Engineering Practices

C# 11.0 expanded high-performance, low-allocation functionality. This post describes the importance of the added support for ref fields, and how the scoped keyword relates.

Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) capture context, options, decisions, and consequences. dotnet-adr is a .NET tool for managing ADRs.

As data and AI become the engine of business change, we need to learn the lessons of the past to avoid expensive failures.

No-code/Low-code democratizes software development with little to no coding skills needed. But how do you evaluate if software DIY is the right choice for you?

Explore the benefits of Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) in technical design, with real-world examples applied to different scenarios.

Do you struggle to manage conflicting demands from multiple stakeholders, even when they have agreed about the relative priority of their requests? Apply a budgeting methodology to agile projects for better planning and communication with the team and wider stakeholders.

For the first time since 2020, a new release of Rx.NET is available, supporting .NET 6 and .NET 7.

Explore how to implement source control in Databricks notebooks, promoting software engineering best practices.

Open-source software has become an essential part of many organisation's software supply chain, however, this poses challenges with license compliance and security assurance.

C# 11.0 adds some new pattern matching features. In this post, Ian shows the new support for matching lists.

Learn about the thinking behind endjin's Power BI Maturity assessment by applying Wardley Doctrine, and asking more questions.

Learn to configure AAD or MSA 2FA profiles for UI automation testing with Time-based One-Time Passwords.

Why you should make writing unit tests a regular practice and how they will improve your code. This blog explains how to write unit tests in PowerShell using Pester.

C# 11.0 adds some new pattern matching features. In this post, Ian shows the new support for matching lists.

Implement Python data validation with Pandera & Great Expectations in this comparison of their features and use cases.

Explore using Python virtual environments & Poetry on Windows for smoother workflows, with a script & guide to enhance your dependency management experience.

C# 11.0 enhances string literals with new features. Discover how multiline interpolated strings boost readability in Ian's insightful post.

C# 11.0 adds various improvements to string literals. In this post, Ian explains how we can now create UTF-8 string literals.

This series will follow our ongoing journey of migrating the CI/CD pipelines for our many Open Source repositories, from Azure DevOps to GitHub Actions.

Discover using GitHub Actions for auto-updates to Python packages on PyPI, assessing its role in Continuous Deployment.

C# 11.0 adds various improvements to string literals. In this post, Ian explains how raw string literals can make your code more readable.

Learn how accessibility-aware API design creates a great experience for all developers, not just those with accessibility needs.

Performing lazy and/or just-once initialization is a simple optimization. But what if the initialization is async?

Signing git commits proves that you are the author of the code you are pushing up to GitHub, and helps protect the integrity of your software supply chain.

Encapsulation is a powerful tool. Squash commits provide a way to encapsulate Git commit history.

This post gives an overview of Continuous Integrations and shows how you can implement it with GitHub Actions, with an accompanying example Python project

Explore how to share a function from a PowerShell module as a standalone script, without maintaining two code versions.

Fix broken dev loop with containerized apps on Azure CLI for Windows. Learn a workaround to avoid using outdated Azure CLI versions.

In this blog we demonstrate how the Gherkin specification can be adapted to enable BDD to be applied to data engineering use cases.

Discover how to extract insights from spreadsheets and CSV files using Pandas and Power BI in this blog post.

Explore DAX queries for scenario-based testing in Power BI reports to ensure data model validity, rule adherence, and security maintenance.

Explore containerisation & Docker for app development & deployment. Learn to create containerised applications with examples in this intro guide.

Explore the benefits of Power BI's new ExecuteQueries REST API for developers in tooling, process, and integrations.

This blog post explains how to set up multiple instances of a Linux distribution in the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Bicep provides a significant improvement in tooling for organisations seeking to deploy infrastructure as code on Microsoft Azure.

Endjin uses user stories, BDD specs, and a ubiquitous language to bridge the communication gap between stakeholders and tech teams.

Explore data with Azure Synapse's interactive Spark notebooks, integrated with Pipelines & monitoring tools. Learn how to add tests for business rule validation.

