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Reduce Trips to the Database Service with EF.E's Future Queries

One way to slow down your application is to make multiple trips to the database. Here's a way to cut those trips in half (at least) and it has to do with the EntityFramework.Extended library.

It's All About Character in C# and Visual Basic

How C# and Visual Basic handle characters and single-character strings is a bit inconsistent. There's no tidy solution, but it's something you do need to know.

17 New Extensions for Visual Studio 2015

Here's a round-up of the most recently released extensions for Visual Studio. There's something here for everyone, from starting a new project to deploying your code.

Making Your Data Updates and Deletes More Efficient

By adding one open source library to your application (and adding two methods to your LINQ statements) you can cut the time spent on database updates and deletes in half.

Test Out Code Variations at Runtime Using a Static Variable

Recompiling source code while debugging is possible, but sometimes your C++ project might not be configured to use it.

R Language Basic Data Structures

Vectors, lists, arrays, matrices and data frames -- a look at five of the most fundamental data structures built into R.

A First Look at Visual Studio Code

If you're looking for a lean, mean, cross-platform, desktop code editor then Visual Studio Code might be just your cup of tea. However, if you're used to the level of functionality you get with Visual Studio, it's important to set your expectations appropriately.

3 .NET Experts You Oughta Know

You can get lost looking for good .NET blogs among the several dozen good ones online right now. Here are three -- from Nick Chamberlain, Thomas Levesque, and Tony Sneed -- that are worthy of your attention right now.

Channel 9 To Live-Stream Visual Studio Live!

Amanda Silver's opening keynote on the Open Microsoft Developer Platform, along with a slew of other selected developer sessions, will be live-streamed during next week's conference at the Microsoft campus.

Composable Customizations with Xamarin.Forms

Learn how Xamarin.Forms Behaviors and Effects make it easy to customize your apps in ways you can reuse them across all of your apps.

Navigate Quickly from OutPut Window to Source Code

As you're debugging in Visual C++, sometimes you'll see a message in the Output Windows and then try to go the code it refers to, which can take a few steps. Here's a little trick in coding efficiency that simplifies moving from log messages to source code.

Potentially Save a Trip to the Database with Updates in Entity Framework

Here's a tip about how to exploit Entity Framework's change tracking mechanism to -- possibly -- eliminate a trip to the database when you update an item. But, without some additional code, you probably can't use it.

Building Media Apps for the Universal Windows Platform Using the Player Framework

The Universal Windows Platform comes with rich media capabilities. In this article Nick explores how to customize and extend the media playback experience using the Player Framework.

Declarative Programming in TypeScript with Decorators

If you've used attributes in your C# or Visual Basic programs, then decorators in TypeScript are going to look very familiar to you. They're still in development, but here's a look both at how to use them and how to write them.

Bash on Windows: Getting Productive with Windows Subsystem for Linux

Bash on Windows: It's new, it's exciting, but what can you do with it? We'll show you how the magic works (including some extensions for Visual Studio developers)

A Lifetime of Data in C# and Visual Basic

Or, how lifetime can mean different lengths of time, depending on whether it's procedural- or block-level.

Integrating SQL Server Reporting Services Reports and ASP.NET MVC

There are so many ways to integrate an SSRS report into your page that the biggest problem you'll face is deciding which one to use. Peter runs through all the solutions he can think of, including those cases where you want to download the report as a file.

The Best Advice You'll Get on ASP.NET MVC Routing

Here are three rules for defining ASP.NET MVC routes that you can actually understand.

Run Additional Test Code with SpecFlow 2 Hooks

You know how to run business-readable tests. Let's continue with a few more hooks.

C++ Debugging in Visual Studio: Let's Start with the Basics

Debugging is a crucial part of the development process. In this new series of tried and true C++ tips, we look at the basics of debugging and step through some more advanced debuggings tips for C++ developers.

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