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CloudFront Routing: SPAs vs Static Site Generation

CloudFront Routing: SPAs vs Static Site Generation

When deploying modern web applications to CloudFront, the routing strategy you need depends entirely on your application architecture. Get it wrong, and your users will see the homepage when they refresh /about. Get it right, and everything just works.

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CI/CD for AWS CDK with GitHub Actions

Automate your infrastructure deployments directly from your source control. This guide provides a complete workflow for setting up a GitHub Actions pipeline to build, test, and deploy your AWS CDK stacks.

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2023 in Review: The Year of Mainstream AI

2023 in Review: The Year of Mainstream AI

A look back at 2023, the transformative year when generative AI went from a niche technology to a mainstream phenomenon. We review the impact of GPT-4, the explosion of AI tools, and the rise of the open-source movement.

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What's New in C# 11

A look at the key features introduced in C# 11 with the release of .NET 7, including raw string literals, generic math, and required members, and how they improve the developer experience.

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CI/CD for Serverless with AWS SAM

A guide to automating the deployment of your serverless applications using the AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) CLI. Learn how to use `sam build` and `sam deploy` to create a simple CI/CD pipeline.

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A Guide to Python's pyproject.toml

Discover the pyproject.toml file, the modern, unified standard for configuring Python projects. Learn how it replaces older files like setup.py and requirements.txt and how to use it to manage your project's dependencies and tools.

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The Generative AI Revolution of 2023

The Generative AI Revolution of 2023

A look back at 2023, the year generative AI went mainstream. We explore the impact of groundbreaking models like GPT-4 and the explosion of AI-powered tools that changed the tech landscape forever.

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2022 in Review: The Year in Tech

2022 in Review: The Year in Tech

A look back at the major technology trends that defined 2022. From the explosion of generative AI with DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT to the continued rise of Rust and the consolidation of the cloud, we review the year's most impactful developments.

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Python Best Practices for 2023

A guide to the modern Python best practices you should be using in 2023. From project management with pyproject.toml to type hints and f-strings, these are the standards for writing clean, professional Python code.

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What is AWS IAM?

A foundational guide to AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM). Learn about the core components of IAM—users, groups, roles, and policies—and how they work together to securely control access to your AWS resources.

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2021 in Review: The Year of the Platform

2021 in Review: The Year of the Platform

A look back at the defining technology trends of 2021. From the unification of .NET with .NET 6 to the dominance of GitHub Actions and the rise of serverless containers, we review a year defined by the maturation of development platforms.

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A Guide to C# 10 Global Usings

An introduction to the new global using directives feature in C# 10. Learn how this feature can help you reduce repetitive using statements and clean up the top of your C# files.

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What is AWS CloudTrail?

An introduction to AWS CloudTrail, the service that provides a complete audit trail of all actions and API calls made in your AWS account. Learn why it's a fundamental tool for security, compliance, and operational auditing.

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Understanding Python's __main__

A guide to the common Python idiom if __name__ == '__main__':. Learn what this block of code does, why it's important, and how it allows you to write Python files that can be used as both runnable scripts and importable modules.

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A Guide to .NET Minimal APIs

An introduction to the new Minimal APIs feature in .NET 6. Learn how to build fast, lightweight web APIs with just a few lines of code, and see how it compares to the traditional controller-based approach.

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Python Type Hints Explained

A guide to type hints in Python. Learn what type hints are, how to use them to annotate your code, and how they can help you write more robust and maintainable programs with the help of static analysis tools.

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A First Look at .NET 6 and C# 10

An early look at the exciting new features coming in .NET 6 and C# 10. From Minimal APIs and Hot Reload to global usings and file-scoped namespaces, we explore the next evolution of the .NET platform.

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Understanding ValueTask<T> in C#

A guide to the ValueTask<T> struct in C#. Learn how it can be used as a lightweight alternative to Task<T> to improve performance and reduce allocations in high-throughput, asynchronous scenarios.

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What is Amazon ECR?

