In this article, I’ll share my study resources and plan for the Azure AZ-900 exam that results in the Microsoft Certified: Azure Fundamentals certification.
Note: Microsoft exams evolve over time and may change without notice. This guide represents the author’s best knowledge of the AZ-900 exam as of Q1 2021, but you should always consult Microsoft’s official exam page for the contents of the exam.
What is Azure Fundamentals?
Azure Fundamentals is a broad certification that covers a wide degree of breadth in Azure services, concepts, and policies. …
Let’s talk about certifications.
And, with that last short sentence, I’ve triggered a good portion of readers. Programming certifications tend to be a very polarizing topic, and I think it’s worth talking about the good and the bad.
In this article, I’ll briefly summarize the traditional arguments around certification, and then talk about why I think that’s the wrong conversation to be having about these things.
The Traditional Argument
First of all, detractors (and there are many) will point out that certifications have a number of flaws including:
- They do not necessarily represent real-world skills
- Test question dumps tend to be available for…
This might be a weird article.
A few years ago I saw the terrific movie “Arrival” and it changed how I look at language. A little later, I encountered F# for the first time and it changed the way I look at programming languages.
In this article I’m going to walk you through the basics of some of the theories touched upon in Arrival and then pivot into the role of language in programming. …
This article is part of the C# Advent Series check it out for more articles from others in the community
I love C#. I’ve been working with the language since 2001 and still view C# as my favorite and primary programming language, despite growing to love many other languages as well since then. However, this year has been eye-opening for me as I’ve gotten a glimpse into how others learn programming and the problems C# has with new developers.
This year I left software engineering and became an instructor at Tech Elevator, a full-stack C# and Java bootcamp. I am…
I’ve been living a lie. For 20 years of professional software development, I had convinced myself that I didn’t enjoy database development.
I was wrong.
It turned out that I was getting stuck on the repetitive nature of database code and query generation, instead of the core problems we solve when building database applications.
In this article I’ll discuss why I hated working with databases as a C# developer, and the tools and libraries I found that proved me wrong.
What’s Wrong with Database Development?
It’s not that I thought databases weren’t important — they are critically important to the majority of professional software applications…
Starting a new job can be exciting, intimidating, and frustrating. The first few weeks can set the tone for how you are perceived in the organization as well as your opportunities to succeed in your new role. Here are my thoughts on how to start strong at your new job.
I’ve been around long enough to recognize how vital it is to take the first few weeks seriously and have a solid plan for getting yourself up to speed.
So, in no particular order, let’s talk about the things that I find are the most helpful to keep in mind…
How an Open Source implementation of Silverlight aims to use Web Assembly to Compete with Blazor and Modern JavaScript Frameworks
OpenSilver has recently made its presence known and announced that Silverlight, like disco, is in fact not dead and is still more relevant than ever — albiet in a fairly changed form.
As a former Silverlight developer and XAML specialist, let me lay out for you what Silverlight was, how OpenSilver is different, and my initial take on whether this matters (and who it might matter to).
XAML and The Foundation of Silverlight
If you’re like many new developers I speak with, you may not be familiar with Silverlight or even XAML, so let me set the stage for you.
Back in 2006 Microsoft released .NET…
Let me show you how creative use of TypeScript’s discriminated unions, type aliases, and functions can give you a greater degree of flexibility in your own code.
I’m going to do this by illustrating how these techniques addressed a problem that I was trying to solve and then talk about some additional ideas on how these techniques can be applied.
The Problem I’m Solving
I’m building a text-based game for a few talks I’ll be giving this spring. …
Techniques I used to move from Management to Teaching
Career changes are huge, but you don’t have to go into them blind. In this article I’ll discuss some strategies I’ve used recently to evaluate a change in careers, figure out if you might like the change, find ways to safely practice and grow the skills you’d need, and then finally potentially make that leap in changing your career.
Why am I writing this? For the first time in 14 years my primary job will no longer revolve around writing code. …
Exploring Generalization and Specialization in Developer Careers
Recently a younger developer I respect expressed a somewhat common concern. In essence, their concern was that they were finding themselves doing a little bit of everything and not specializing enough. They were specifically concerned that nobody would want to hire them without a key specialization.
They also mentioned the idea of a “T-shaped” developer who has a wide breadth of experience but a specific area that they are deeply skilled in.
Keep in mind that this was a new developer who had recently graduated from a bootcamp and that specializing early on can be both hard and limiting.
Matt Eland
After over three decades of software engineering, Matt put away his mechanical keyboard and made teaching his primary job as he looks to help others grow.
