A software architecture refers to the fundamental structure of a software system that serves as a blueprint to manage the system complexity. It is also used to maintain a coordination mechanism among the various components of the software. One of the popular combinations of tools that are used for building sustainable software architecture solutions are the general-purpose C# programming language and the open-source .NET Core computer software framework.
This year, C# and .Net Core brought in some exciting features to help developers design a high-performance software system. To understand how C# and .Net Core aid in building software architecture systems, we interviewed Gabriel Baptista, one of the authors of the book ‘Hands-On Software Architecture with C# 8 and .NET Core 3’. Gabriel is a Software Architect, a specialist in Azure PaaS solutions and also the co-founder of a startup for developing mobile applications.
According to Gabriel, the new features in C# 8 like async streams and nullable reference types are good to detect errors quickly and maintain the high quality of code programming respectively. When asked about the comparison between Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio for C# development, Gabriel insists that the productivity offered by Visual Studio is the best choice for C#. He is also of the opinion that Microsoft developed C# has a better roadmap than Java.
On the applications of a microservice architecture and how .Net and C# enable code reusability
In your book, ‘Hands-On Software Architecture with C# 8 and .NET Core 3’, you have demonstrated how microservice architecture can be applied to an enterprise application like microservice logging. Apart from the use cases in your book, what other applications can microservice architecture be used for?
Microservices are being applied in a bunch of scenarios, due to the facilities they bring, like enabling different programming languages in different teams for the same enterprise App. Transversal aspects of software, like the Logging that we have as an example of the book, and Security, are quite simple to think about as microservices. However, the complexity increases when you think about functional requirements, like Customer Management, Logistics, or Inventory, this is a bit confusing.
There is where Domain-Driven Design will help you with, since DDD is about the construction of a unique domain model, keeping the views as separate models. This is helpful because you will be able to create a domain characterized by the language spoken by the experts, that is what we call the Bounded Context Principle of DDD. Now, think about each of these domains as a microservice. This will surely facilitate your understanding of how to organize them. You can read Chapter 5 of my book to know how to apply a microservice architecture to your enterprise application.
You also say in your book that code reusability is one of the most important features in Software Architecture. How does the .NET standard help in managing and maintaining a reusable library? Also, how does C# enable code reuse?
Code reuse is for sure what differs the velocity of development between two great companies. The one that reuses more certainly is faster and more profit. .NET enables you to reuse code from many platforms by defining the .NET standard as the core of a class library. With .NET Standard, you can write a class library that runs in Windows, Linux and Android, for a Desktop App, a Mobile App, and Azure Function and a Web App! This is amazing!
Besides, .NET itself has many opportunities for code reuse by giving us a dozen of already done classes due to its framework. To finish is good to remember that C# is an Object-Oriented Programming Language, which enables the principles of Abstraction, Polymorphism, Inheritance, and, Encapsulation, that are really useful for code reuse. Check out Chapter 11 of my book to learn how to create reusable libraries.
One of the main tasks for a developer is to choose a suitable architecture that will provide the desired functionality to the software. With the many varieties of software architectural patterns available today, how should a user approach them and choose the best one? What aspects should they look at when comparing software architectures?
When you need to choose a suitable architecture for a system, my first recommendation is to start the process with a specific goal – keep it simple. The more complex your architecture, the worse the path you are going to. If you stop and think a bit about the most complex solutions we have nowadays, you will find something in common and interesting in all of them. They are made by many small simpler parts. Thanks to the cloud and the bunch of APIs we have nowadays, you can design really simple solutions focused on your business.
Gabriel’s views on the latest advancements in C# 8
In its latest release, C# 8 brings features like async streams, nullable reference types, and new indices/ranges. What were you most excited about in this release and why? How do you think C# 8 will help in improving the overall quality of the delivered software?
I am almost sure that NullReferenceException is one of the main reasons why C# Apps crash. Then, when it comes to improving quality, for sure nullable reference types will help a lot since null reference exceptions are not detected in compilation time. With this feature, you will be able to get the errors at this point and the theory of software development says that the earlier you get a bug solved, the better and cheaper.
Next, I believe that async programming is amazing to make your apps work more seamlessly since it mimics the behavior of classical synchronous code while keeping most of the performance advantages of general parallel programming. For this reason, async streams will be a good opportunity delivered, since we will be able to get the advantages of async programming in foreach loops, enabling a push-programming in this kind of loop. For instance, we will be able to program an asynchronous data pull that will not block the client.
