Episode 150: myNewsWrap – SAP and Microsoft
Tags: azure, github, sap, serverless
Published: 2023-09-16 07:12:54


# Episode 150: 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)

* Azure Functions in preview: support for [Node.js 20](https://x.com/AzureFunctions/status/1702404087889662097?s=20)
* [Generally available: Higher default value for Azure Functions Event Hubs max batch size](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-higher-default-value-for-azure-functions-event-hubs-max-batch-size/?wt.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004195)

#### Azure Container Apps

* [Ask the Expert: Azure Container Apps Landing Zone Accelerator](https://developer.microsoft.com/reactor/events/20518/) by

### 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:

* [Getting to Know Dapr with Mark Fussell and Yaron Schneider](https://www.infoq.com/podcasts/dapr-mark-fussell-yaron-schneider/)
* [Dapr Community Call - Sep 6th (#90)](https://youtu.be/d3ahz41I_Io?si=aPqw5eMwhZTvwjmX)

### 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

* [Configurations I recommend you setup to deploy your Terraform into Azure at scale using GitHub Actions](https://thomasthornton.cloud/2023/09/01/configurations-i-recommend-you-setup-to-deploy-your-terraform-into-azure-at-scale-using-github-actions/) by Thomas Thornton
* [Streamlining Multi-Component Deployments to Terraform Environments with GitHub Actions Matrices](https://thomasthornton.cloud/2023/09/15/streamlining-multi-component-deployments-to-terraform-environments-with-github-actions-matrices/) by Thomas Thornton
* [Azure Deployment using Terraform Cloud – Overview, Prerequisites, Sample Code, and Resources](https://jakewalsh.co.uk/azure-deployment-using-terraform-cloud-overview-prerequisites-sample-code-and-resources/) by Jake Walsh

#### GitHub

GitHub comes with a blast of new features and enhancements every week. Here are my top 5 news from GitHub that you should check out:

* [Introducing auto-triage rules for Dependabot](https://github.blog/2023-09-14-introducing-auto-triage-rules-for-dependabot/) by Erin Havens and Eric Tooley
* [Securing Your Code with GitHub](https://dev.to/pwd9000/securing-your-code-with-github-3le0) by Marcel Lupo
* [https://github.blog/2023-09-13-github-availability-report-august-2023/](https://github.blog/2023-09-13-github-availability-report-august-2023/) by Jakub Oleksy
* [CodeQL team uses AI to power vulnerability detection in code](https://github.blog/2023-09-12-codeql-team-uses-ai-to-power-vulnerability-detection-in-code/) by Walker Chabbott and Florin Coada
* [GitHub Actions – Updates to GITHUB_REF and github.ref](https://github.blog/changelog/2023-09-13-github-actions-updates-to-github_ref-and-github-ref/)

> 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

Close to my heart as essence of how to make the developer life easier is the [Azure Developer CLI](https://github.com/Azure/azure-dev). What's up in this area?

* [Azure Greg chats to Christian Lechner about the Azure Developer CLI](https://www.youtube.com/live/X5cWBVLBr98?si=mZ-UqcHD2IXUZOzc)

### 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:

* [Microsoft Azure Chat Solution Accelerator](https://github.com/microsoft/azurechat)
* Terraform Module: [openai-service](https://registry.terraform.io/modules/Pwd9000-ML/openai-service/azurerm/latest) by Marcel Lupo
* [Introducing the New “az aks copilot” Preview Feature for Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) in Azure CLI](https://pixelrobots.co.uk/2023/09/introducing-the-new-az-aks-copilot-preview-feature-for-azure-kubernetes-service-aks-in-azure-cli/) by Richard Hooper

## 🐱‍👤 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 #160 - The one with Ontologies for manufacturing with SAP & Microsoft (Erich Barnstedt)](https://youtu.be/SUMRBqhmttw?si=kEkiIt2DsiRvv0vz)
* [Building GPT-4 powered bots for SAP enterprise data on Microsoft Teams: A Low-Code Approach](https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/running-sap-applications-on-the/building-gpt-4-powered-bots-for-sap-enterprise-data-on-microsoft/ba-p/3902018?wt.mc_id=AZ-MVP-5004195) by Holger Bruchelt
  * and the [corresponding video](https://youtu.be/ZrxepEoHUpI?si=fBXS7SM-xX0zFvWd) on YouTube

> 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.

## Learning

One important (and imho best part) of the job of a developer is the *continuous learning*. Here are some interesting learning resources that go beyond vendor-specific technology:

* [Engineering Excellence mit Michael Vitz](https://www.youtube.com/live/w9EmDTbw6aE?si=yW6kPgyE7FJfMW0k) by Lisa Moritz and Michael Vitz

### 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:

* [Frag doch nicht so blöd! // deutsch](https://youtu.be/DeQ6lkNCCMk?si=cNbGtnav2RIwJQIB)
* [Domain-Driven Design (DDD) Deep-Dive // deutsch](https://www.youtube.com/live/heCTZ7P2-Po?si=KxpgVcooimP58lpn) - cool elaboration of the 3:45h our session in VSCode

And do not miss the start of Golo's personal channel next Monday: [Zeit, etwas zu verändern // deutsch](https://youtu.be/sVtBQnVB9sA?si=iSkPb7LwWdOF0y5Z)

Make sure to subscribe to Golo's YouTube channels:

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

### Events

And last but not least heads up for these upcoming events:

* [INNOQ Technology Days 2023](https://www.innoq.com/de/news/2023/08/technology-day-2023-save-the-date/)

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