Daily micro-tips for C#, SQL, performance, and scalable backend engineering.
Constantly alt-tabbing between VS Code, browser, terminal, and docs? Snap Layouts organize windows into perfect grids. KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS: Win + ← : Snap window left (50%) Win + → : Snap window right (50%) Win + ↑ : Maximize window Win + ↓ : Restore/Minimize window Win + Z : Open Snap Layouts (choose from […]
Paying for multiple cloud load balancers? Ingress routes traffic to different services based on hostname or path. # ingress.yaml apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1 kind: Ingress metadata: name: main-ingress annotations: # NGINX Ingress Controller nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target: / nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: “true” nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-body-size: “10m” # Cert-Manager for SSL cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: “letsencrypt-prod” spec: tls: – hosts: – api.example.com – app.example.com – admin.example.com secretName: tls-secret […]
Manually starting 5 different services for development? Docker Compose defines and runs multi-container apps. # docker-compose.yml version: ‘3.8’ services: # Node.js API api: build: ./api ports: – “3000:3000” environment: – NODE_ENV=development – REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379 – DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@db:5432/mydb volumes: – ./api:/app – /app/node_modules depends_on: – redis – db command: npm run dev # React Frontend frontend: build: ./frontend […]
Need to pair program with remote teammates? Live Share turns VS Code into a collaborative editor with shared debugging. # Installation # 1. Install Live Share extension in VS Code # Extensions → Search “Live Share” # Install by Microsoft # 2. Sign in with GitHub/Microsoft account # 3. Start a session # Click Live […]
Building mobile apps or SPAs that need WordPress content? REST API serves your posts as JSON for any frontend. // Fetch WordPress posts from React import React, { useState, useEffect } from ‘react’; function WordPressPosts() { const [posts, setPosts] = useState([]); const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true); useEffect(() => { fetchPosts(); }, []); const fetchPosts = […]
Trying to force blog posts to work as products or portfolios? Custom Post Types create dedicated content structures. // functions.php – Create Property Custom Post Type function register_property_post_type() { $labels = array( ‘name’ => ‘Properties’, ‘singular_name’ => ‘Property’, ‘menu_name’ => ‘Properties’, ‘add_new’ => ‘Add New Property’, ‘add_new_item’ => ‘Add New Property’, ‘edit_item’ => ‘Edit Property’, […]
Need to resize, watermark, and format hundreds of product photos? Actions and Batch Processing automate repetitive tasks. 1. RECORD THE ACTION – Open Actions panel (Window → Actions) – Click “Create New Action” – Name it: “Product Photo Processing” – Click Record (red button) 2. PERFORM STEPS (they get recorded) – Image → Image Size: […]
Updating the same logo in 50 different mockups? Smart Objects maintain quality while allowing global updates. Create Reusable Smart Objects: Step 1: Convert to Smart Object Right-click layer → “Convert to Smart Object” Or: Layer → Smart Objects → Convert to Smart Object Step 2: Edit source Double-click Smart Object thumbnail Edit in new tab […]
Still rebooting to switch between Windows and Linux? WSL2 gives you full Linux kernel running at native speed inside Windows 11. Complete WSL2 Setup in 5 Minutes: # 1. Enable WSL feature dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux /all /norestart # 2. Enable Virtual Machine Platform dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VirtualMachinePlatform /all /norestart # 3. Download and install […]
WordPress sites loading slowly due to images? Native lazy loading with modern techniques dramatically improves performance. // Add to functions.php function add_lazy_loading_attributes($content) { // Only run on frontend if (is_admin() || wp_is_json_request()) { return $content; } // Use DOMDocument for reliable parsing if (class_exists(‘DOMDocument’)) { $dom = new DOMDocument(); @$dom->loadHTML(mb_convert_encoding($content, ‘HTML-ENTITIES’, ‘UTF-8’)); $images = $dom->getElementsByTagName(‘img’); […]
Tired of catching bugs in code review? Git hooks automatically validate code before it even reaches the repository. #!/bin/bash # .git/hooks/pre-commit # Exit immediately if any command fails set -e echo “🚀 Running pre-commit checks…” # 1. Check for debugging statements echo “🔍 Checking for console.log statements…” if git diff –cached –name-only | xargs grep […]
Writing complex analytical queries with self-joins and subqueries? Window functions perform calculations across rows without grouping. Common Window Function Patterns: — Basic structure SELECT column1, column2, WINDOW_FUNCTION() OVER ( PARTITION BY partition_column ORDER BY sort_column ROWS/RANGE BETWEEN frame_start AND frame_end ) AS calculated_column FROM table_name; — Available functions: — Ranking: ROW_NUMBER(), RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), NTILE() — […]
