C# – ConfigurationSection.Get() returns null

When you use ConfigurationSection.Get() to load an object from appsettings.json, it returns null if the section doesn’t exist. Since you’re probably not expecting this to be null, this can lead to problems surfacing in unexpected places, such as getting a NullReferenceException: Note: If you’re using ASP.NET Core, you’ll be referring to the config via builder.Configuration … Read more

EF Core – How to create a database and a table

In this article, I’ll show how to use EF Core to create a database with one table in it. At the end, I’ll show a standalone console app that inserts a record into this database. Note: I’ll be using SQL Server. I haven’t tried this with other database providers. Please leave a comment if you’re … Read more

NLog – Split trace logging into its own file

This article explains how to configure NLog so that trace-level log messages go to their own file. This is useful because trace logging involves logging every method call for short-term troubleshooting, leading to very large log files. This approach only requires modifying the nlog.config file, and doesn’t require any code changes. In the end, all … Read more

C# – How to read configuration from appsettings.json

The appsettings.json file is a convenient way to store and retrieve your application’s configuration. You can add it to any project and then use the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration library to work with it. Since appsettings.json is just a JSON file, you can add any section / values you want (this is easier than working with XML-based app.config … Read more