Entity Framework Core 3.0 and Entity Framework 6.3 are now generally available with C# 8. How do you think EF Core 3.0 and EF 6.3 can take advantage of the new features in C# 8?
Well, the two features that I mostly enjoyed are the ones that EF Core and EF 6.3 have implemented too: nullable reference types and async streams. Reducing bugs for not having null type reference is always good! The possibilities given by async streams together with EF Core are great. So, with them, EF will be even more powerful. Another feature that it is good to know is that now they support the connection to Cosmos DB. Read Chapter 6 of my book to understand the interactions of data in C# using Entity Framework Core.
In your opinion, is C# a better programming language than Java? Which language do you think has a better future, C# or Java?
As a software architect, you need to understand that the programming languages evolve. In other words, the programming language itself is not the most important part, whereas the fundamentals are the essence of the process of building systems. Considering this approach, I cannot say that one language is better than the other.
The best programming language is the one that will give you the best result in the fastest time with the team you are working with. What I could say about C# and Java is that both were, are, and are going to be incredibly important to the evolution of humanity. Right now, I consider that the C# has a better roadmap than Java. The reason why I believe it is that Microsoft is always ahead of other companies when it comes to productivity.
On why Visual Studio is the best option for C# development
Why do most C# developers prefer Visual Studio? Can you elaborate on how VSCode differs from the other source code editors? How difficult is it to develop C# applications using Visual Studio Code?
To me, Visual Studio is the most powerful development environment we have for programming nowadays. You can write code on so many platforms and for so many different solutions with incredible debugging environment, connectivity to the cloud and facility to manage your code whatever Version Control System you decide to use.
With Visual Studio you have the opportunity to start any project related to C# and even more, it gives you the possibility to debug your different projects in many ways. For instance, debugging Threads or Windows Services is not easy, but with VS we find different ways to do so, which at the end causes an acceleration of development. The best answer that I always give to someone who asks me why Visual Studio is productivity.
I really don’t think C# developers prefer Visual Studio Code. VS Code is really useful if you are running a different OS than Windows or if your writing code in other programming languages like NodeJS. However, when it comes to C# development, for sure Visual Studio is more powerful.
Gabriel on learning curves and best practices for beginners
You are a Software Architect with experience working in diverse projects for retail and industry. How much does the role differ between industries and sectors? How does the learning curve look like for beginners to become an expert in building enterprise applications with the .NET Stack?
The role itself does not change due to the different sectors. Time-to-market, performance, security, reliability, and quality are requirements that will be asked for any customer you have, no matter the size they are, no matter the sector they work for.
The learning curve starts by understanding the principles of .NET and C#, that means, the Object-Oriented Principles. Any developer needs to understand the process of creating software and software engineering will give them this background.
To finish, I am totally sure that a person who wants to be in the development world of the 21st century needs to understand Cloud Computing, especially PaaS – Platform as a Service. And in this world, Azure is the best one for giving the results the sectors need.
Can you suggest some best practices that every developer should follow for a safe and maintainable code in C#?
Yes, developers should be vigilant about the following:
- Never leave a catch statement blank.
- Do not write big methods. Methods need to have a single responsibility.
- Every time you are not sure if there is an already done class for the code you are working to, first try to find it. Chances are that you already have this done.
- No matter the number of developers you have in your team, even if your team is only you, do write code the simpler you can.
- Threads are great if you really know what you’re doing. So before implementing them, study the topic a lot.
If you want to develop highly scalable enterprise-ready apps that meet customers’ business needs, read Gabriel’s book ‘Hands-On Software Architecture with C# 8 and .NET Core 3’. This software architecture book will give you a hands-on approach to learn various architectural methods that will help you deliver high-quality products.
About the Author
Gabriel Baptista is a Software Architect in the R&D department of Toledo do Brasil. He leads a team who delivers weighting solutions software to retail and industry customers. Gabriel is a specialist in Azure PaaS solutions. He is also a Professor at Salvador Arena Foundation Educational Center in their Computing Engineering College Course, where he is responsible for the disciplines of Programming Language and Software Architecture. You can find him on Linkedin.
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