An introduction to Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR), AWS's fully managed container registry service. Learn how ECR provides a secure and reliable place to store, manage, and deploy your Docker container images.

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A Guide to C# Interfaces

A foundational guide to interfaces in C#. Learn what an interface is, how it differs from a class, and why interfaces are a crucial tool for building flexible, loosely coupled, and testable applications.

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What is an ORM?

What is an ORM?

A conceptual guide to Object-Relational Mapping (ORM). Learn what an ORM is, the problem it solves (the object-relational impedance mismatch), and how it allows you to work with databases using the objects and classes of your favorite programming language.

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Introducing AWS Lambda Powertools for .NET

A guide to the newly released AWS Lambda Powertools for .NET. Learn how this suite of utilities can help you implement serverless best practices for structured logging, custom metrics, and distributed tracing.

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An Introduction to Amazon CloudFormation

A beginner's guide to AWS CloudFormation, the native Infrastructure as Code (IaC) service for AWS. Learn how to define your AWS infrastructure in a declarative template to automate and standardize your deployments.

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What Are C# Attributes?

A guide to attributes in C#, a powerful mechanism for adding declarative metadata to your code. Learn how attributes work and see common examples from data validation to testing frameworks.

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A Guide to NuGet

An introduction to NuGet, the package manager for .NET. Learn what NuGet is, how it helps you manage dependencies, and how to use it to add third-party libraries to your .NET projects.

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What is Infrastructure as Code?

A conceptual guide to Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Learn how IaC allows you to manage and provision your IT infrastructure through code instead of manual processes, and understand its key benefits.

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A Guide to C# 9 Top-Level Statements

An introduction to C# 9's top-level statements feature, which allows you to write simple programs without the ceremony of a Program class and a Main method. Learn how it simplifies code and makes C# more beginner-friendly.

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Exploring .NET 5: A Unified Platform

A look at the significance of .NET 5, the first major step in Microsoft's journey to unify the .NET ecosystem. Learn about its key goals, performance improvements, and what it means for the future of .NET development.

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What is Amazon Aurora?

An introduction to Amazon Aurora, AWS's cloud-native relational database. Learn how its unique architecture provides the performance and availability of commercial databases at a fraction of the cost.

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A Guide to C# Records

An introduction to C# 9 records, a new reference type that provides a simplified syntax for creating immutable data objects. Learn how records can help you reduce boilerplate and write more robust, data-centric code.

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Getting Started with Pytest

An introduction to pytest, the most popular testing framework for Python. Learn how its simple syntax, powerful fixture model, and rich plugin ecosystem can make writing tests easier and more enjoyable.

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Dapper vs. Entity Framework Core: A Comparison

A comparison of two of the most popular data access technologies in the .NET world: the full-featured ORM Entity Framework Core and the high-performance micro-ORM Dapper. Learn about their key differences and when to choose one over the other.

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Understanding AWS Cost Explorer

A practical guide to AWS Cost Explorer, the tool that lets you visualize, understand, and manage your AWS costs and usage over time. Learn how to use its reports and filters to identify cost drivers and find savings.

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A Guide to Python's Pathlib Module

An introduction to Python's modern `pathlib` module. Learn how to use its object-oriented approach to handle filesystem paths in a way that is simpler, more readable, and less error-prone than the traditional `os.path`.

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A Guide to C# string.Format

A guide to the classic string.Format method in C#. Learn how to use this powerful method with indexed placeholders and format specifiers to create complex, formatted strings.

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What is a 'string'?

What is a 'string'?

A foundational guide to the string data type, one of the most basic building blocks in programming. Learn what a string is, how it's used to represent text, and some of the most common operations performed on it.

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2020 in Review: The Year of Remote Everything

2020 in Review: The Year of Remote Everything

A look back at 2020, a year that transformed how we work and live. We review the massive acceleration of cloud adoption, the rise of remote collaboration tools, and the key technology trends that defined a year of unprecedented change.

