In 2019 Microsoft hosted a global developer event titled the "Insider Dev Tour". This event was a partnership between Microsoft and local developer communities around the world interested in the latest developer technology coming out of Redmond. Local developer communities include MVP (Most Valuable Professionals), RD (Regional Directors), professionals, students, and hobbyists. Each session provided a heavy emphasis on code demonstrations. Topics included Windows, Graph, Office, AI, Web, IoT, and more. The web page is no longer published on the Microsoft website, but a screen capture of the event page has been included at the bottom of this blog post.
My contribution to the event was speaking about the following two topics:
The Future is Now with ASP.NET Core 3.0
Myth Busting PWAs: The New Edge Edition
The Future is Now with ASP.NET Core 3.0
ASP.NET Core is one of my greatest passions. This talk walked attendees through some of the exciting new features to be included in the new ASP.NET Core 3.0. At the time of this talk .NET Core 3.0 was only in preview 5, so it was exciting to explore and share what was truly bleeding edge technology. This talk focused on three upcoming features:
Blazor
Blazor is a new framework in ASP.NET Core 3.0 for building interactive client-side web UI with .NET:
- Create rich interactive UIs using C# instead of JavaScript
- Share server-side and client-side app logic written in .NET
- Render the UI as HTML and CSS for wide browser support, including mobile browsers
Blazor framework supported scenarios:
- Reusable UI components (Razor components)
- Client-side routing
- Component layouts
- Support for dependency injection
- Forms and validation
- Build component libraries with Razor class libraries
- JavaScript interoperability
Worker Service
.NET Core 3.0 introduces the new Worker Service app template. This template provides a starting point for writing long running services in .NET Core.
gRPC
gRPC Is a popular, high-performance RPC (remote procedure call) framework that offers an opinionated contract-first approach to API development. It uses modern technologies such as HTTP/2 for transport, protocol buffers as the interface description language, and binary serialization format. Other features include authentication, bidirectional streaming and flow control, and both cancellation and timeouts.
Myth Busting PWAs: The New Edge Edition
There are many common myths and misconceptions around what progressive web apps are and what they can do. This talk dispelled nine of these myths.
Myth 1: PWAs need to be built from scratch
PWA Builder can help you transform any website into a progressive web application.
Myth 2: PWA performance is limited
Web applications aren't powered only by JavaScript engines anymore. By using WebAssembly, you can build high performance applications that work in modern browsers.
Myth 3: Creating UIs is hard
Developers accustomed to developing with XAML won't be missing it. When using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript together you can build powerful yet beautiful user interfaces.
Myth 4: You can’t build GPU intensive apps
Modern web browsers natively support WebGL, the engine for driving 2D and 3D experiences in the browser.
Myth 5: PWAs can’t reach all of my users
Progressive web applications can be packaged and delivered in popular marketplaces like Google Play, Apple App Store, and the Microsoft App Store.
Myth 6: PWAs look like web pages
Open web technology such as CSS and JavaScript allow you to control exactly how your app should look and behave. Using these technologies together allows developers to build web applications that look and feel more like native applications.
Myth 7: PWAs can’t run in the background
Using Service Workers, progressive web apps can subscribe to push notification services and wait for incoming messages in the background.
Myth 8: Device hardware still requires a native app
Modern browsers can access device hardware though browser APIs. Some interfaces include Bluetooth, USB, Midi, and even VR hardware.
Myth 9: Real brands aren’t using PWAs for consumer apps
Some of the most well known brands have deployed their production apps as progressive web apps. Brands like this include Pinterest, Trivago, Twitter, and even Starbucks. PWA stats is a community-driven list of stats and news related to Progressive Web Apps.
Screen capture of event webpage on microsoft.com
