What is a Deadlock? If you’ve ever worked on multithreaded applications in C#, you’ve likely encountered or at least heard about deadlocks. A deadlock is one of the most frustrating concurrency issues that can bring your application to a complete standstill. Simply put, a deadlock occurs when two or more threads become permanently blocked, waiting for each other to release resources. Imagine two people approaching a narrow doorway from opposite sides, each politely waiting for the other to go first – neither moves, and both remain stuck. ...

Introduction to Delegates and Events If you’ve been coding in C# for a while, you’ve probably encountered delegates and events. These two features are incredibly powerful tools that help us write flexible, loosely coupled code. While they might seem similar at first glance (and yes, events are actually built on top of delegates), they each have their own purpose and best use cases. I remember when I first started learning C#, I found it challenging to understand exactly when to use delegates versus events. Over time, I’ve realized that choosing the right tool can make a huge difference in how maintainable and flexible your code becomes. ...

Introduction to Table-Valued Parameters Ever needed to send a bunch of rows from your C# app to SQL Server but didn’t want to make dozens of separate calls? That’s where table-valued parameters come to the rescue. They let you package up multiple rows of data and send them to a stored procedure in just one trip to the database. SQL Server introduced this feature back in 2008, and it’s a game-changer compared to old approaches like building giant string commands, parsing XML, or making individual database calls for each record. ...

Introduction to Generics in C# Generics are a game-changer in C# that let you write code that works with pretty much any data type, but still keeps all the safety checks in place. They showed up back in C# 2.0 and completely changed how we write reusable code. Think of generics like a recipe that doesn’t specify exactly what you’re cooking with. You could throw in beef, chicken, or tofu, the cooking instructions still work, but you don’t have to write separate recipes for each ingredient. The best part? The compiler still checks that you’re not accidentally using chicken when you said you’d use beef! ...

If you’ve been coding in C# for a while, you’ve probably heard about boxing and unboxing. These concepts deal with how C# handles conversions between value types and reference types, and they can significantly impact your application’s performance. What’s the Difference Between Value and Reference Types? In C#, value types (like int, float, struct) live on the stack, while reference types (like string, object, classes) live on the heap. This distinction matters for performance and memory management. ...

Introduction to Correlated Subqueries Ever run into a SQL problem where you need to compare each row with some calculation based on related data? That’s where correlated subqueries come in handy. These are special subqueries that reference columns from the outer query, essentially creating a link between the inner and outer parts of your query. What makes them different from regular subqueries is that they run once for each row the outer query processes. This makes them perfect for row-by-row operations where each calculation depends on the current row’s values. ...

Understanding Static Classes in C# A static class in C# is basically a container for methods and properties that don’t need any object to work. You can’t create instances of these classes, there’s no way to use the new keyword with them. Instead, you just call their methods directly through the class name. When Should You Use Static Classes? Static classes can really clean up your code when used correctly. Here are some situations where they make perfect sense: ...