Async Producer / Consumer Pipeline
In my previous post I mentioned I wrote what I call an async producer / consumer pipeline. I described in detail a compiler error I encountered in my initial efforts, and how I resolved the error, but did not share or discuss the actual pipeline code. I focused on how the VB language, generally regarded as less capable and elegant than the C# language, supported a syntax of defining and immediately invoking a lambda expression, while the C# language did not support the syntax. This syntax is well known to JavaScript developers as an Immediately Invoked Function Expression, or IIFE. […]
An Async Lambda Compiler Error Where VB Outsmarts C#
Stunned I have encountered a scenario where the VB compiler outsmarts the C# compiler. I am stunned by this. C# is the far superior programming language. But I’ve done a lot of testing and am convinced it’s true. Stumped Month ago, while working on C# code for my Leaderless Replication post, I ran into a compiler error I did not understand. My mental compiler- as opposed to Microsoft’s C# compiler- concluded all the types were correct and the code should compile. I could not figure out what was incorrect about the code. I accepted my code was wrong- I’m not […]
JSON IList Covariance
An Unexpected Roadblock I ran into a an unexpected roadblock the other day when refactoring code that controls JSON de-serialization. It forced me to read up on the dreaded topic of covariance and contravariance in C#. During code review, I was asked to change the technique I used to specify how JSON should be de-serialized into a root type that includes properties typed as interfaces. The conundrum is what classes should be instantiated for these properties? I solved this problem using Json.NET JsonSerializerSettings.TypeNameHandling. This embeds type names into JSON text as properties named “$type”. When the JSON text is de-serialized, […]
The Web Protocol Is the Integration
Last week I had a frustrating debugging session with an integration partner. They provide financial services we’re integrating into our website. They provide these services via a JSON web service endpoint. The Project I have architected a server-to-server solution that enables our server to post and retrieve data to / from their service. This is secured using TLS and JWT. While some integration features are implemented using a client-to-server architecture (and a separate JWT because it’s revealed to the client), the majority of integration features are implemented using a server-to-server architecture with a private JWT. Server-to-Server. Remember that- it’s important […]
Complex Object Graphs, Side Effects, and the Record Pattern
I hope you and your loved ones are doing as well as can be expected in these difficult times. I feel very fortunate to be gainfully employed during the Coronavirus pandemic. Introduction I ran into an interesting coding issue at work I’d like to discuss here. It involves a subtle object reference inequality bug in my implementation of the Record Pattern. At least that’s what we call the pattern at work. To discuss the issue here I’ll change the names of classes to avoid revealing any intellectual property and simplify the code to the minimum necessary to demonstrate the issue […]