Data insights are useless, and even dangerous (as we've seen recently at Public Health England) if they can't be trusted. So, the need to validate business rules and security boundaries within a data solution is critical. This post argues that if you're doing anything serious with data, then you should be taking this seriously.

This post describes the reasons for choosing specific & immutable dependency versions in your software.

Discover how GitOps, often used for Kubernetes management, can benefit a broader audience.

Often when building software we need to outsource part of the solution to a third party. Common examples include authentication, payment, and email, but there are many others. When first designing a solution the decision around which provider to use can be difficult to tackle. At endjin we have developed a system for answering the question "which provider should I use?".

Explore using Axios interceptors to streamline UI logic for async HTTP APIs, addressing long-running operations and client coordination efficiently.

Explore an alternative "invite user" flow for Azure AD B2C, simplifying authentication without custom policies in SaaS applications.

Ian Griffiths is talking about the Reactive Extensions for .NET at dotnetsheff. Learn the ideas behind Rx, and see it applied in an IoT applicable to upload clinical monitoring data to the cloud.

Discover how to auto-open browsers in private mode or with custom profiles for web app debugging in Visual Studio.

Whilst "read/write XMLA endpoint" might seem like a technical mouthful, its addition to Power BI is a significant milestone in the strategy of bringing Power BI and Analysis Services closer together. As well as closing the gap between IT-managed workloads and self-service BI, it presents a number of new opportunities for Power BI developers in terms of tooling, process and integrations. This post highlights some of the key advantages of this new capability and what they mean for the Power BI developer.

C# 8.0's nullable references feature dramatically changes a fundamental aspect of the language. In this post, Ian explains how to you can soften the impact by enabling gradually across your projects.

Ensure Power BI report quality by connecting to tabular models, executing scenario-based specs, and validating data, business rules, and security.

Ensure reliable insights with endjin's automated quality gates for validating Power BI Dataflows in complex solutions.

Explore Azure Analysis Services for scalable analytics. Control costs via automation with Powershell & Azure DevOps in multi-environment setups.

Endjin's blog post details their project with OceanMind, using a serverless architecture and machine learning to detect illegal fishing.

Explore Behavior Driven Development using SpecFlow. Learn to create complex test data objects in Gherkin feature files with Corvus.NET project.

Learn how to update Azure Analysis Services model schemas in .NET apps using AMO SDK for user-driven analysis.

See how to manage consistent default configuration across all your .NET projects by using NuGet build assets.

If you use Azure Functions on a regular basis, you'll likely have grappled with the challenge of testing them. Even now, several years after their introduction, the testing story for Functions is not hugely well defined. In the final post in this series, we show how to ensure specs written using Corvus.Testing can run as part of your build pipeline.

If you use Azure Functions on a regular basis, you'll likely have grappled with the challenge of testing them. Even now, several years after their introduction, the testing story for Functions is not hugely well defined. In the fourth of this series of posts, we look at how configuration can be supplied from your tests to the functions apps being tested.

If you use Azure Functions on a regular basis, you'll likely have grappled with the challenge of testing them. Even now, several years after their introduction, the testing story for Functions is not hugely well defined. In the third of a series of posts, we look at using classes in the Corvus.Testing library to run functions apps via scenario and feature hooks.

If you use Azure Functions on a regular basis, you'll likely have grappled with the challenge of testing them. Even now, several years after their introduction, the testing story for Functions is not hugely well defined. In the second of a series of posts, we look at using step bindings provided by the Corvus.Testing library to run functions apps as part of your SpecFlow scenarios.

If you use Azure Functions on a regular basis, you'll likely have grappled with the challenge of testing them. Even now, several years after their introduction, the testing story for Functions is not hugely well defined. In the first of a series of posts, we look at some different approaches to testing your functions apps, and introduce the Corvus.Testing library.

Tour our OceanMind project using Azure Functions for real-time marine telemetry processing. Learn optimization techniques for serverless environments.

