Columns


Xamarin.Forms -- Caching for the ListView

Similar to the UITableView in iOS and ListView in Android, the XF version can be used to cache images for use in other locations of an application.

Checking Up on Your Entity Framework Objects with DbEntityEntry

The Entity Framework DbEntityEntry object lets you do all sorts of things you probably didn't think were possible, including getting the latest data from the database (without losing your current data) and invoking the .NET Framework validation subsystem.

Set HtmlHelpers Parameters Using Anonymous Objects in ASP.NET

If you're passing an anonymous object to an HtmlHelper method (to ActionLink, for example), you might want to consider using that anonymous object to eliminate one of the other parameters.

Revealing Secrets with R and Factor Analysis

Let's use this classical statistics technique -- and some R, of course -- to get to some of the latent variables hiding in your data.

All of Visual Studio 2017 Visually In One Suite Release

Nifty, printable info graphic shows everything new and updated in the latest developer suite.

Efficiently Loading Related Objects in Entity Framework

If you're not using the Entity Framework DbCollectionEntry object when working with an entity class's related objects, then your application is running too slow. Using DbCollectionEntry lets you asynchronously retrieve related objects and get only the objects you want.

Customize Browser Window Size When Debugging ASP.NET Apps

If, after pressing F5, you've ever found yourself adjusting the size of your browser window, then this tip is for you. But you shouldn't be surprised if it doesn't work.

Transforming Windows Files on C++: What's Fastest?

We just covered background information on our last file processing foray. Now, what's faster: CRT, Windows API, or something else?

Tools, Services Supporting Visual Studio 2017

With Visual Studio 2017 making its debut next week, a number of software and services that comprise its tooling ecosystem have already embedded support for the development platform.

Mimic Lazy Loading with Entity Framework 6 and Entity Framework Core 1.1

Entity Framework Core doesn't have lazy loading (at least, not yet). But you can fake it by using explicit loading, though it doesn't work quite the way you might want. In fact, it's probably a good idea to use this in Entity Framework 6.

Managing Modules in TypeScript 2.1

If you want to ensure that the right code is loaded at the right time (and only loaded when you need it), you can use TypeScript code to organize your code into modules. As a side benefit, managing your script tags will get considerably easier.

Selecting Groups in LINQ

Some questions can only be answered by organizing your data into groups and then finding groups that contain particular members or have particular properties.

Doing Visual Studio and .NET Code Documentation Right

Good documentation is important for any application, and it starts with documenting your code. It helps you and it helps your users.

Grouping Results in LINQ

Complex queries can be solved with a combination of simpler LINQ queries, anonymous objects and the Group/By/Into clauses. Using Group/By/Into will also give you the best possible performance for those complex queries.

Export Your ASP.NET Configuration To Reduce Restarts, Share Settings

You don't have to keep all your configuration settings in your config file. There are even some benefits to exporting sections to separate files.

Returning Raw JSON Data in Web API with Marten

Here's a trick to have Marten automatically deserialize JSON data only when you want it to.

Getting All the Results When Joining with LINQ

When you want to find all the objects that are missing a corresponding object, then you need the LINQ equivalent of an outer join. Here, step by painful step, is how to build that query.

Move from Tab to Tab in the Visual Studio Toolbox Without the Mouse

You don't need to take your hands off the keyboard to move to another tab in the Toolbox.

Getting Device-Specific When Customizing a Xamarin Forms App

Your Xamarin Forms App needs one more little tweak, and that's to make it device-specific, so users don't freak out. Unlike the Apple tweak, the Android tweak takes a bit of work.

Working with Enumerated Values in Entity Framework

If you decide on using an Enum with enumerated values in your Entity Framework class, here are the tools you'll need to make it work. But an enumerated value shouldn't be your first choice.

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