Development

Nov 3, 2022 development

How to update all your software at once with Winget

Historically, updating software on Windows has been a pain. You had to go to each website, download the installer, and run it. This was especially true for software that was not installed from the Microsoft Store. While this is still true for some software, there is a new tool that...

Sep 21, 2022 development

Fixing bad SSH keys

SSH keys are a great way to authenticate with a remote server. They are secure, and they are easy to use. However, they can be a pain to manage. If you have ever had to deal with a bad SSH key, you know what I mean. Especially if you are...

Aug 1, 2022 development

How to calculate estimated reading time

When publishing an article it is often a nice touch to let users know roughly how long it will take to read, and what level of investment they can expect to make. While every reader is different, the average reader can ingest about 150 - 200 words per minute, depending...

Jun 3, 2022 development

Loading Visual Studio environment in your default PowerShell profile

As a developer, you may want to load the Visual Studio environment in your default PowerShell profile. This is useful for debugging and developing. If you aren’t already aware, the easiest way to edit your profile is by using the profile variable. I use vscode, but you are free to...

May 16, 2022 development

Becoming an effective open source maintainer

Developing code is not easy. It is a challenge, but it is also a fun thing to do. Maintaining a project, however, is not easy either. It requires a very different skillset and time investment. When I became a maintainer of Selectize, I was able to learn a lot about...

May 10, 2022 development

Redirecting pages in jekyll (Without Plugins)

Hosting your site on Github Pages is fantastic, easy and inexpensive. Using Jekyll to generate your pages is easy and very configurable. It’s the perfect solution for a static site (as well as what I use for this blog). Sometimes, however, you may run into situations where you need to...

May 5, 2022 development

Display all environment variables with powershell

When configuring a development environment, you can use the PowerShell command to display all environment variables. This can be useful for gathering information about the environment, or for debugging. (Get-ChildItem env:*).GetEnumerator() | Sort-Object Name | Out-String Tips-and-Tricks If you wish you can all adjust the script above to send the...

Nov 13, 2021 development

Git Tip of the day -- Remove accidentally added files

Oops! That was a mistake Sometimes you accidentally add a file to your repository that you don’t want. It happens to all of us. Usually, it’s not that big of a deal, but it can be a problem when you commit something dangerous, such as API keys, passwords, or other...

Oct 28, 2021 development

How to determine what app is using a port

While it is sometimes easy to determine what app is using a port, it is not always the case. For example, if you are running a web app, and you want to know what app is using port 80, you can’t just look at the process list. You have to...

Sep 28, 2021 development

Punctuate your alt text.

It’s the tiny details that show you care Although it isn’t technically required for compliance, it’s a great idea to ensure your visitors that rely on alternate descriptions have a good experience. <img src="dog.jpg" alt="This is a picture of a happy dog!" /> Including ending punctuation will affect how screen...

Oct 23, 2020 development

Automatically Update WSL on Startup

How to keep your WSL instance up to date If you are like me, you prefer to always keep your packages as up-to-date as possible. You also like to automate things when possible to avoid repetitive admin tasks. This script will call your default WSL instance 1, and update/upgrade all...

Oct 19, 2020 development

Developer Productivity Tips

Eight tips for becoming more productive as a developer 10 months ago I transitioned to full-time remote work. First to help my medically fragile son, and then again for Covid-19 lockdown. This is a list of things that have helped me cope, and still have a good work-life balance. 1....

May 31, 2019 development

Clearing NuGet package caches

How to clear your NuGet caches NuGet caches downloaded packages to avoid lengthy update times. Sometimes, however, restoring packages (such as a CI server) can become problematic. Below is an easy method of clearing your cache to help debug restore issues. Manually Clearing Folders Remove the following folders: - Packages...

Apr 16, 2019 development

Git Tip of the day -- What Changed?

So you’ve just come back from vacation and what to see what your co-workers have been up to? Coming back to a project after a long break? There is a little-known command in git that will show you all the commits that have happened since you left off. git whatchanged...

Mar 4, 2019 development

Git: Checkout a branch at a specific date

Sometimes one needs to grab a copy of your source repo at a specific point in time. This is the command to do so. Update the date and branch (e.g dev) according to your needs. git checkout `git rev-list -n 1 --before="2017-01-01 00:00" dev`

Feb 20, 2019 development

Clearing ASP.Net temporary files

How to clear your ASP cache By default, when you compile a Web application the compiled code is placed in the Temporary ASP.NET Files folder. This folder is a subdirectory of the location where you installed the .NET framework. If you’re seeing strange caching behavior either in the Console or...

Topic Directory

Development

Development tips, snippets, and tricks