Semantic Search PDF Files Locally using .NET / C# and Build5Nines.SharpVector
The ability to extract and semantically search through unstructured documents is becoming not just a convenience, but a necessity. This is especially true for software developers working with large repositories of technical documentation, compliance reports, or knowledge bases. In this article, we’ll explore how to build...
Terraform vs OpenTofu: What’s the difference?
What's the difference between HashiCorp's Terraform and OpenTofu? This is a tale that starts with HashiCorp first developing Terraform, the popular open source, multi-cloud, Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tool, and then eventually close sourcing it. As a result, the community forked the most recent open source Terraform...
Top 7 Signs You’re Doing DevOps Wrong
Chances are you or your manager thinks you're doing DevOps. But what if you're doing it wrong? Do you really know what DevOps is? After all, you have a DevOps team, or DevOps tools, right? DevOps is more than a buzzword or a trendy methodology. It's a fundamental shift in how organizations approach software development...
Using the Terraform ‘merge’ Function
One of the core strengths of Terraform is its rich set of built-in functions, which empower users to create flexible and reusable configurations. Among these functions, the Terraform merge function is particularly powerful, enabling the seamless combination of multiple maps or objects into a single, cohesive unit. This...
Extract Text from PDF Files with Python for use in Generative AI and RAG Solutions
When building Generative AI and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) LLM-based solutions, the quality and structure of input data significantly influences the performance of the LLM models. PDF documents, a prevalent format for information dissemination, often contain rich textual content that can be harnessed for such...
Software Innovation: Git – Distributed Version Control System That Changed Everything
Few tools have been as transformative — or as quietly omnipresent — as Git. Now twenty years old, Git is not just a version control system; it’s the backbone of global software collaboration. From solo developers hacking on open-source projects to multinational tech giants deploying mission-critical infrastructure, Git is...
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Big Thinkers
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Software Innovations
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Open Source
Build5Nines.SharpVector
Lightweight, In-memory, Semantic Search, Text Vector Database to embed in any .NET application as a Nuget package.
C# / .NET
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Artificial Intelligence
Build a Generative AI + RAG App in C# with Phi-3, ONNX, and SharpVector
By combining Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with Generative AI, you can create a more intelligent and context aware AI solution that can more accurately generate text responses. I've previously written about building a generative AI application using C#, Phi-3 and the ONNX Runtime. This article will take the...
What is Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG)?
Diagram: How Does RAG Work?
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Will Trump’s Tariffs Threaten U.S. Dominance in Artificial Intelligence?
The U.S.A. has been the dominant force in Artificial Intelligence so far. The release of DeepSeek R1 recently from a Chinese company is showing to challenge this dominance. AI models aren't the only factor for the United States to remain dominant in AI. Both AI training and running models are dependent on GPUs (graphics...
Enhance AI System Accuracy using RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, particularly generative models like GPT-4, have transformed numerous industries. However, these models sometimes struggle with accuracy, especially when generating outputs based on limited or outdated training data. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) is an innovative approach...
Design of Intelligent, Multi-Agent AI Systems
Intelligent multi-agent AI systems stand out as a robust solution for solving problems requiring modularity, scalability, and specialized expertise. The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has brought about the innovative approach of designing multi-agent AI systems that can tackle complex, dynamic, and distributed...
Introducing the new Azure AI Agent Service
Azure AI Agent Service is designed to revolutionize the development and deployment of these AI agents, delivering an enterprise-ready solution tailored to meet the unique needs of modern organizations. Organizations are constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance operational efficiency and streamline workflows....
Microsoft’s Vision for 2025 and Beyond: Copilot, Responsible AI, Security and Multicloud
The Microsoft Ignite 2024 conference kicks off next week and I've analyzed the full session list to gleam insights into the company’s strategic roadmap for 2025 and beyond. This years conference has an unmistakable emphasis on artificial intelligence, security, and multicloud innovation. The 1,846 sessions hosted at the...
Cloud Computing
IBM Acquisition of HashiCorp Completed: A New Era for Cloud Innovation
HashiCorp is now officially part of IBM following their completed acquisition which started almost a year ago. This marks a transformative milestone for the HashiCorp and Terraform communities, promising to usher in a new era of innovation and enterprise-grade cloud solutions with HashiCorp joining the IBM family. Founded...