Still using jQuery for AJAX? Modern JavaScript Fetch API with async/await is cleaner, faster, and built-in. Modern Fetch vs Old jQuery Comparison: // OLD jQuery way $.ajax({ url: ‘/api/users’, method: ‘GET’, dataType: ‘json’, success: function(data) { console.log(data); }, error: function(xhr, status, error) { console.error(error); } }); // MODERN Fetch API async function getUsers() { try […]
Mutable objects causing threading issues? C# 9+ records provide immutable data structures with built-in value semantics. Records vs Classes: When to Use Each // Use RECORDS for: // 1. Immutable data transfer objects (DTOs) // 2. Value objects in domain-driven design // 3. Configuration objects // 4. API request/response models // 5. Event objects in […]
Need consistent request/response handling across all endpoints? Custom middleware creates reusable pipeline components. Custom Middleware for Global Exception Handling: // GlobalExceptionMiddleware.cs public class GlobalExceptionMiddleware { private readonly RequestDelegate _next; private readonly ILogger _logger; private readonly IWebHostEnvironment _env; public GlobalExceptionMiddleware( RequestDelegate next, ILogger logger, IWebHostEnvironment env) { _next = next; _logger = logger; _env = env; […]
Tired of AI giving you buggy code snippets? These structured prompts extract perfect, tested code from ChatGPT and Copilot. The Structure for Perfect Code Generation: ROLE: Senior [Language] Developer with 10 years experience TASK: Create [specific feature] CONSTRAINTS: [technical limitations] REQUIREMENTS: [must-have features] OUTPUT FORMAT: [code structure] TEST: [validation criteria] Example: ROLE: Senior C#/.NET Developer […]
Still alt-tabbing between windows like it’s 1995? Microsoft PowerToys transforms Windows 11 into a productivity powerhouse. PowerToys Awesomeness You’re Missing: # Download and install (winget) winget install Microsoft.PowerToys –source winget # Or via GitHub releases # https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/releases # Essential modules to enable immediately: FancyZones: Window Management on Steroids Default Windows: Drag window to edge = […]
Your git history looking like a war zone? Interactive rebase transforms chaotic commits into a clean, logical story. The Problem: Spaghetti Commit History # Typical messy history $ git log –oneline a1b2c3d Fix typo in README e4f5g6h Update config again h7i8j9k Another attempt k0l1m2n Revert previous change n3o4p5q Merge branch ‘feature-x’ p6q7r8s WIP: trying something […]
Still struggling with float and position hacks? CSS Grid simplifies complex layouts with clean, maintainable code. The Grid vs Flexbox Decision Tree: /* When to use Grid vs Flexbox: */ /* USE GRID WHEN: */ /* 1. Two-dimensional layouts (rows AND columns) */ /* 2. You need precise control over both axes */ /* 3. […]
Writing more content but getting less traffic? Proper semantic HTML structure tells search engines exactly what your page is about. The SEO Problem with Div Soup: My Site Home About Contact Article Title Article content here… Recent Posts © 2024 Solution: Semantic HTML5 Elements My Awesome Blog Expert tips for developers Home About Contact Search […]
Tired of connection strings breaking between dev/test/prod? IOptions pattern with validation ensures your app never starts with wrong config. The Configuration Nightmare: // The old way – scattered magic strings public class OrderService { private readonly string _connectionString; public OrderService(IConfiguration configuration) { _connectionString = configuration.GetConnectionString(“DefaultConnection”); // What if configuration key doesn’t exist? // What if […]
Single Page Applications leaking memory from unfinished fetch requests? AbortController is your solution to clean up abandoned API calls. The Memory Leak Problem: // Common React/Vue pattern causing leaks async function fetchUserData(userId) { const response = await fetch(`/api/users/${userId}`); const data = await response.json(); setUserData(data); // State update } // User clicks between tabs quickly: // […]
Your SQL queries running slow even with indexes? Discover how covered indexes eliminate key lookups and dramatically improve performance. The Problem: Non-Covered Index — Table structure CREATE TABLE Orders ( Id INT PRIMARY KEY, CustomerId INT, OrderDate DATETIME, TotalAmount DECIMAL(10,2), Status VARCHAR(50), ShippingAddress NVARCHAR(500), — 20 more columns… ); — Common query SELECT CustomerId, OrderDate, […]
Struggling with AI image generators giving you weird results? These precise prompt templates transform random outputs into masterpiece-quality images. The Anatomy of a Perfect AI Image Prompt: [Subject] + [Detailed Description] + [Art Style] + [Artist Reference] + [Technical Parameters] BAD: “A dog in a park” GOOD: “Golden retriever puppy playing with red ball in […]
Are your Entity Framework queries making too many database trips? Discover how IQueryable.ToString() reveals the actual SQL and helps you batch queries efficiently. The Hidden Debugging Gem: // Instead of this naive approach (multiple queries) var users = db.Users.Where(u => u.IsActive).ToList(); var orders = db.Orders.Where(o => o.UserId == userId).ToList(); var products = db.Products.Where(p => p.CategoryId […]