For one of my .NET projects, I use Supabase to store my data. Supabase is an open-source alternative to Firebase. It is based on PostgreSQL and provides a REST API and websockets to interact with the database.

To connect my .NET project to Supabase, I use Supabase Sharp and you can also find the documentation on the official Supabase website.

The ease of use of the library is really interesting and it also allows me to use the Supabase website directly to manage my data without having to write code to do it in my own applications.

Exciting New Features in C# and Blazor 8

The world of .NET web development is constantly evolving, and the latest version of Blazor 8 brings a host of new features and improvements that deserve our full attention. In this article, we will explore the key features of Blazor 8 and how they can enhance your C# projects.

Blazor 8: A Richer and More Interactive User Experience

Blazor 8 continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with .NET web applications. With improved support for server-side rendering and client-side interactivity, Blazor 8 offers a richer and more responsive user experience.

If you have a custom data source for your NuGet packages and you use MSBuild for your solutions, MSBuild will not be able to restore these packages.

To achieve this without adding specific configuration files to your .Net solutions, you just need to add a NuGetDefaults.config file in the %ProgramData%\NuGet\NuGetDefaults.config directory of your build server. This file will be opened at each build requiring package restoration and will allow you to see your enterprise or personal NuGet package sources.

In one of my projects, I use an ASP.Net MVC site to communicate with Team Foundation Server (TFS) to display metrics/graphs/reports. The site is hosted on the same server that hosts TFS and during publication, it publishes the file Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client.DataStoreLoader.dll in the bin folder each time, which causes an ASP.Net error because the dll is already on the server.

It is possible in an ASP.Net MVC project to exclude files and directories by creating a .wpp.targets file. This allows you to define the exclusions as well as the source/reason for the exclusion.

While trying to take advantage of the new trend charts in TFS 2013.4, I realized that the state change date was not added to the item template in the TFS Scrum template. I had to resort to using the modification date, but this skews the results for items that haven’t actually changed in a long time but have had a property change (notably the priority when reordering the backlog).

I found this article which explained the changes to be made, but my version of TFS is in French, so here is the French version to add to tasks, bugs, and backlog items in the <FIELDS></FIELDS> section:

If you need to use data formatted with the JSON standard, here is a simple trick to get started (but you can complicate it as you wish ;)). I use the Web Essentials extension and the NuGet package Json.NET. The JSON data file I use is this one: Example JSON File (source).

Here are the steps to take the JSON data, generate the necessary classes, download the data, and populate these new classes:

• Install the Web Essentials extension
• Create a new class file
• Put a snippet or the entire JSON data into the clipboard (Copy or CTRL-C)
• Right-click in the editor or go to the EDIT menu/Special Paste and select “Paste JSON as Classes”

I was aware of the requirement for a privacy policy for the Windows Store (requirement 4.1.1), but when publishing my application it was rejected on the grounds that I absolutely had to provide this policy because I was using the Internet connection. So even if you do not collect information from your users, simply being connected requires this policy. It is unfortunate that Visual Studio validation does not detect this issue and that it is detected later during submission.

After creating a similar app on Windows Phone, I had fun making a similar app on Windows 8: Patiner.

The app allows you to view the status of the ice rinks on the island of Montreal by navigating the map. It’s very simple and that’s intentional, but improvements are already planned for future versions.

The data comes from Patiner Montreal, which offers an excellent web portal and links to apps for other operating systems.

Wow, a great evening: an attentive and interested audience. Here are some links that were discussed during the evening:

• tinyclr.com
• robotshop.ca
• cosm.com
• netmf.com and netmf.com/gadgeteer

You can download the files and the presentation in zip format here and on the .Net Montreal group website.

I forgot Gadgeteer stickers at home, so if you want some, let me know and we’ll arrange to send them to you!

Thank you, if you have any questions feel free to contact me and I look forward to seeing your projects!

On February 25th, I will be giving a presentation titled .NET Micro Framework and .NET Gadgeteer: Embedded Computing for Everyone at the Alt.Net Montreal meeting. I will go over the Framework and Gadgeteer with examples: things that blink, move, and provide useful information ;)

If you have projects you would like to show to the group, feel free to bring them along, we will be happy to discuss them.

Looking forward to meeting you there!