#558 – May 25, 2025
superior performance through struct-based implementation
ZLinq: A zero-allocation LINQ library for .NET
18 minutes by Yoshifumi Kawai
Yoshifumi introduces a practical zero-allocation LINQ library for .NET. ZLinq has been released with complete coverage of all LINQ methods while achieving superior performance through struct-based implementation. ZLinq is practical and optimized, featuring LINQ to Span, LINQ to SIMD, and LINQ to Tree capabilities. It supports multiple platforms including .NET Standard 2.0, Unity, and Godot, and includes a Source Generator for drop-in replacement of standard LINQ operations.
Mastering Database Merging: Comparing Different Approaches
sponsored by ETLBox
Merging new data into existing database tables is a common challenge—especially when dealing with large volumes, inconsistent formats, or mixed operations like inserts, updates, and deletes. This article explores strategies to handle merges efficiently in .NET using data flow pipelines. It covers staging, validation, and transformation steps to ensure clean, reliable updates, and shows how batching and delta detection can scale to millions of rows without degrading performance.
Transforming an image into a table with Windows OCR
8 minutes by Bruno Sonnino
Bruno explains how to use Windows AI APIs to extract tables from images and convert them to ASCII format. He demonstrates building a WinUI 3 app that uses the OCR model to recognize text in images, identify rows and columns based on bounding boxes, and format the recognized content as a text table with proper borders.
Validating incoming models in Minimal APIs
6 minutes by Tim Deschryver
In the upcoming ASP.NET 10 release, Microsoft is introducing model validation for Minimal APIs using data annotations, a feature previously only available for controllers.
Storing JSON data in relational databases using EF Core
3 minutes by Ali Hamza Ansari
Ali explains how to store and manage JSON data in relational databases using Entity Framework Core, covering implementations for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and MySQL. He provides step-by-step instructions for each database system, including package installation, model definition, context configuration, and migration commands.
ASP.NET Core Pitfalls: Action constraint order
2 minutes by Ricardo Peres
Ricardo highlights a routing pitfall in ASP.NET Core where multiple action methods match a single request due to overlapping constraints like content types. He explains how to resolve these conflicts using the Order property of action constraints, ensuring the most specific method is selected first.
And the most popular article from the last issue was: