There’s nothing quite as exciting as brand new tech, and for

6 min readNov 24, 2020

All of these features are still in play, and many are likely to show up in .NET 6. Whether Blazor is the best way to take advantage of WebAssembly in a browser — and how bright its future will be — are still up for debate.

The goal of single-file deployment is to package an application and all its dependencies in a single executable file. When you launch the file, the runtime unpacks the resources and loads them dynamically. Simple, right? Not so fast.

Microsoft had solution for that, too, called .NET MAUI (for Multi-platform App UI). It’s an evolution of Xamarin that allows you to target mobile Android and iOS platforms, and desktop Windows applications (WPF or UWP), with everything magically bundled into a single project. It might even integrate with the world of standard web applications through Blazor.

Microsoft is famous for reinventing the wheel — except, instead of a wheel, think “desktop API.” Somehow, in a world that prizes a single codebase and run-everywhere languages like JavaScript, Microsoft has ended up simultaneously supporting three different models for Windows desktop development:

The term brutalist web design was first coined by Pascal Deville, a founder of the brutalistwebsites.com. Even if you’ve never heard of this term, I bet you’ve probably visited a few brutalist websites without even knowing. Here’s how Deville defines a brutalist website:

Although there’s still no sign of a single technology that can replace them all, Microsoft is trying to break down some of the walls that separate them. They launched Project Reunion, an initiative that will let Windows Forms and WPF applications use the FluentUI bits from UWP. Even more exciting, there’s a possibility that they’ll extend support beyond Windows 10, and all the way back to Windows 8.1.

For a while, Microsoft was promising that this ambitious change would happen in time for .NET 5, but it eventually slipped to .NET 6. (They specifically blamed the coronavirus for the delay, if you’re looking for another reason to hate 2020.)Gadeken’s installation is very much in line with his creative ethos: making interactive public artworks that “reimagine the world ‘post-nature.’” Having worked in the Bay Area for more than 25 years, the mixed-media artist — who is responsible for other notable local public art installations, like SquaredSF in Hayes Valley (2018–2019) and Crash at Hotel Zephyr, and is also an electrical engineer by trade — uses an array of LEDs and hydraulics to bring his works to life in jaw-dropping forms. Gadeken has also shown his works at past Burning Man and Coachella festivals.Under the heading of “nice little things that are actually much more difficult than they seem,” Microsoft has been trying to deliver a true single-file deployment solution for quite some time. In .NET 5, they didn’t quite succeed.

The installation will be free to explore — albeit while practicing proper social distancing and donning a (maybe envious) mask. It will be on display from December 1 through February 29 (and might be extended as far as June 1). Peacock Meadow, where the installation will be assembled, is in the park’s east end between McLaren Lodge and the Conservatory of Flowers, across from the new pop-up Welcome Center on JFK Drive.

Incidentally, there were a number of major Blazor enhancements that developers were hoping would make the .NET 5 cutoff. Most didn’t. We did get lazy loading and CSS isolation. But if you were waiting for one of these features, prepare to be disappointed:
When designing a brutalist website, aesthetic beauty is not even the fifth thing on your mind. This is probably good news for full stack developers who aren’t big fans of front-end. Nonetheless, there is still a difference between a poorly designed website and a brutalist website. The difference is that brutalist websites are ugly on purpose.
The Project Reunion features were initially slated for .NET 5, but they missed the cut. They’re currently a part of the WinUI 3 library, which is floating in preview limbo.

Officially, Blazor had its first release in .NET Core 3.1, but .NET 5 gives it a chance to reach a wider audience, including plenty of developers who are still wondering whether the platform is stable enough for them to start exploring. The answer is yes — with a few caveats.

As if that wasn’t impressive and inspiring enough, Gadeken currently works at Stanford University in the Electrical Engineering Department. (Literally, I’m still in my sweatpants writing this piece, so, yeah.)

Although elements of Entwined have been used in past installations, including the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas and Canada’s Toronto Light Festival, Gadeken notes that his newest public artwork will be organized in a way that’s completely unique to celebrate Golden Gate Park’s sesquicentennial celebration.

The bottom line is that you’re hoping for an easier way to create native applications on a variety of platforms, you’re stuck waiting. Or, you can consider a third-party tool, like the excellent Uno Platform.

Blazor has definitely evolved past the point where it started, as a proof-of-concept experiment. But it’s still bigger and heavier than pure JavaScript frameworks like React and Vue. And the application model, which closely follows ASP.NET Razor, is a convenience for some and an irritation to others, especially those who don’t already have a background in ASP.NET.

“In its ruggedness and lack of concern to look comfortable or easy, Brutalism can be seen as a reaction by a younger generation to the lightness, optimism, and frivolity of today’s web design.”

“As the days get darker, this dazzling installation will light the way for park lovers to experience Golden Gate Park in a new and creative way as we close out its 150th Anniversary,” said San Francisco Recreation and Parks General Manager Phil Ginsburg in a press release. “A twilight stroll through the park’s east will be truly magical this winter. People can visit the City’s official holiday tree in front of McLaren Lodge before exploring Entwined, marveling at the Conservatory’s sesquicentennial anniversary.”

But here’s the catch. Xamarin didn’t just use a scaled-down .NET runtime, it also used a different UI model — one based in XAML, influenced by WPF, but still thoroughly its own. In other words, Xamarin is one more awkward island. It doesn’t mesh with Blazor on the web side, or with any of the Windows toolkits on the desktop side.

There’s nothing quite as exciting as brand new tech, and for

Written by cili kon