How-Tos

Comparing Java objects with equals() and hashcode()

What is the contract between equals() and hashcode()? Learn how these methods work together when comparing objects in Java.

Download the cloud cost management enterprise buyer’s guide

From the editors of our sister publication CIO.com, this enterprise buyer’s guide helps IT staff understand the cost management tools available to keep their cloud spend under control.

User-defined variables in JavaScript

JavaScript variables hold a wide variety of information and can be used with virtually any data type. Here's how to use variables to store numbers, text strings, objects, and more.

How to work with Dapper and SQLite in ASP.NET Core

How to choose Visual Studio vs. Visual Studio Code

Choosing between Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio may depend as much on your work style as on the language support and features you need. Here’s how to decide.

7 JavaScript language elements every developer needs

Here's what beginning and experienced developers need to know about working with JavaScript's array, for loop, forEach, map, reduce, substring, and switch.

Build an authentication handler for a minimal API in ASP.NET Core

How to implement basic password authentication for a minimal API in ASP.NET Core using a custom authentication handler that validates the user’s credentials against a database.

Replace Calendar with LocalDate in Java programs

Java's Calendar class had its day, but the newer LocalDate class does much more. Here are seven ways to use LocalDate in your Java programs.

How to use JavaScript statements in your programs

Developers use statements to control the overall program flow, including variable declarations, conditional operations, and iterative processes. Here's how to write JavaScript statements.

6 Rust programming mistakes to watch out for

Everyone's favorite memory-safe programming language has its share of snags. Here are six mistakes to watch for when writing Rust code.

5 ways to use JavaScript promises

Developers use JavaScript promises to model asynchronous operations in web and server-side programs. Here's a quick look at five ways to use promises in your code.

Intro to Extism: A WebAssembly library for extendable apps and plugins

Extism lets you write WASM extensions for applications written in almost any language. Here's how to use Extism to write extendable programs and plugins.

How to use the new minimal API features in ASP.NET Core 8

Parameter binding from forms, antiforgery tokens, and Native AOT are now supported in ASP.NET Core. Here’s how to take advantage of them.

How to implement database connection resiliency in ASP.NET Core

Take advantage of connection resiliency in EF Core to detect errors and retry commands and enable your ASP.NET Core application to overcome transient faults.

Full-stack web development with HTMX and Bun, Part 2: Pug templating

Round out the HTMX and Bun web stack by adding Pug, a popular JavaScript templating engine that makes DOM interactions a snap.

Fully local retrieval-augmented generation, step by step

How to implement a local RAG system using LangChain, SQLite-vss, Ollama, and Meta’s Llama 2 large language model.

How to test large language models

Companies investing in generative AI find that testing and quality assurance are two of the most critical areas for improvement. Here are four strategies for testing LLMs embedded in generative AI apps.

Speed up searches using SearchValues in .NET

The new SearchValues class takes advantage of vectorization and hardware acceleration to speed up repeated searches in .NET 8.

Full-stack web development with HTMX and Bun, Part 1: Elysia and MongoDB

Put HTMX on the front end and Bun on the back, then hook them up with Elysia and MongoDB for an agile tech stack that makes developing web apps a breeze.

How to handle errors in Reacterror-handling component in React

Get an overview of error handling in React applications and how to use React error boundaries to handle render-time errors.

Avoid using enums in the domain layer in C#

Understand the pitfalls of using enumeration types in the domain layer of your .NET applications and the advantages of using record types instead.

Getting cozy with Java’s new, softer side

New features like var, auto-compile, text blocks, record classes, and more are shifting Java in subtle but powerful ways—toward a more flexible, dynamic future.

How to use the REPR design pattern in ASP.NET Core

Embrace the request-endpoint-response design pattern to simplify API development and make your code cleaner, more efficient, and easier to maintain.

Digging deeper into DbContext in Entity Framework Core

EF Core allows you to instantiate a DbContext in several ways. Learn when and how to use these different approaches in your ASP.NET Core applications.

