Your Digest of .NET Updates, Tools, and Insights.
May 5, 2025
Deep Dive into .NET Updates.
Introducing the Azure MCP Server
Microsoft announces the public preview of the Azure Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server, enabling AI agents to leverage Azure resources like file storage, database querying, and CLI commands. This open-source project aims to streamline AI integration with Azure services.
Preview 2 of the .NET AI Template Now Available
The second preview of the .NET AI Chat Web App template introduces support for .NET Aspire and integration with the Qdrant vector database, simplifying the creation of cloud-native AI-powered chat applications.
Build MCP Remote Servers with Azure Functions
This article guides developers on creating remote MCP servers using Azure Functions, facilitating seamless integration with GitHub Copilot and other LLM-based applications. It highlights the use of the Microsoft.Azure.Functions.Worker.Extensions.Mcp NuGet package.
Building Real‑Time iOS Apps with SignalR: Introducing the Official Swift Client (Public Preview)
Microsoft introduces the official SignalR Swift client in public preview, allowing iOS developers to add real-time features like chat and live dashboards to their apps without relying on community-built solutions.
Introducing the AI Dev Gallery: Your Gateway to Local AI Development with .NET
The AI Dev Gallery is a Windows application that serves as a comprehensive playground for AI development using .NET. It provides interactive local AI samples, easy model downloads, and source code export, all built with .NET AI building blocks.
Going beyond singleton, scoped, and transient lifetimes—tenant, pooled, and drifter
Andrew Lock investigates experimental dependency injection scopes in .NET, such as tenant, pooled, and drifter lifetimes, providing insights into their implementation and use cases.
Keyset (Cursor) Pagination in .NET using EF Core
This article explores implementing keyset (cursor) pagination in ASP.NET Core using EF Core, offering a more efficient alternative to offset-based pagination for large datasets.
This article introduces the null-conditional assignment operator in C#, offering a cleaner syntax for handling null values and reducing boilerplate code.
Understanding GraphQL in .NET: When and why to use it
Ali Hamza Ansari discusses the scenarios where GraphQL is beneficial in .NET applications, providing a step-by-step guide to building a GraphQL API using HotChocolate.
Observability in ASP.NET Core with OpenTelemetry and Azure Monitor
This article demonstrates integrating OpenTelemetry in ASP.NET Core applications and exporting data to Azure Monitor, enabling comprehensive observability through logs, metrics, and traces.
