.NET Rocks!

The next version of CSLA is out! Carl and Richard talk to Rocky Lhotka about his business objects framework that pre-dates .NET itself! Rocky discusses the surge in development that occurred for version 9, where a company heavily dependent on CSLA contracted developers to clear some of the backlog. The result is a few new long-term contributors, resulting in an increased development candence and a substantial modernization of the code base. The conversation also turns to AI and its role in development, as well as Rocky's experiments with making an MCP server for CSLA!

Aspire has been around for almost two years. How do you use it effectively? Carl and Richard talk to Chris Klug about his experience with .NET Aspire. Chris discusses thinking cloud natively, whether you are going to the cloud or not - it's not just a place, but also an architecture. The conversation digs into the role of containers and Kubernetes, deployment strategies, telemetry, security, testing, and more. You can use as much or as little Aspire as you wish!

Egil Hansen, a Microsoft MVP and creator of BUnit, dives into the world of app testing. He emphasizes the importance of creating valuable, durable tests that withstand changes. Egil discusses the balance between end-to-end and integration tests, and how to keep tests resistant to refactoring. He favors custom fakes over generic mocks for clarity, explores the potential of AI in generating and reviewing tests, and shares insights on mutation testing to uncover missing scenarios. With practical advice, he guides developers toward efficient testing practices.

Joe Finney, a mobile product owner and Microsoft MVP, dives into the world of local AI models. He explores the capabilities of models from platforms like Hugging Face for tasks like OCR and image recognition. Joe explains the importance of Windows AI APIs for developers, the nuances of managing ONNX models, and the trade-offs between local and cloud solutions. He emphasizes privacy and cost benefits of local models while discussing hardware requirements and practical tools to experiment. A must-listen for anyone interested in machine learning on their own devices!

James Montemagno, Microsoft developer community lead, shares insights on integrating AI with Visual Studio Code. He explains the differences between VS Code and Visual Studio for AI workflows and discusses which LLM models work best for coding tasks. James highlights his experience building a production app using AI agents and emphasizes the importance of human oversight in coding processes. He also covers the use of GitHub agents to automate workflows and offers practical advice for developers looking to enhance productivity with AI.

Razor Tooling is evolving! Carl and Richard talk to David Wengier about the changes coming for Razor Pages in the next version of Visual Studio. David talks about the realization that much of the new work in Razor ties closely to Roslyn, which has resulted in a new co-hosting model that means higher performance and reliability for your web pages! The conversation delves into how capabilities in Visual Studio Code are shared with Visual Studio and vice versa, as well as the role of the Language Service Protocol in making it easier to bring more powerful tools to you.

Join Mads Kristensen, a Microsoft program manager with over 200 extensions published, as he dives into the future of Visual Studio 2026. Discover how AI will transform coding with features like natural language querying and smart debugging. Mads also explores Visual Studio's evolving role as a project management tool and its seamless integration with GitHub and cloud services. Plus, learn about performance enhancements that ensure a smooth user experience and the importance of staying updated with technological advancements.

How has DevOps changed in 2025? Carl and Richard talk to Michael Levan about his experiences helping teams automate their development workflows, and dealing with all the details that help the entire team focus on providing customer value. Michael digs into the role of the new AI tools in facilitating better workflows around code, testing, deployment, telemetry, and more. Then the conversation turns to security - and the many challenges that exist to make applications that are secure when deployed, and help with the security challenges that happen while in operation!

Diana Mounter, former Head of Design at GitHub and now transitioning to AlphaSense, shares her design journey and insights. She discusses the evolution of GitHub's design and the importance of integrating design with development. Topics include the innovative Primer design language and how understanding programming leads to better user experiences. Diana's anecdotes highlight the balance needed between creativity and coding, emphasizing the future potential of generative AI in design practices.

Dustin Campbell, a Principal Software Architect at Microsoft, unveils the exciting developments in C# 14. He shares insights on how new features are selected and discusses the long-awaited extension members. The conversation dives into the delicate balance between language, framework, and tooling, alongside advancements in Razor Pages. Listeners will enjoy Dustin's reflections on coding efficiency innovations and the evolving landscape of .NET tooling—all sprinkled with a dash of tech history and humor.