Understanding Java’s new ScopedValue

ScopedValue is an alternative to ThreadLocal, and works in tandem with VirtualThreads and the new StructuredTaskScope. Find out what scoped values can do for your multithreaded programs in Java.

10 tips for speeding up Python programs

There are many ways to boost Python application performance. Here are 10 hard-core coding tips for faster Python.

The most popular neural network styles and how they work

Learn about the most prominent types of modern neural networks such as feedforward, recurrent, convolutional, and transformer networks, and their use cases in modern AI.

How to use value objects in C#

Learn how you can use value objects in C# to improve the clarity, structure, and maintainability of your code.

Functional programming with JavaScript arrays

Learn how JavaScript’s built-in functions like map() and filter(), as well as compose() and chain(), support a more elegant handling of JavaScript arrays.

How to run R in Visual Studio Code

If you’re an R programmer hoping to try GitHub Copilot, you’ll need to use Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code. Here’s how to set up and use VS Code for R.

When to use classes, structs, or records in C#

Learn how to choose between classes, structs, and record types in C# for power, flexibility, efficiency, and performance.

How to get started with Python

A complete guide to choosing the right Python distribution, the right Python IDE, and the right supporting tools to jumpstart your Python programming.

Reactive magic in Svelte 5: Understanding Runes

Here's a preview of Runes—a big new idea for reactive coding and the most important change to Svelte in years.

Get started with Flask 3.0

Dive head-first into one of the most popular and versatile web frameworks for Python with this quick-start tutorial.

Retrieval-augmented generation, step by step

RAG is a pragmatic and effective approach to using large language models in the enterprise. Learn how it works, why we need it, and how to implement it with OpenAI and LangChain.

NoSQL buyer’s guide: How to choose the right NoSQL database

Buyers have plenty of choice in NoSQL databases, so how do you choose? Here are five questions that could help you narrow it down.

Create an exception handler in ASP.NET Core 8

Take advantage of the new IExceptionHandler interface to handle exceptions gracefully in your ASP.NET Core applications.

Machine learning for Java developers: Machine learning data pipelines

Learn how to build and deploy a machine-learning data model in a Java-based production environment using Weka, Docker, and REST.

Get started with Python in Visual Studio Code

Use the Python extension for Visual Studio Code to create, manage, run, and test Python projects easily.

Demystifying the Code First approach in EF Core

Take advantage of the Code First approach in Entity Framework Core to create the data model for your application based on its domain entities in ASP.NET Core.

Machine learning for Java developers: Algorithms for machine learning

Set up a supervised learning project, then develop and train your first prediction function using gradient descent in Java.

How to implement a custom object mapper in C#

AutoMapper makes life easy, but has its limits. Learn how to implement a custom mapper to handle complex data structures or incompatible types.

Get started with Anaconda Python

Anaconda provides a handy GUI, a slew of work environments, and tools to simplify the process of using Python for data science.

Shallow and deep copy: Two ways to copy objects in Java

Copying objects is a common Java programming operation that has one serious trap. Here's how to avoid copying from an object reference and only copy the instance and values you want.

Building tables in React: Get started with react-table

React Table is a headless library for building powerful, customizable data grids in React. Get started with one of the most popular table builders for JavaScript.

How to use Rust with Python, and Python with Rust

You can merge Python's convenience with Rust's speed, thanks to libraries in both languages. Get started with the PyO3 project.

Java persistence with JPA and Hibernate: Persisting data to a database

Write, build, and run an example application that persists data to and from a relational database using Hibernate, JPA, and the repository pattern.

How to use IEnumerable, ICollection, IList, and IQueryable in C#

Understand the differences between the most commonly used interfaces for accessing and manipulating collections of data in C#.

Java persistence with JPA and Hibernate: Entities and relationships

Get started modeling entities and relationships for Java data persistence, using an example application based on Java 21 with Hibernate 6.3.

SQL unleashed: 9 ways to speed up your SQL queries

Want faster SQL queries? Here are nine best practices for writing SQL queries that work like a charm (or at least, like they should).