Issue #37: Free Courses, Migrating to .NET 9, SOLID Principles, Vanilla Astro and The Power of LLMs!

Happy New Year, friends!

Hopefully you had a terrific time off and was able to relax, regroup and enjoy some quality time with loved ones!

Let's check what has been happening in the world of .NET, JavaScript and Design in the past weeks!

To .NET & Beyond

Things to Know Before You Migrate Your Blazor App to .NET 9 ?

Thinking of upgrading to .NET 9 for your #Blazor app development? There are some things you need to consider before you do!

If you're already on .NET 8, it'll be a relatively easy jump over to .NET 9. Nevertheless, a quick guide is never a bad idea and Jon Hilton has an excellent one to help you prepare for that transition: https://prgress.co/4gfXSyx

Local GenAI Processing: Implementing WebLLM with Blazor WebAssembly ??

Large language model (LLM) powered Generative AI offers big integration opportunities for adding Natural Language Processing (NLP) in you app UX - however, public GenAI services are computationally intensive and invite cost/security tradeoffs.

That being said, a nice alternative could be running a small AI model locally with advantages like cost, speed, offline capability, privacy and customizations.

Ed Charbeneau wrote up an excellent article on?implementing local GenAI with WebLLM and Blazor WebAssembly.

Check out why the results can be impressive: https://prgress.co/3OQ9hJJ

Fixing LLMs: Retrieval Augmented Generation ??

That's a good segway to this next AI related article. If you're passionate about AI's development, you'll love the detail into which Peter Vogel goes in his Fixing LLMs: Retrieval Augmented Generation article.

He explains the intricacies of why LLM's hallucinate and how Retrieval augmented generation or RAG as it's commonly known is one way to potentially provide more reliable results.

Dive in: https://prgress.co/3ZDIoPC

Getting Started with Telerik UI for .NET MAUI Free Course ??

If cross-platform apps are your thing, we have a course just for you.

Yes, this is a small shameless plug, but starting the year with a free course that gives you powerful tools, resources, and techniques to build stunning cross-platform apps seemed like a great idea.

So, jump on the journey and get to know the ins and outs of Telerik UI got .NET MAUI in these 7 chapters: https://prgress.co/3OJN3Jy

Getting Started with Telerik UI for Blazor Free Course ??

You read that right - another free course! It's a New Years gift!

This free Telerik UI for Blazor course will get you started quickly with the Blazor framework itself, and the Telerik UI for Blazor components and features.

It provides hands-on developer experience with building an RPS issue tracker Blazor application which is pretty neat.

Come see for yourself and add another learning resource to your 2025 list: https://prgress.co/3B3V1dq

Understanding SOLID Principles ??

Applying guidelines for clarity and organization in your code should be one of your top goals throughout the development process.

That's where SOLID principles come in real handy and Leomaris Reyes has made sure you can explore all 5 in her latest article!

Check each principle and see how to apply them in your daily work as a developer, with practical examples in C#: https://prgress.co/40h9nAD

JavaScript Trends

3 Node.js Features You Didn’t Know About ??

Is #NodeJS leveling up? Sure seems that way!

Peter Mbanugo explored 3 awesome features: .env file loading, native file watching and faster script execution, plus checked how they compare to the likes of Deno 2 & Bun !

See the results for yourself: https://prgress.co/41sYD3g

And when you finish with that, check out 3 more:

Run TypeScript code directly in Node.js without transpiling

Built-in SQLite support

Glob file search: https://prgress.co/3Zyfore

Vanilla Astro, No Framework Needed ??

Astro kind of got crowned as the OG #JavaScript framework for 2024 and for a good reason - it's straightforward, beautiful and allows you to build full-stack apps.

You can use Astro to plug and play components written for other frameworks, but you can utilize vanilla Astro file to meet your needs instead.

Astro is made as an SSR or static framework first and for reactivity second. So, if you absolutely love writing pure JavaScript, you'll greatly appreciate vanilla Astro!

Check out how to use it in Jonathan Gamble's blog: https://prgress.co/4gBOHJj

Design Trends

ThemeBuilder Full Guide: Customizing Telerik and Kendo UI Components Like a Pro! ??

3 courses are better than 2, and we haven't forgotten our design developers out there!

Welcome to your complete video guide on ThemeBuilder – the ultimate tool for customizing Telerik and Kendo UI components for your web applications!

So, whether you're starting from scratch or enhancing an existing app, this course will guide you step-by-step through ThemeBuilder’s capabilities for seamless integration and theming.

Dive right in: https://prgress.co/3BQkCqy

Life After Design Systems ??

Design systems are more than just a trend—they're a game-changer! And they free up time for more valuable & interesting work!

Check out Kathryn Grayson Nanz 's blog to see what life after the design system kickoff could look like: https://prgress.co/41sOAuT

Cool Things We Found Along the Way

Blazor Server vs. WebAssembly: Choosing the Right Path for Your Project ??

Last issue we shared a resource around fixing WebAssembly performance, but now let's put it to the ultimate test - do you go with Blazor WebAssembly (WASM) or Blazor Server for your application and components?

Cheyenne Sokkappa breaks down the pros and cons of both to help you make the right decision: https://prgress.co/4fXQRSN

Angular Air with Deborah Kurata on Resource() vs rxResource() API ??

If you missed the wonderful Deborah Kurata on Angular Air you should totally check the episode and hear her chat with the team about the new resource() API in #Angular: https://prgress.co/4gh3qJk

C# Advent Calendar ??

Matthew Groves 's C# Advent Calendar is legendary and this year (as all previous years) it delivered!

Catch up with all the C#, .NET goodness here: https://csadvent.christmas

P.S. Check Day 11 for @EdCharbeneau's article!

That's it for this week!

Hope your first week of 2025 is going swell and you'll be able to apply some of the resources above to your software toolbelt!

Catch you next time!

- The TechRel Team ??