Explore C# 7.2's ref structs, use in high-performance scenarios, their constraints, and techniques for overcoming challenges in unit testing the Ais.Net parser.

Endjin applies scientific experimentation to software development for validated solutions, using hypotheses for confident designs.

Learn to use Azure Analysis Services in custom apps via REST API in .NET for efficient async model refreshes.

Explore Power BI data types across mediums, learn their corresponding names, and simplify query conversions with this informative blog and report.

Discover the challenges and alternatives of managing scoped component lifetimes with dependency injection.

Explore endless possibilities with dynamic DAX queries in C# for Azure Analysis Services integration in custom apps using the provided code samples.

The Azure CNAB Quickstarts Library helps you get up and running with CNAB and Porter. We've built quickstarts covering solutions like WordPress, Ghost, Mattermost, and data platforms like Apache Airflow, SQL Server AlwaysOn clusters and Kubernetes features like an nginx ingress controller and an Azure AD enabled OAuth2 Proxy. We've condensed all our learnings from the past 9 months of working on the project and turned them into a 10 minute video which explains all the key concepts. We hope this video helps accelerate your own CNAB & Porter epiphanies!

In partnership with Microsoft, we have released Azure CNAB Quickstarts Library on GitHub. CNAB (Cloud-Native Application Bundle) is a new specification designed for facilitating the packaging, installation, upgrading and uninstallation of cloud-native solutions in the cloud, on-premise or on the edge. We've created a number of quickstarts covering Apache Airflow, Azure Kubernetes Service, Ghost, Kubeflow, SQL Server Always On and Wordpress to help demonstrate the power of CNAB and Porter.

Explore .NET querying methods for integrating Azure Analysis Services beyond data querying into dynamic UIs and APIs.

Learn to integrate Azure Analysis Services in apps by establishing server connections. Follow this guide with code samples for essential scenarios.

In this post, Ian describes some of the highlights from the NDC London conference

GitHub Actions is GitHub's new CI/CD platform. It is comparable with Azure Pipelines, which forms part of the Azure DevOps suite. In this post, Mike Larah looks at the similarities and differences in the high-level concepts and terminology between the two platforms.

Traverse the builder pattern in this design patterns series, simplifying complex object creation and separating construction from usage.

Explore using AzureAD with Az module in PowerShell Core, as Az may not fully replace AzureAD. Learn to utilize both for optimal functionality.

Automate Power BI workspaces creation & security using PowerShell & Azure DevOps pipelines in a wider DevOps strategy with Azure data platform services.

Software architecture and Agile project planning are often seen to be at odds. However, here at endjin we think that the way in which they intersect solves a lot of the common issues surrounding architecture. The key to successful architecture is constantly keeping the drivers in mind and having a tight communication loop as the architecture is implemented. These concepts are ones which are key to agile project management, and the combination of these two disciplines can be extremely powerful and successful when applied correctly.

Creating a architecture in an iterative and incremental solution delivery is challenging. I've evolved an approach akin to Painting By Numbers, and am inspired by a quote from the artist and film maker Dave McKean.

At endjin we have a high quality bar when it comes to our code. As part of this we carry out regular code reviews. One of the tools we have used for these code reviews is NDepend. This is the second in a blog series written as we carried out that process. This post focuses on the insight you can quickly gain just by glancing at the NDepend UI.

Explore Azure Policy for proper tagging on resources and enabling tag inheritance from parent resource groups.

At endjin we have a high quality bar when it comes to our code. As part of this we carry out regular code reviews. One of the tools we have used for these code reviews is NDepend. This is the first in a blog series written as we carried out that process. This post runs through the different metrics used by NDepend, and the reasons that each of these can be an indication of code quality.

There is a lot of hype around AI & ML. Here's an example of using ML.NET & Azure Functions to deliver a series of micro-optimisations, to automate a series of 1 second tasks. When applied to business processes, this is what the 4th Industrial Revolution could look like.

