Athen Tech Bytes – July Edition I

Welcome back to our another edition of TechBytes!?

This edition of TechBytes is a developer's dream team: we're diving into Copilot, Azure, .NET & C#. Get ready to turbocharge your skills and build next-level apps! Stay tuned!?

Spotlight:?

1. Discover the power of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Project Operations for faster time entry?
2. What's new in .NET 9?
3. Build your own copilot with Microsoft Azure AI Studio??
4. Why and How to Execute GraphQL Queries in .NET?
5. C# 13: Explore the latest preview features?

Discover the power of Copilot in Dynamics 365 Project Operations for faster time entry?

Dynamics 365 Project Operations, now enhanced with Copilot, is a game-changer for service-centric organizations. It simplifies complex processes, reduces administrative overhead, and drives operational excellence. Embrace these innovations to stay competitive and excel in a rapidly evolving market.?

At Athen we think this is a game-changer for service businesses! Dynamics 365 Project Operations sounds like a one-stop-shop for streamlining projects, managing resources, and keeping clients happy.?

Key Benefits:?

• Enhance Client Engagement: Manage relationships from prospecting to delivery, ensuring personalized experiences.?

• Streamline Project Execution: Coordinate service delivery to meet deadlines, scopes, and budgets.?

• Optimize Resource Allocation: Balance demand and capacity for maximum productivity.?

• Boost Financial Performance: Manage project profitability with deep financial insights.?

• Facilitate Collaboration: Connect teams and access real-time data across functions and geographies.?

Revolutionizing Time Tracking with Copilot?

Accurate time tracking is crucial for billing, project costing, and profitability. Delays or inaccuracies can impact invoicing and project cost tracking. Dynamics 365 Project Operations introduces an AI-powered Copilot feature to transform time entry:?

• Intelligent Suggestions: AI-driven time entries based on projects and tasks.?

• Context-Aware Assistance: Contextual recommendations for precise time entries.?

• Streamlined Process: Automation of repetitive tasks frees up employee time.?

• Reduced Errors: Automated checks minimize inaccuracies.?

Business Outcomes:?

• Boosted Productivity: Simplified time entry enhances service delivery and client satisfaction.?

• Enhanced Accuracy: AI-driven entries improve billing accuracy and compliance.?

• Increased Employee Satisfaction: Reduced administrative burden boosts engagement.?

• Actionable Insights: Reliable data supports informed decision-making and process optimization.?

• Reference: Click here to view the details?

What's new in .NET 9?

.NET 9 is here with a strong focus on cloud-native applications and performance improvements. Supported for 18 months as a Standard-Term Support (STS) release, .NET 9 introduces several key updates across runtime, libraries, SDK, and associated frameworks.??

At Athen, we’re excited about these advancements and how they enhance our development capabilities. Here’s a concise overview of what’s new:?

.NET Runtime Enhancements:?

• New Attribute Model: Introduces feature switches with trimming support for better functionality control.?

• Performance Improvements: Includes optimizations in loop execution, inlining, PGO, Arm64 vectorization, AVX10v1 support, and hardware intrinsic code generation.?

• Enhanced Efficiency: Faster exception handling, reduced address exposure, and constant folding for floating-point operations.?

.NET Libraries Updates:?

• System.Text.Json: Customizable JSON indentation and a new JsonSerializerOptions.Web singleton for web defaults.?

• LINQ Enhancements: New CountBy and AggregateBy methods for efficient state aggregation.?

• PriorityQueue: New Remove method to update item priorities.?

• Cryptography: Added one-shot hash methods and KMAC algorithm classes.?

• Reflection: PersistedAssemblyBuilder class for saving emitted assemblies with PDB support.?

• TimeSpan: New From* methods for creating TimeSpan objects from integers.?

.NET SDK Enhancements:?

• Unit Testing: Improved integration with MSBuild for parallel test execution.?

• Tool Management: New options for dotnet tool install and NuGet security audits.?

• Terminal Logger: Enabled by default with improved usability and build summary.?

• MSBuild Analyzers: New script analyzers for better build management.?

ML.NET:?

• Version 4.0: Added support for new tokenizers like Tiktoken and models such as Llama and CodeGen.?

.NET Aspire:?

• Cloud-Ready Stack: Preview version available for building observable, distributed applications using a collection of NuGet packages.?

ASP.NET Core:?

• Improvements: Enhancements to Blazor, SignalR, minimal APIs, OpenAPI, and authentication/authorization.?

.NET MAUI:?

• Quality Focus: Improvements aimed at enhancing product quality and overall user experience.?

EF Core:?

• Updates: Significant enhancements to the Azure Cosmos DB provider, AOT compilation, and pre-compiled queries.?

C# 13:?

• New Features:?

• params collections support?

• New lock type and semantics?

• New escape sequence \e?

• Method group natural type improvements?

• Implicit indexer access in object initializers?
• Reference: Click here to view the details?

Build your own copilot with Microsoft Azure AI Studio?

