Category Archives: Pluralsight

EF Core Fundamentals for EF Core 7 (Pluralsight)

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Last spring Pluralsight published my 7.5 hour EF Core Fundamentals course. I hope that given my history with EF, EF Core , my books, talks and courses that you will already know that it’s a very good and in-depth course. And the response to the course has been great!

Unfortunately the course has the version number in it: It is really called EF Core 6 Fundamentals which I believe causes devs using the current version (EF Core 7) to hesitate watching the course.

These fundamentals do not really change from one version to the next. It is the advanced features that the EF Core team is evolving.  The course is still totally relevant for EF Core 7 and you can use EF Core 7 to work through the course.

There are new features you should be aware of that I covered in the EF Core 7: It Just Keeps Getting Better article in Code Magazine’s, Code Focus issue on .NET 7 such as bulk updates and deletes, mapping stored procedures and more (some of which I would consider “fundamental”, others a bit more advanced).  But the basics  continue to work just as they do in EF Core 6. 

There’s no need to shy away from either of these courses or any of the others on the EF Core 6 track  on Pluralsight if you are using EF Core 7.

In fact, I have updated every single project from the course to EF Core 7 and except for one small tweak (not even related to EF Core) in the API Testing demo (from Module 13), every demo ran exactly the same in EF Core 7 as it does in EF Core 6.

All of the updated projects are in a new branch in the PluralsightEFCore6Fundamentals GItHub repo dedicated to the source code for the course.

Because of the course length and the fact that EF Core 7 is not a Long-Term Support (LTS) version, Pluralsight and I decided not to update this course. Many of the EF Core and ASP.NET core courses went the same way.

I also created a much more advanced course called EF Core 6 and Domain-Driven Design. While I was forced to put “6” in this course title and defaulted to EF Core 6 for all of the lessons, anywhere that EF Core 7 features or behaviors were different, I called them out in that course.

So there’s no need to shy away from either of these courses or any of the others on the EF Core 6 track  on Pluralsight if you are using EF Core 7.

Resize Windows’ Screen Resolution with a Touch of a Stream Deck Button

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I have a lovely pair wide screen monitors with 1080p resolution. However, when recording software training courses for Pluralsight, we are asked to use a resolution of 1280×720 so that text and code are legible across a variety of devices and sizes.

Therefore, when recording a course, which may take me many many weeks, I tend to leave one of my monitors at 1280×720. But I’m constantly doing other things on that monitor such as email or writing and that resolution is discomforting.

There is no easy way to change the resolution other than going into system settings. But I now have a super easy way to change that monitor’s resolution back and forth.

Like many of us who are now creating content at home (although I am not streaming on twitch like many of my friends) I recently added an Elgato Stream Deck controller to my toolkit, along with some key lights, too! I use the stream deck to control the lights while recording  video that requires that I be in it.

Step 1: Find a command line tool for affecting screen resolution.

There are some apps and there are a few CLI tools. After asking around on Twitter, I learned about Display Changer 2, used by two very trusted nerds (and friends): 

However, there are TWO versions of Display Changer and DC2 is the programmable one. So not knowing there was a simpler version, I got stuck on a path that was way more complicated than I needed. I learned how to create xml configuration files for various display settings, then create a PowerShell script to execute DC2 against those config files. But Stream Deck can’t run PowerShell files, so then I had to create a batch file to run the PS1 file. It was madness but I was determined and got it all working. And then blogged the very complicated path. Oy vey!

Then back to my brainy pal who said…well, y’know….:

Now this is my pal from whom I learned YET A BETTER WAY to load utensils into a dishwasher that I am now obsessed with (the dishwasher trick, that is. I do like Glenn, but no, I’m not obsessed with him)! So I always trust him, but I looked at that and thought “DC2 doesn’t have these switches and what is DC64?”.

I went back to 12noon’s website and realized that the “Display Changer” is different than “Display Changer II” and is a simpler tool to work with. Even though I felt like such a dope for getting stuck on the complicated path, I was happy for the MUCH EASIER way!  So if you haven’t ever configured a Stream Deck button, let’s finish this up with Glenn’s easy street way.

Step 2: Identify the Monitor

I’d recommend practicing the command at the command line before just shoving it into Stream Deck. Also, since I was aiming for my secondary monitor, I needed to use the 
dccmd -listmonitors
command to find out how to address that monitor. Turns out it’s 
"\\.\DISPLAY2"

So the command to change that monitor’s resolution to 1280×720 is:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\12noon Display Changer\dc.exe" -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY2" -width=1280 -height=720

Step 3: Configure Stream Deck buttons to run the batch files

In the Stream Deck app, drag the System/Open option onto the button you want to configure for 720p.

In the settings, leave Title blank.

In the App/File setting, paste in your command:

"C:\Program Files (x86)\12noon Display Changer\dc.exe" -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY2" -width=1280 -height=720

In the icon selector, you can choose Create New Icon to design then download an icon for your button.

Setup another button to change the monitor back to your default resolution. Mine is 1080p.

"C:\Program Files (x86)\12noon Display Changer\dc.exe" -monitor="\\.\DISPLAY2" -width=1920-height=1080

Originally these were the icons I crated for my buttons. They are good enough for me and bright colors.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is streamdeck_key_720p-3.png   This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is streamdeck_key_1080p-2.png

But Glenn was unimpressed and created some new ones and sent them to me. I’m sure he’ll be happy for me to share them.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is key_julie_720.png   This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is key_julie_1080.png

Here’s the Stream Deck with it’s new buttons. The setup works like a charm!

Pluralsight is totally free for the month of April

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While many of you who read my blog are already Pluralsight subscribers with work or personal subscriptions, there are so many who do not have access. So Pluralsight is opening up the entire library of over 7,000 courses for people to watch while stuck at home. And you do not need to use a credit card to sign up.*

So whether you want to watch one my my courses such as 

Or any of the other 7,000+ courses from some of the most knowledgeable devs who happen to be great at teaching ….

Have at it!

There is also a free plan for business accounts.

Business Free April Details: “To support your team’s skill development during these new challenges, for a limited time we’ve extended our free team trial from 14 days to 30 days.”

*The fine print: Free April is open to anyone who is not a current, active subscriber. New free accounts and reactivated accounts opened through April 30, 2020 will have access to Pluralsight’s library of video courses through April. Payment information will not be required for new free accounts opened through April 30, 2020. New free accounts opened after May 1, 2020, will only have access to a portion of Pluralsight’s library and will require payment information.

Pluralsight Subscriptions On Sale This Week!

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Pluralsight is having a summer sale on annual subscriptions – $100 off (i.e. $199 for an entire year’s access to the entire library) which is a pretty amazing price for what you’re getting. Heck the regular price of $299 for a full year is amazing when you compare it to the cost of almost any type of training from the expert-authors). Anyway, I don’t have to tell you, you already know!

The $199 price is for new subscriptions, renewing  existing subscriptions and even converting from a monthly subscription!