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An Introduction to gRPC in .NET

A developer's guide to gRPC, the modern, high-performance RPC framework. Learn how to build a simple gRPC service in ASP.NET Core, define a service with Protocol Buffers, and see how it compares to REST.

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Understanding Amazon VPC Fundamentals

A beginner's guide to the core components of an Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Learn about subnets, route tables, internet gateways, and security groups to build your own isolated network in the AWS cloud.

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A Guide to Python's format() Method

A guide to the str.format() method for string formatting in Python. Learn how to use this powerful and flexible method with positional and keyword arguments to create dynamically formatted strings.

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What is a 'for' Loop?

What is a 'for' Loop?

A foundational guide to the 'for' loop, one of the most fundamental control flow statements in programming. Learn how to use it to iterate over a sequence of items and execute a block of code repeatedly.

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What's New in Python 3.9?

A look at the major new features coming in Python 3.9, including the new dictionary merge operators, more flexible type hinting, and the new zoneinfo module for timezone support.

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What is a 'finally' Block?

What is a 'finally' Block?

A foundational guide to the 'finally' block in structured exception handling. Learn how 'finally' guarantees the execution of cleanup code, regardless of whether an exception was thrown or not.

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What is a CDN?

What is a CDN?

A beginner's guide to Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). Learn how a CDN works to deliver web content faster and more reliably to users around the world by caching it in geographically distributed locations.

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What is a Relational Database?

What is a Relational Database?

A foundational guide to relational databases. Learn the core concepts of tables, rows, columns, and keys, and understand how SQL is used to define and manipulate the structured data within them.

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A Guide to Python's __init__.py

An explanation of the purpose of the __init__.py file in Python. Learn how it's used to mark directories as Python packages and how you can use it to control your package's namespace.

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What is a 'for' Loop in C#?

A foundational guide to the 'for' loop in C#, a fundamental control flow statement for executing a block of code a specific number of times. Learn the classic syntax and how it gives you precise control over iteration.

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2019 in Review: The Year of Cloud-Native

2019 in Review: The Year of Cloud-Native

A look back at the defining technology trends of 2019. From the landmark release of .NET Core 3.0 to the dominance of Kubernetes and the continued rise of serverless, we review a year defined by the maturation of cloud-native technologies.

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What is a 'struct' in C#?

A foundational guide to the 'struct' keyword in C#. Learn how structs are used to create lightweight value types and understand the key differences between a struct and a class.

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An Introduction to Amazon DynamoDB

A beginner's guide to Amazon DynamoDB, AWS's fully managed NoSQL database service. Learn about its core concepts, including tables, items, and primary keys, and understand its benefits for building scalable applications.

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A First Look at .NET Core 3.0

An early look at the major new features coming in .NET Core 3.0. From support for WPF and Windows Forms to the introduction of C# 8.0 with nullable reference types, we explore what makes this one of the most anticipated .NET releases ever.

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An Introduction to ASP.NET Core

A beginner's guide to ASP.NET Core, Microsoft's modern, open-source, and cross-platform framework for building web applications and services. Learn about its key features and what makes it a great choice for web development.

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What is Abstraction in OOP?

What is Abstraction in OOP?

A conceptual guide to abstraction, one of the four fundamental pillars of object-oriented programming. Learn how abstraction simplifies complex systems by hiding implementation details and exposing only the essential features.

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An Introduction to Amazon API Gateway

A beginner's guide to Amazon API Gateway, the fully managed service for creating, publishing, and securing APIs at any scale. Learn how it acts as the 'front door' for your backend services, especially for serverless applications.

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What is Polymorphism in OOP?

What is Polymorphism in OOP?

A conceptual guide to polymorphism, one of the four fundamental pillars of object-oriented programming. Learn how polymorphism allows objects of different classes to be treated as objects of a common superclass.

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Getting Started with Docker

A beginner's guide to Docker, the world's leading containerization platform. Learn the fundamental concepts of images and containers, and walk through building and running your first containerized application.

