature flags are never just toggles in mature systems, and this gets into platform concerns instead of stopping at hello world.
The Complete .NET 11 Developer’s Guide to the Agentic Web Part 1
.NET 11 plus agentic web is forward-looking material; more exploratory than immediately practical, but that's part of the appeal.
7 AI Engineering Patterns Every .NET Developer Should Know (With Practical Examples)
These patterns matter more than model hype. Reliability and system design are where most AI app success or failure really lives.
Encapsulate LINQ with Extension Methods
A nice maintainability-focused idea: hide repeated query intent behind extensions instead of scattering LINQ all over the codebase.
.NET 10 dnx: Run a .NET Tool Without Installing It
dnx is a handy quality-of-life improvement, especially for CI scripts and one-off tool execution.
No more regressions with Snapshot Tests in C# using Verify: a practical guide
Snapshot testing still feels underused in .NET. Verify can be a sharp tool when you need confidence during refactors.
Building AI Features in ASP.NET Core Using Small Language Models Instead of Large LLMs
The SLM angle is timely: lower cost, latency, and privacy concerns make small models a better fit than many teams assume.
Best Libraries for ASP.NET Core in 2026 (Opinionated)
Opinionated library lists can age badly, but they’re useful when they explain what the platform now gives you for free.
I Taught Claude Code to Stop Breaking My .NET Projects
Interesting attempt to constrain AI coding output so it fits real .NET solutions instead of merely compiling.
Agent Harness: Working with your data, safely
Safety around data access is where agent frameworks will be won or lost. Good area to watch closely.
The IDisposable and using Truth Most of Us Missed in C#
A worthwhile revisit of IDisposable and using semantics; fundamentals still trip people up in subtle ways.
.NET MAUI Community Standup: SkiaSharp 4 has arrived!
SkiaSharp 4 landing is notable for MAUI folks who care about graphics, rendering, and cross-platform UI polish.
12 C# OOP Concepts Every .NET Developer Must Know
Basic material, but sometimes a quick OOP reset is useful when mentoring or onboarding newer C# developers.
AI-Driven Performance Profiling for ASP.NET Core Applications
Profiling advice wrapped in AI language is only useful if the recommendations are actionable; still, performance tooling is always relevant.
How to Implement AI-Powered Exception Analysis in ASP.NET Core
Exception analysis is a good AI-assisted scenario when it reduces triage time without obscuring the real stack details.
.NET app returning a blank 500? Not with exception handlers
If your API emits useless 500s, fix that first. Clear exception handling is operational hygiene, not a nice-to-have.
DRY Principle in C#: Don't Repeat Yourself - A Practical Guide With Real Code Examples
DRY gets oversimplified constantly, so I’m glad this frames it as duplicated knowledge, not just duplicated code.
Building AI-Powered Database Query Optimization Tools with SQL Server and .NET
An interesting blend of SQL Server performance work and AI-assisted tuning; promising if grounded in actual execution data.
Building a Developer Copilot for Internal Documentation Using Semantic Kernel
Internal developer copilots live or die on source quality and guardrails, but Semantic Kernel is a sensible foundation here.