When he joined endjin, Technical Fellow Ian sat down with founder Howard for a Q&A session. This was originally published on LinkedIn in 5 parts, but is republished here, in full. Ian talks about his path into computing, some highlights of his career, the evolution of the .NET ecosystem, AI, and the software engineering life.

This is the second blog in a series which delves into how the Rx operators work under the covers. This series aims to provide a greater understanding of Rx and its operators. This post focuses on the AGGREGATE operator.

Two of the main use-cases for explicit interface implementation are: 1. to hide members of the interface in a class which inherits from that interface, and 2. to work around the scenario when a class is inheriting from two interfaces which share a member of the same name. Take a look at this blog to go into more depth about each of those scenarios.

Learn to handle null values in Specflow using Step Argument Transformations for comprehensive test suites and edge case validation in this blog post.

Explore endjin's introduction to reactive data processing, covering Rx.NET's main classes and simplifying this complex .NET area for easy understanding.

Explore TPL dataflow in this second blog of our series. Learn how this .NET library simplifies parallel data processing with a pipeline model.

Combining deferred execution with asynchronous operations can cause subtle problems. This post shows how to ensure correct operation when these idioms combine.

This is a post about the importance of reducing your dependencies as much as possible when designing solutions.If as much as possible is under your own control, there is far less room for synchronization errors and update conflicts.

Ian Griffiths recently joined endjin as a Technical Fellow. We had a long fireside chat, which has been broken down into a 5 part series covering .NET, the Cloud, AI, ML, teaching software engineering, and why he joined endjin.

Everyone learns differently. In this post Carmel describes how OneNote can be used to aid and enhance research. As an avid note taker and blogger, she highlights how the ability to Ctrl-F into written text in OneNote has greatly improved her productivity!

Explore the process of .NET garbage collection and understand the behind-the-scenes of writing C# code in this insightful post.

As an apprentice engineer at endjin, you cover a lot of ground, especially at a consultancy which works with the latest and greatest tools to solve its clients' problems. Learn about endjin's Modern Data Platform, which is a culmination of IP, processes and knowledge built from years of implementing high-performance data-driven solutions. Also learn about the types of tools an apprentice gets to use, and the types of things an apprentice learns along the way.

Using the recently Open Sourced OpenAPI SDK, we create a Visual Studio extension from converting OpenAPI specificaitons between YAML and JSON formats.

The evolution of .NET is a complex one. We've put together a deck to help you understand what you should choose to use when.

Implement using parameters in Resource Manager templates for optional resource deployment and configuration.

Did you know that you can fully automate the bootstrapping process of setting up an Azure DevOps enviornment? This post shows you how.

In the world of DevOps, cloud and platform services, how does a developer's "definition of done" need to change? This post argues that as the silos of development and operations are broken down, the responsibility of understanding the whole solution increases meaning, to truly take advantage of the cloud, the need for quality and professionalism is critical for success.

Learn how to combine the power of Azure Resource Manager and Octopus Deploy for a frictionless Azure DevOps experience.

Explore creating and testing an Azure ML Studio web service using Postman for efficient machine learning model production.

Meta-Runners allow you to easily create reusable build components for TeamCity, in this post I demonstrate how to create a Meta-Runner to create Azure Application Insights Release Annotations.

Alice reflects on year 2, being given more responsibility, diving deeper into all aspects of software delivery, and the good habits she's been building.

What do machine learning and data science actually mean? This post digs into the detail behind the endjin approach to structured experimentation, arguing that the "science" is really all about following the process, allowing you to iterate to insights quickly when there are no guarantees of success.

Mike Larah shares his tips for how to best customize ConEmu to improve your terminal experience for Windows Command Prompy and PowerShell

We recently upgraded our TeamCity based CI/CD environment, but we had to make some adjustments to fix failing tests.

Meta-Runners allow you to easily create reusable build components for TeamCity, in this post I demonstrate how to create a Meta-Runner to wrap ILMerge functionality.

Learn how to authenticate against Azure Resource Manager using PowerShell, for fully automated deployments.