Microsoft Azure AI Studio, now generally available, offers organizations a powerful platform to create and customize their own AI copilots. This tool accelerates the generative AI development lifecycle, enabling tailored solutions to drive innovation and efficiency across various sectors.?

At Athen, we’re thrilled by the transformative potential of Azure AI Studio. Its advancements in AI copilot development align with our focus on leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance efficiency and innovation. We’re eager to explore these tools further to drive our digital transformation initiatives.?

Streamline Call Center Operations:?

• Vodafone’s SuperAgent: Upgraded from the TOBi chatbot, SuperAgent provides conversational AI support to call center agents. It summarizes call transcripts, improving response times and customer satisfaction. With TOBi handling 45 million calls monthly and resolving 70%, Vodafone has seen a reduction in average call times by at least one minute.?

Enhance Customer Experience:?

• H&R Block’s AI Tax Assist: This AI-driven solution helps users navigate tax filing, answer complex tax questions, and optimize refunds. Positive feedback and increased usage during the 2024 tax season highlight its success. The AI Studio platform enabled H&R Block to innovate rapidly and refine features for an enhanced user experience.?

Boost Employee Productivity:?

• Sweco’s SwecoGPT: Automates document creation, analysis, advanced search, and translation. Nearly half of Sweco’s employees use SwecoGPT, reporting increased productivity and more focus on creative tasks.?

• Reference: Click here to view the details?

Why and How to Execute GraphQL Queries in .NET?

GraphQL presents a powerful alternative to REST APIs by allowing precise data retrieval and reducing unnecessary network load. This guide explores querying a GraphQL API in .NET using the Strawberry Shake client, focusing on the new features and implementation.?

Here at Athen, tired of REST APIs forcing the download of unnecessary data? GraphQL is the solution! This episode explores using Strawberry Shake to query APIs in .NET, allowing requests for only the data needed.?

The Problem:?

Most projects rely on APIs, but traditional REST APIs often have limitations. They might force you to download tons of data you don't even need, impacting performance. And fetching data from multiple resources can involve multiple requests, slowing things down even more.?

The Solution: GraphQL?

Enter GraphQL, a powerful alternative to REST APIs. With GraphQL, you can:?

• Request only the data you need: No more over-fetching! Specify exactly what data you want, reducing network traffic and improving performance.?

• Combine data from multiple sources in a single request: No more frustrating "round trips" to different endpoints! Get all the data you need at once.?

Strawberry Shake to the Rescue!?

Strawberry Shake is a popular GraphQL client for .NET. This episode shows how to use Strawberry Shake to query a GraphQL API in a .NET console application.?

• Install Strawberry Shake: This handy tool is your bridge to the GraphQL world.?

• Define the GraphQL Schema: This describes the data available from the API. Think of it like an instruction manual for your data.?

• Generate the Client: Strawberry Shake uses the schema to automatically generate a custom GraphQL client for your project! No need to write boilerplate code.?

• Craft Your GraphQL Query: Tell the API exactly what data you want. GraphQL uses a syntax similar to JSON, but specifically designed for data requests.?

• Execute the Query and See the Results! Use your generated client to fire off your query and retrieve the data you need.?

Benefits & Beyond:?

GraphQL isn't just about efficiency. It also offers:?

• Improved User Experience: Faster data retrieval leads to smoother, more responsive applications.?

• Reduced Development Time: Auto-generated clients and clear data requests save you coding headaches.?

Next Up:?

This episode focused on using Strawberry Shake in a console application. But the power of GraphQL doesn't stop there! The next TechBytes will explore how to leverage GraphQL with Blazor projects, taking your web development to the next level.?

• Reference: Click here to view the details?

C# 13: Explore the latest preview features?

C# 13 introduces several exciting features in its preview release, enhancing the language’s functionality and developer productivity. This update focuses on improvements that streamline coding practices and offer new capabilities.?

At Athen, the advancements align with our goal of leveraging cutting-edge technology to streamline development processes and enhance software quality. Exploring these features will support ongoing efforts to innovate and refine coding practices.?

• Params Collections: Allows defining params for collections, enabling more flexible method arguments and simplifying code.?

• New Lock Type and Semantics: Introduces a new lock type for more precise control over locking mechanisms and improved concurrency management.?

• New Escape Sequence - \e: Adds support for the escape sequence \e in strings, facilitating more concise and readable code when dealing with escape characters.?

• Method Group Natural Type Improvements: Enhances method group handling to better align with natural typing, improving type inference and code readability.?

• Implicit Indexer Access in Object Initializers: Enables implicit access to indexers in object initializers, reducing boilerplate code and enhancing initialization syntax.?

• Reference: Click here to view the details?

As we wrap up this edition of TechBytes, we hope you’re excited to explore the latest advancements in Copilot, Azure, .NET, and C#. These tools and updates are crafted to elevate your development experience, boost your productivity, and help you build innovative applications. Stay tuned for more insights and tips in our next issue. Until then, keep pushing boundaries, stay curious, and let your creativity drive your success!??