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All about software development: .NET, C#, F#, Azure and other Microsoft technologies! For more information visit https://bio.link/devdigest
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⚡️ .NET Framework 3.5 switches to standalone deployment on new Windows

.NET Framework 3.5 is no longer bundled with new Windows versions, and Microsoft will ship its servicing updates separately. This means you install it only when you actually need it. For anyone maintaining old apps, it's worth noting how updates will now arrive independently of the OS.

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⚡️ Cosmos DB NoSQL gets full Microsoft Entra ID support

Cosmos DB now lets you use Microsoft Entra ID for both the control plane and the data plane. No more long‑lived secrets or shared account keys — you can switch to a passwordless, least‑privilege setup. It’s a cleaner way to secure access without dragging around legacy key‑based auth.

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⚡️ Soft delete in Azure SQL without relying on fragile filters

If your app needs to hide data without actually dropping rows, Azure SQL now plays nicely with soft delete. That’s handy when you expose a database to an AI agent through something like SQL MCP Server, where mistakes need to be reversible. The catch is simple: filtering on a delete flag in every query is easy to mess up, and one missing filter leaks data.

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⚡️ VS Code 1.109 turns into a multi‑agent dev playground

The January 2026 release of VS Code drops a big AI update: structured planning agents, parallel subagents, and a single orchestration layer that works the same locally and in the cloud. It feels less like a code editor update and more like the team wiring in a full multi‑agent workflow right into your dev setup.

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⚡️ Azure SQL can mask sensitive data for you

Sometimes an app needs to read records but shouldn’t see everything inside them — like SSNs, emails, or phone numbers. Azure SQL can handle that by storing the raw values but applying masking rules automatically, so the database decides what each caller is allowed to see. The example in the post shows a simple table with sensitive fields and built‑in masking turned on.

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⚡️ Claude Opus 4.6 lands in Microsoft Foundry

Microsoft quietly added Claude Opus 4.6 to Foundry, so teams can hand off entire workflows to the model instead of wiring every step manually. The idea is that Opus now handles complex tasks end‑to‑end and runs them in production without babysitting. Useful if you’re building agents or heavy enterprise automation.

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⚡️ F# Weekly digs into FScript and the charm of slow, handcrafted code

This week’s F# Weekly highlights two things: a look at FScript and a piece celebrating intentionally slow, handcrafted code. If you're into lightweight scripting or enjoy stories about writing code by hand instead of rushing optimizations, this issue is worth a scroll.

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⚡️ How to squeeze more detail out of MSBuild binlogs

MSBuild binlogs already pack a ton of data, but there’s a way to pull in even more. The post highlights how property tracking adds extra visibility that you don’t get from the default log. Useful when a regular binlog still leaves you guessing about what actually happened during the build.

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⚡️ SQLCon launches this March in Atlanta

The SQL community is meeting in Atlanta for the first‑ever SQLCon, running March 16–20. The event is co‑located with FabCon, the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference, so you get both worlds in one trip. If you work with SQL or Fabric, this is a pretty packed week in one place.

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⚡️ Using lenses to tighten up weak test assertions

The author revisits a test from a previous article that felt too weak and uses it as a starting point to show how lenses can strengthen similar cases. The new examples walk through tests with underpowered assertions and demonstrate how lens-based checks make them more precise. No magic, just cleaner and more reliable test code.

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⚡️ Azure SQL lets you query past data with Temporal Tables

Azure SQL can track how each row looked at any point in time — who changed it, when it changed, and what the old values were. You don’t have to rebuild that history in app code, which is usually tedious and brittle. This comes in handy when you expose a database to an AI agent through an MCP server like SQL MCP Server, where accurate data discovery really matters.

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⚡️ Do high‑temp superconductors have a place in datacenter power?

The question on the table is simple: as AI workloads push power demand through the roof, can high‑temperature superconductors help datacenters move electricity more efficiently? The idea is about cutting losses and stabilizing delivery in environments where every watt matters. That's the whole scope of what's given — no claims beyond that.

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⚡️ Vercel AI SDK lets you swap AI providers with one import

Vercel’s open‑source AI SDK gives you a single TypeScript toolkit for wiring AI into any JS app. It already works with 20+ providers like OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Mistral, and you can switch between them by changing just one import. Handy if you're tired of rewriting code every time you test a new model.

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⚡️ .NET and .NET Framework get February 2026 servicing updates

Microsoft rolled out the February 2026 servicing updates for .NET and .NET Framework. The release is a straightforward recap of the latest fixes and maintenance work. If you're keeping your runtimes patched, this is the monthly set to check.

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⚡️ .NET 11 Preview 1 lands with updates across the stack

Microsoft dropped .NET 11 Preview 1, and it touches pretty much everything — runtime, SDK, libraries, ASP.NET Core, Blazor, C#, and even .NET MAUI. If you're testing early builds, this one is worth a spin since many parts of the stack got fresh updates.

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⚡️ Azure DevOps Server gets fresh February security patches

Microsoft pushed out new February patches for Azure DevOps Server, and they want everyone on the latest self‑hosted build. The update is already on the download page, and the team published a table with all patch details to make the upgrade less painful.

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⚡️ Azure Advisor now flags performance issues in Cosmos DB workloads

The follow‑up post digs into how Azure Advisor highlights performance problems in Azure Cosmos DB. It points out skewed workloads, unexpected RU usage, and queries that stop scaling, giving teams a clearer path to diagnose and fix bottlenecks.

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⚡️ azd finally adds direct deploys to App Service slots

azd just learned to deploy straight into Azure App Service slots without hacks or extra scripting. The tool now picks the right slot on its own and keeps the flow much clearer. If you juggle staging and production slots, this update removes a bunch of manual steps.

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⚡️ New find_symbol tool promises faster navigation for big codebases

Anyone who’s refactored a large project knows the pain: endless manual searches and scattered edits across dozens of files. The new find_symbol tool taps into language‑specific symbol context to speed up navigation and cut down on mistakes. For modern workflows that depend on quick jumps through code, that’s a real quality‑of‑life boost.

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⚡️ GitHub Copilot brings AI test generation to Visual Studio 2026

GitHub Copilot Testing for .NET is now GA in Visual Studio 18.3, and it plugs right into the IDE. You can ask it to generate or fix unit tests for anything from a single method to an entire solution. It cuts out a lot of the repetitive setup work and gives you faster feedback loops as you iterate.

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