We've built and open-sourced a Visual Studio Extension that provides basic support for discovering and running CucumberJS tests with Node.JS, in the Visual Studio Test Environment.

Running a start-up or bootstrapping a new product within an established business can feel pretty chaotic. We talk about strategies for managing the time of a team, and ensuring that you become predictable.

This is a quick guide to setting up cucumber JS in Visual Studio with grunt.

Git has powerful extensibility points, which you can harness to automate your dev inner loop. In this post we examine how to use Git Hooks to reduce the occurrence of merge conflicts.

We use SpecFlow to write integration tests against Azure. In this post we share an Open Source SpecFlow extension for the Azure Storage Emulator.

How do you selectively stage some of your changes in GIT? How does Visual Studio help? How can you do this on the command line?

Explore how to use SpecFlow for human-readable specs and create reusable step argument transformations for easy readability.

Hiring developers is hard. Really hard. Here are some tips on how to make it easier on yourself.

To help guide the client through the selection process (and to act as an aide memoire when we come to try and remember why particular choices were made), we created a handy flow-chart to take you through the technology landscape, and suggest some recommended-practice solutions.

Explore how to use Azure Automation for running VMs during office hours. Learn to create runbooks for automated tasks at pre-defined times.

How do you use SmartGit to simplify your development workflow by using GitFlow?

We've delivered a number of Elasticsearch solutions on Azure. In this second post in the series, we share some useful tips.

How can you use the SemanticMerge tool to help you deal with GIT merge conflicts? Here's an overview of the process.

In this post, we explore the use of SideWaffle to create a frictionless experience for developers wanting to create repeatable plugins.

Discover our tutorial on local NuGet package testing, filling documentation gaps with a concise, step-by-step guide.

You can easily notify NewRelic that a deployment has occured. In this post I demonstrate how to turn a script into a reusable TeamCity Metarunner.

How do you resolve GIT merge conflicts? Can Visual Studio help you at all? What are the best tactics?

What is Dependency Injection? How does it help you develop software? Why should you use it? Is it a silver bullet for creating loosely coupled components?

Implement semantic logging on Windows & .NET for richer diagnostics & analysis. Learn how Reactive Extensions enable powerful scenarios in this series.

How do you created branches in GIT? How do you push your changes to a remote server? How does Visual Studio help?

How do you get started with GIT? How do you install it? What are the basic commands? How does Visual Studio help you?

What is GIT? Why should you use it as a .NET Developer? How do you incorporate it into your workflow? How does Visual Studio help?

Delving a little deeper into Behaviour Driven Development and Specification by Example.

In this blog post, I provide a how-to guide for automating your TeamCity backups using a PowerShell script.

Migrate your TeamCity instance with this guide, covering the step-by-step process when in-place upgrades aren't viable.

Learn why we created the endjin composition framework for dependency injection.

In the final part of this series, we cover how to use TeamCity's feature branch abilities to support the GitFlow process.

This post finally covers the nitty-gritty of how you use the GitFlow extensions to drive the workflow.

In this post we show you how to get up and running with GitFlow.

Adopting Git means creating an entirely new mental model about how to version control your source code. Once you make the jump, there's no going back.

A quick example of how to set up integration testing for HttpClient and HttpServer

Mike starts his first day as an Apprentice with an introduction to PowerShell and being onboarded to endjin's various tools and platforms, while attempting to automate the entire process.

To celebrate joining JetBrains Development Academy Board, we release a PowerShell modules to make working with TeamCity easier.

PowerShell is fantastic language for DevOps, automation and general scripting. Every developer should be familiar with it; here's a guide to some useful resources to help you learn it.

Long time listener, first time guest. I was invited to speak on the .NET Rocks! Podcast, to talk about Sharp Architecture and various other Open Source projects I've been involved with.

We've decided to combine the StyleCop and StyleCop for ReSharper code bases to make long term maintenance easier.

Step-by-step guide on setting up YouTrack and using IIS as a reverse proxy for custom domain access.

Step-by-step guide on setting up TeamCity and using IIS as a reverse proxy for custom domain access.