Azure Functions Best Practices for Performance, Reliability and Security
Building Microservice and Serverless architectures demand different design patterns to be used that other traditional application architectures. Even the older SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) design has different demands than the newer Microservices and Serverless solutions do today. Due to these differences, there...
Understanding the CrowdStrike Bug, Impact on Microsoft Azure, and Global Windows Outage
On July 18, 2024, CrowdStrike released a update with a bug that significantly impacted Windows machines globally, including virtual machines (VMs) running on multiple cloud platforms, such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud. The problem originated from an update to the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, which led to...
What is Podman and How Does it Compare to Docker?
Docker has long been the dominant container engine, but it's not the only one. After all, Kubernetes moved away from Docker several years ago to a different engine. An alternative to Docker for running containers on your local machine has been gaining traction in recent years: Podman. Podman is an open-source container...
What is Kubernetes?
Kubernetes is an open-source platform designed to manage, automate, and scale containerized applications efficiently. It has become the go-to solution for orchestrating containers in cloud environments. If you've ever wondered how large-scale applications like trading platforms handle fluctuating workloads, Kubernetes is...
Azure Files vs. A Server with an SMB Share: Key Takeaways from MS Cloud IT Pro Podcast Episode 367
The MS Cloud IT Pro Podcast episode 367, hosted by Ben Segink and Scott Hoag, dives deep into a crucial IT topic: choosing between Azure Files and a traditional server with an SMB share for file storage in the cloud. This episode is essential for IT professionals navigating cloud migration strategies and balancing...
Major Azure Networking Outage in East US 2 Affecting VMs, App Service, and More! (January 8 – 11, 2025)
On January 8, 2025, Microsoft Azure started experiencing a significant networking outage in the East US 2 region. This outage has impacted a broad range of Azure services (including Azure App Service, VMs, and more!) causing disruptions for businesses relying on these services for critical workloads. As of the time I'm...
DevOps
Terraform Functions and Expressions Explained
Functions in HashiCorp Terraform are integral to making your configurations flexible, efficient, and maintainable. They are pre-defined operations that can be used within expressions to transform and combine values. These functions can manipulate strings, perform mathematical calculations, and handle complex data...
Terraform: Conditional If Variable Does Not Exist (try function)
They try function in HashiCorp Terraform allows values to be read from a Data Source, input variables, or some other attribute while providing a default value if the evaluation expression errors. This is particularly useful when data is retrieved from an external system in JSON or YAML format and then decoded. The decoded...
OpenTofu: Open Source Alternative to Terraform
In the world of cloud, hybrid, and on-premises Infrastructure as Code (IaC), where managing and provisioning infrastructure through code has become indispensable, tools like OpenTofu play a pivotal role. The evolutions of IaC tools continues with OpenTofu, as a fork of Terraform that offers a more open-source,...
Terraform IP Functions for Managing IP Addresses, CIDR Blocks, and Subnets
Terraform provides functions to manage and manipulate IP addresses and CIDR blocks. These functions are crucial for network automation and orchestration in cloud environments, enabling users to create, manage, and allocate network resources efficiently. This article shows how to use the Terraform IP functions, along with...
Terraform Lookup Function – Usage and Examples
The Terraform lookup() function provides a powerful feature that can be used to implement more flexible and easily configurable infrastructure configurations. The lookup() function is essential for retrieving values from maps dynamically. This article explains Terraform maps, in case you're not familiar yet, and the...
PowerShell: Automate Terraform Install on Windows
While HashiCorp Terraform is a single executable, it's really useful to install it on the local machine so the terraform.exe executable can be run from anywhere. To do this, Terraform needs to be downloaded, placed somewhere on the local machine, and then that path must be added to the system PATH environment variable....
Working with YAML in Terraform using the `yamldecode` and `yamlencode` Functions
The functions built into and supported by HashiCorp Terraform include the yamldecode and yamlencode functions for working with YAML data. These functions enable seamless integration and manipulation of YAML within Terraform configurations, enhancing the flexibility and manageability of infrastructure setups. This article...