A developer shared a small WinForms utility that totals GitHub release download counts across all their projects and keeps history over time. It compiles from a single C# 5 file with the csc.exe bundled in Windows, without Visual Studio. The write-up is useful for anyone tracking download trends or hitting GitHub API rate limits and TLS issues on .NET Framework 4.
NimblePros published its Tiles & Tokens sample, which relies on C# 15 unions and closed hierarchies, as a Native AOT binary on the .NET 11 RC1 SDK. The domain and serialization code produced no trimming or AOT warnings, and the native app ran correctly. The publish errors came from a reflection-based converter, an anonymous type and EF Core, which is a useful checklist for anyone planning a Native AOT app.
Metalama 2027.0 introduces call-site interceptors that rewrite selected method calls at build time, so a method from a NuGet package or the .NET libraries can be wrapped without touching its source. The post walks through a retry example built from a T# template, a hand-written audit redirect, and the scoping rules. The feature is in preview from 2027.0.4-preview.
ServiceStack v10.4 adds db.Explain() to OrmLite, which returns the query plan of a typed query without running it. The Profiling Admin UI also gets a Slowest Queries view where you can explain, analyze and re-run an app's slowest SQL from the browser. Together they make it easier to spot missing indexes.
Critter Stack's new Bobcat 1.0 turns ordinary C# tests into readable executable specifications. The author starts from an existing xUnit test, adds step helpers, then covers decision tables and set verification for collections. It is a practical walkthrough for .NET teams who want reviewable tests without a Gherkin layer.
A guide to how the MongoDB C# driver maps objects to BSON documents. It covers explicit element names, creator maps for immutable records, choosing the BSON _id type, and ignoring extra fields. It also argues that compatibility should be checked against stored fixtures, not only a fresh round trip.
.NET 11 moves async method suspension from compiler-generated state machines to the runtime, with the JIT optimizing the boundaries between async methods. The author reruns the official benchmarks on RC2 and compares allocations, stack traces and assembly size. The gains are real in synchronous await chains and exception-heavy paths, but measurement setup changes the picture.
A new dotnetpro series walks through building a Game Boy emulator in C#. Part one covers the 16-bit address bus, the 64 KB memory map, CPU registers modeled as C# fields and properties, and the flag register. It also shows how opcodes are dispatched in a switch loop and how cycle counting keeps components in sync.
PostSharp 2027.0 adds tooling that helps AI coding agents work correctly in PostSharp projects, including a plugin for Claude Code and Codex. The release also brings CLI commands that show which aspects were applied to a declaration after a build, per-message error documentation, and an aspect test framework. These are useful for .NET developers who write or maintain aspects.
Always Encrypted encrypts SQL Server columns on the client, so the database engine never sees their plaintext. Secure enclaves can run some otherwise blocked query operations inside a protected environment. The article walks through choosing an encryption type, defining the column and configuring a .NET client.
Martin Pisacreta built a small .NET 8 MCP server where the order cancellation tool requires a separately recorded, single-use, expiring approval instead of trusting the model's confirmation. The article walks through the claim-before-use approval store, the tool contract and the limits of the design, backed by 12 passing tests.
The author explains an inbox pattern that stops a Stripe webhook from applying a payment twice when deliveries repeat or overlap. The sample verifies the raw body, claims events with a unique-key insert, and commits the claim together with the local payment change. Its 38-test suite exercises duplicates, rollback and retries, making it a concrete reference for payment flows in ASP.NET Core.