Christian Schou

Hello 👋 My name is Christian and I am 26 years old. I'm an educated Software Developer with a primary focus on C#, .NET Core, Python, and PowerShell. Currently, I'm expanding my skills in Software Robots and Cloud Architecture. In some of my spare time, I share my knowledge about tech stuff on my blog.

33 articles published

How to use XML with C# – A beginners guide for basic XML operations in .NET

How can we use XML with C#? Let's start off with what is XML? It is short for eXtensible Markup Language. It is a simple text-based format for representing structured data/information. XML is used in documents, data, configurations, books, transactions, invoices, purchase orders, orders, communication between applications, etc... It is a very commonly used language…

ByChristian Schou2 days ago0Comments

How to Send Emails with ASP.NET Core using SMTP with MailKit

I often see the question "how to send emails with ASP.NET Core" and it is also one thing I often implement in the software applications I make or extend. Emails are used for confirmations at user sign-up, new orders, newsletters, OTP (one-time-password) emails, etc... It's a very common requirement for many applications, which also is…

ByChristian Schou15. April 20220Comments

How to use Azure Blob Storage in an ASP.NET Core Web API to list, upload, download, and delete files

In this article, I will show you how to use Azure Blob Storage with ASP.NET Core. Often when working with web applications, APIs, or basically any other application, we are interacting with files in one way or another. This article is made because I got a task the other day, where I had to share…

ByChristian Schou26. March 20220Comments

Programming

What is a JSON Web Token (JWT) and why use them in conjunction with Web APIs?

So what exactly is a JSON Web Token (JWT)? Almost any Web API out there is secured in some way. I only know a few Web APIs that is not secure and they are offered by The European Union in order for applications to validate data about companies etc... But that is not what is…

ByChristian Schou7. March 20220Comments

Node-Red

The ultimate list of useful Node-RED Home Automation nodes for your flows

Struggling after a list of nodes that are useful for home automation? Look no further! I have created a list that I will continue to update once new nodes are added or find third-party nodes that do decent jobs in improving the Node-RED add-on for Home Assistant. As a beginning, I have only included devices…

ByChristian Schou25. February 20220Comments

Equipment

What Smart Home hub should you pick for your home?

So you are thinking about adding more "life" to your home like remote control and automation? A Smart Home hub is the central nerve in your home that will be the one responsible for automation/intelligence for your smart home devices. Currently, there is a lot of different hubs available at the market, so the BIG…

ByChristian Schou24. February 20220Comments

Speakers

IKEA SYMFONISK table lamp with built-in WiFi speaker review

My initial thoughts about the Sonos compatible IKEA SYMFONISK lamp speaker were: "Great sound, but wow it's ugly!". I applaud IKEA's intent with this product, but the design should be changed if you ask me. I actually heard someone say that it looks cute, but didn't understand what it was... Below is the first…

ByChristian Schou23. February 20220Comments

How to use FluentValidation in ASP.NET Core (.NET 6)

FluentValidation is a popular .NET library for building strongly-typed validation rules. When making an application that exposes an API to other systems or a front-end to users, you wanna make sure that data entered or parsed to your application is valid. By using a .NET library like FluentValidation you can easily configure validation rules…

ByChristian Schou18. February 20220Comments

Tutorials

Optimize WordPress CSS Delivery

I recently came across a user who asked me if it was possible to optimize WordPress CSS Delivery easily - the short answer is YES. For a long time I wanted to get back into the tech-writing so this will be my starting point. Short intro to CSS The CSS files in WordPress or generally…

ByChristian Schou12. February 20220Comments

Docker

What is Docker? Docker beginner guide

What is Docker? A question I often see and a question I asked myself when I was a total newbie when it comes to working with containers. What is a container? The questions are many. In this guide (targeted absolute beginners), I will be introducing Docker for you, but first a short introduction to Docker.…

ByChristian Schou10. February 20220Comments