Coding With David

I found a really good YouTube video  from Google Chrome Developer channel that I am piggybacking off of for this post.  I found the content very interesting and I wanted to see what it would take to first port it s Blazzor application, then how to implement the layouts in a Blazor component library where I can use them in any project.   Please note, even though I am a fan of Bootstrap and other CSS frameworks, I have been on a push lately to write my own CSS.  These layouts are pure HTML and CSS. I won't cover the details of the 10 different layouts and the 1 kay line that makes them work, I do highly recommend you watch the video, it is very educational on CSS layouts. To demonstrate the 10 layouts, I have created a razor page to display the layout.  You can review the source code provided for the details 10 Layouts: 1. Center - All child content is centered within the parent container                     ...

I have been building and releasing commercial software for or 30 years now.  I have seen some really good releases and some really bad releases.   By release, I am not talking about clicking the check-in button and having to push to production.  I am talking about releasing a brand new product or a major release of an existing one.  These types of releases require a cross-functional team that is empowered to execute the tasks that are needed to make the publishing a new product or a major release a success. The first 20 years of releasing products were more of an art than science.  Luckily in the last 10 years launching products has developed into a logical process with built-in checks and balances. In the early years, I can remember sitting in a room the day of the release and being asked     "How do you feel about the release?" "How many teams can we have work non-stop to get this done on time?"   And my all-time favorite    ...

I normally don't like to use the term "problem".  I prefer to see it as an opportunity or a "challenge".  Even when reporting a bug, I prefer to see it as a "coding opportunity". I think I do have a problem, though.  I gave up watching TV.  I am down from about 6 hours to about 1 hour a day.  That is a very good thing.  What I have replaced it with might be just as bad. It started out with good intension.  I wanted to improve my CSS skills.   I have had a PluralSight subscription for years and I use it often.  For my CSS skill upgrade, I was looking for a very specific Flexbox and  CSS Grid content.  PluralSight was overkill for this.   So I turned to YouTube ! I had been on youtube for music, how-tos, and animal videos, but not really for technology videos.  Once I searched for Flexbox, I found a treasure troll of great contact, all free. What I did learn was to watch a vary of different presentations on the sam...

I decided to build something a little different this time.   I came across a quote I really liked.   It made me stop and think for a minute.   Once I digested the thought, it made me smile.   This got me thinking about having a new quote each day.   I am sure there are apps already available, but I bet there are not any built with Blazor.  Live Demo Requirements           1.        Source of the quotes must be free           2.        The quote displayed must be random           3.        There needs to be a background image           4.        Background image needs to be random           5.        Must be responsive       ...

I am working on a project where I want to white label the application so each customer can utilize their won colors and layouts.   This is straight forward to do, each customer has their own custom CSS style sheet ad based on the call customer you dynamically change the style sheet.   Seems easy enough. Another good user case is be able to support a light and dark theme.   When the users select either the light or dark theme, we just change out the style sheet.   The first part of solving this, know who which customer is calling is fairly easy.   We can use a query string parameter to tell us who is calling.   Something like this: @page "/light/{style}" There are 3 steps to implementing this solution.   Set element id We need to set the ID on the style sheet link element.   We will be using this to select and edit that element.   This will need to be done in _Host.cshtml for server side Blazor and in index.html for Client side Blazo...

As a developer it is easy to get caught up in deadlines, technology, product releases etc.   But if you have a few good habits, it will make your work and life much more enjoyable.   This is not rocket science, it is common sense, but sometimes we need to be reminded about them. What I mean by habit is: “an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary”.   You want to do these without thinking about them, you want them to be second nature.   When you regress, do not get down on yourself, just try to do them again. Habits       1.   Take breaks You need to take frequent breaks, at least 5 minutes every hour or so.   Some developers use a pomodoro timer or type of system.   You need to get up from your chair and walk around.   Go outside, get fresh air. When you are stuck on a problem, is the best time to take a break.   You will be surprised how quickly you resolve the issues afte...

The internet is a wonderful thing.   It is true that lately it has had a lot of bad news and negativity and you can find the same story with multiple facts, most contradicting each other.     But when it comes to software development, there is so much free stuff out there!   These freebies can make our developer lives so much easier.   Here is just a small list of the free available developer related resources that are available for us.   This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list, just the resources I like to use.   I am sure you have your own set of resource you like to use.   After reviewing this list, you should be excited and have multiple project and research ideas.   I have broken the resources into dev related areas.             Learning Resources          These are free resources that can help you learn development.   It includes, web, .net and other lang...