Episode 167: myNewsWrap – SAP and Microsoft
Tags: azure, github, sap, serverless
Published: 2024-02-03 08:46:55


# Episode 167: myNewsWrap – Microsoft, GitHub and SAP

Welcome to this week's edition of myNewsWrap, news from the world of Microsoft, GitHub, SAP ... and the world in between. The focus of my newsletter is the *application development* and all things around that can improve our lives as developers.

Let's dive into the news and explore what came up this week that can help us to build better solutions for our customers.

## Microsoft Universe

First we take a look at the Microsoft universe and what crossed my path there.

### Serverless - Functions, SWA and Azure Container Apps

Apps need to run somewhere and a very convenient way to run them is *serverless*. What came up this week in this space?

#### Azure Functions and Static Web Apps (SWA)

* [Public Preview: Azure Functions Support for Java 21 on Linux](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-functions-support-for-java-21-on-linux/)
* [Public Preview: Distributed tracing v2 for durable Functions](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-distributed-tracing-v2-for-durable-functions/)
  * See also: [Preview of Distributed Tracing V2 for Durable Functions](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/apps-on-azure-blog/preview-of-distributed-tracing-v2-for-durable-functions/ba-p/4039050) by Varshi Bachu

#### Azure Container Apps

* [Generally Available: Azure Container Apps supports additional TCP ports](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-container-apps-supports-additional-tcp-ports/)

### Dapr

Having containers is nice but everything (well ... nearly everything 😉) gets better with [Dapr](https://dapr.io/) as an outstanding tool for app development in the container-based area. Here we go what might be worth a look:

* [Build a distributed pizza store in .NET with serverless Dapr APIs](https://www.diagrid.io/blog/build-a-distributed-pizza-store-in-net-with-serverless-dapr-apis) by Marc Duiker
* [DAPR publish-subscribe over gRPC](https://www.dankuida.com/dapr-publish-subscribe-over-grpc-531e044ea80a) by Dan Kuida

### Developer Platform

This section collects all news touching the topic of a *developer platform*. Fuzzy term but here you find news on topics that make the life of developers easier beyond pure development be it *Infrastructure as Code*, *GitHub* and more like the [Azure Developer CLI](https://github.com/Azure/azure-dev).  

#### Infrastructure as Code

* [Terraform - Understanding Dynamic Blocks](https://dev.to/pwd9000/terraform-understanding-dynamic-blocks-6f9) by Marcel Lupo

#### GitHub

GitHub comes with a blast of new features and enhancements every week. Here are my top 3 news from GitHub that you should check out:

* [10 unexpected ways to use GitHub Copilot](https://github.blog/2024-01-22-10-unexpected-ways-to-use-github-copilot/) by Kedasha Kerr
* [Dependabot Version Updates Support devcontainers](https://github.blog/changelog/2024-01-24-dependabot-version-updates-support-devcontainers/)
* [Code faster and better with GitHub Copilot’s new features in Visual Studio](https://github.blog/changelog/2024-01-30-code-faster-and-better-with-github-copilots-new-features-in-visual-studio/)

> Want to see all news around GitHub? I recommend to have a look at GitHub's [blog site](https://github.blog/) as well as at its [change log](https://github.blog/changelog/) to get the complete overview.

#### Azure Developer CLI

Somehow missing the first release in 2024 ...

### The best of the "rest"

No matter how the structure of this newsletter is crafted, there is always something that does not perfectly fit. This section is dedicated to topics that I think are worth reading but did not fit into the structure from above:

* New version of Radius is out: [v0.30.0](https://github.com/radius-project/radius/releases/tag/v0.30.0) - officially including the Rdius Dashboard
* [Personalizing AI – How to Build Apps Based on Your Own Data](https://whiteduck.de/personalizing-ai-how-to-build-apps-based-on-your-own-data/) by white duck

## 🐱‍👤 SAP and Microsoft - Combining both worlds

Combining Microsoft with SAP can lead to incredible new applications. Let's enter the *twilight zone* (no worries the ninja cat is with us) between SAP and Microsoft and see what's up here:

* [SAP on Azure Video Podcast #177 - The one with 7 years at Microsoft (Robert Boban)](https://youtu.be/-0s2NZqGj5U?si=vyiSVbb72utffL-H)

> And of course a channel that you should subscribe to if you are working with SAP and Microsoft is the [SAP on Azure](https://www.youtube.com/@SAPonAzure) hosted by [Holger Bruchelt](https://www.linkedin.com/in/holger-bruchelt/) and friends.

### Further news from the SAP world

Let's check out what else happened in the SAP universe that you should check out:

* [The State of SAP - Q1 2024 Update - with @HolgerMu and @CyclingFisch](https://www.youtube.com/live/hXyvQCAxto8?si=a-xdJlMPi7RQDgry) by Holger Mueller and Martin Fischer

## Learning

One important (and imho best part) of the job of a developer is the *continuous learning*. Here are some interesting learning resources with a bit of an AI focus:

* RAG Chat App series by Microsoft Reactor:
  * [Building a RAG Chat App in Python](https://www.youtube.com/live/hX1yaUBpM4s?si=saRfy7TGr-csop53)
  * [Connecting a RAG chat app to Azure Cosmos DB](https://www.youtube.com/live/cpbzQ-PfC4Y?si=ZJKNnulH5QaU3wtR)
  * [Customizing your RAG Chat App](https://www.youtube.com/live/vt7oZg4bPAQ?si=ys5lI6-qV-YkZRZR)
* [These 5 New Habits Will Help You Get the Most Out of AI in 2024](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/5-new-habits-will-help-you-get-the-most-out-of-ai-in-2024)

### Golo's Corner

One great resource for becoming a better developer and reflecting about our profession is the high-quality content of [the native web GmbH](https://thenativeweb.io/) by [Golo Roden](https://twitter.com/goloroden). This week the following topics were on the list:

* [Sei kein Steinzeit-Entwickler // deutsch](https://youtu.be/XWugRVDktAU?si=n8jL4izdipTeIfwB)

Make sure to subscribe to Golo's YouTube channels:

* [German channel](https://www.youtube.com/@thenativeweb)

**And with this enjoy your weekend and have a successful next week!**