After experimenting with the GitHub Copilot Agent during the 2026 Microsoft MVP Summit, the author faced numerous challenges, including code deletion, slow performance, and inconsistent adherence to coding conventions. Despite these issues, the agent added valuable unit tests to the Spargine projects, but it requires careful oversight and refining of prompts for effective use.
A practical look at complexity, coverage, Copilot, and keeping your code ready to rock. If you have ever attended my conference session about coding standards or read my articles on dotNetTips.com, you already know I preach about cyclomatic complexity. That number matters. To me, it represents the minimum number of unit tests a method should … Continue reading Unit Tests: Keep Your CRAP Score from Wrecking the Show
In March 2026, I challenged GitHub Copilot to build a Visual Studio extension, "Version Sync," from scratch without coding. Despite initial failures and needing extensive feedback, it succeeded in creating an extension to sync project version numbers. However, Copilot's code quality was lacking, emphasizing that AI can't replace experienced developers.
The author critically reviews the AWS SDK for .NET, revealing alarming code quality issues, including 959,815 total violations and severe design flaws leading to potential memory leaks and resource management problems. Despite its popularity, the SDK presents significant risks for .NET developers, highlighting the importance of thorough assessment of open-source packages.
Spargine 10 (v2026.10.1.5) launches on January 5th, 2026, featuring enhancements for .NET 10, including new types, methods, benchmarks, and significant performance upgrades. There are breaking changes that may affect existing code. Community contributions are encouraged, and feedback is welcomed to improve the project further.
Visual Studio 2026 has regressed by removing or disabling key code-quality features, making development more difficult. The Analyze tool suffers from inconsistencies and lack of reliability, while various testing functionalities are also flawed. AI tools like Copilot cannot replace essential code-quality features. Greater MVP involvement and thoughtful updates are needed to enhance the IDE.
The fifth edition of David McCarter's book, "Röck Yöur Cöde: Code & App Performance for Microsoft .NET," is now available on Amazon. It offers practical techniques for enhancing .NET application performance, including coding patterns, memory insights, and benchmarking. This definitive guide is essential for modern .NET developers aiming for speed and scalability.
This discusses the principles of defensive programming to enhance software development. It emphasizes error prevention strategies such as input validation, comprehensive error handling, and assumption checking. By adopting these practices, developers can create reliable, maintainable applications, reduce bugs and their associated costs, and improve overall code quality and user satisfaction.
The 20th Anniversary Edition of Rock Your Code: Coding Standards for Microsoft .NET, authored by David McCarter, is now available on Amazon. This comprehensive guide offers updated standards for .NET 10, best practices, and expert insights, making it essential for software engineers aiming for improved code quality and performance over two decades.
When using both Visual Studio and Visual Studio Preview, the dotnet CLI may unintentionally select the latest SDK, causing build failures. This article will show you how to fix this issue.
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