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What's New in C# 7.3?

A look at the small but useful new features introduced in C# 7.3, including tuple equality, enum constraints, and performance improvements for working with `in` parameters.

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What is a 'set' in Python?

A foundational guide to the set, Python's data structure for storing unordered collections of unique elements. Learn how to create sets and perform common mathematical set operations like union and intersection.

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An Introduction to REST APIs

An Introduction to REST APIs

A beginner's guide to the core principles of REST (Representational State Transfer). Learn what an API is, what makes an API 'RESTful', and understand the key concepts of resources, HTTP verbs, and statelessness.

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What is an 'Array' in C#?

A foundational guide to arrays in C#. Learn how to use this fundamental data structure to store a fixed-size, sequential collection of elements of the same type.

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What is a 'string' in Python?

A foundational guide to the string (str) data type in Python. Learn how strings are used to represent text, their immutable nature, and some of the most common operations you can perform on them.

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An Introduction to .NET Core

A beginner's guide to .NET Core, Microsoft's open-source, cross-platform successor to the .NET Framework. Learn about its key design principles and why it's the future of .NET development.

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A Guide to C# Extension Methods

An introduction to extension methods in C#. Learn how to use this powerful feature to add new methods to existing types without creating a new derived type, recompiling, or otherwise modifying the original type.

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An Introduction to Amazon SQS

A beginner's guide to Amazon SQS (Simple Queue Service), the fully managed message queuing service. Learn how message queues can help you build decoupled, scalable, and resilient distributed systems.

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Getting Started with ASP.NET Core 2.0

An overview of the official release of ASP.NET Core 2.0. Learn about the major improvements, including the massive API expansion with .NET Standard 2.0 and the new Razor Pages model, which make the framework easier to use than ever.

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An Introduction to JSON

An Introduction to JSON

A beginner's guide to JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), the lightweight data-interchange format that has become the standard for web APIs. Learn its basic syntax and data types.

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What is a 'module' in Python?

A foundational guide to modules in Python. Learn how modules are used to organize code into separate files, making your programs more manageable, reusable, and easier to understand.

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A First Look at .NET Core 2.0

An early look at the major improvements coming in .NET Core 2.0. We explore the massive expansion of the API surface area with .NET Standard 2.0 and other features that promise to make .NET Core easier to use than ever.

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What's New in C# 7.0?

A guide to the major new features introduced in C# 7.0, including tuples and deconstruction, pattern matching, and local functions. Learn how these features can make your C# code more concise and expressive.

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A Guide to Basic SQL Commands

A Guide to Basic SQL Commands

A beginner's guide to the fundamental commands of SQL (Structured Query Language). Learn how to use SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE to query and manipulate data in a relational database.

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A First Look at Python 3.6

An early look at the exciting new features coming in Python 3.6. We explore the new f-strings for improved string formatting, underscores in numeric literals, and the new dictionary implementation.

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An Introduction to ASP.NET Core MVC

A beginner's guide to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern in ASP.NET Core. Learn how MVC helps you build well-structured, testable web applications by separating concerns into three distinct roles.

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Announcing .NET Core 1.0

Celebrating the landmark 1.0 release of .NET Core, ASP.NET Core, and Entity Framework Core. This is the official arrival of a cross-platform, open-source, and modular .NET for the modern era of software development.

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An Introduction to Cloud Computing with AWS

A beginner's guide to the fundamental concepts of cloud computing. Learn what 'the cloud' is, the different service models (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), and the key benefits, using Amazon Web Services (AWS) as an example.

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A First Look at .NET Core RC2

An early look at the major changes in .NET Core Release Candidate 2 (RC2). We explore the shift from DNX to the new dotnet CLI and the evolution of the project format, which brings us closer to the final 1.0 release.

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What is .NET Core?

An early look at .NET Core, Microsoft's radical new vision for a modular, cross-platform, and open-source .NET framework. Learn about the core principles behind this groundbreaking new platform.

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