tools

Enable Intellisense for AWS Boto3 Type Hints in Microsoft Visual Studio Code

If you’re developing with Python and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) boto3 module, you probably wish you had type hints (aka. auto-complete / Intellisense) in Microsoft Visual Studio Code. Even though the boto3 documentation is exceptionally good, it’s annoying to constantly have to switch back and forth between it and your editor. More context switching … Read moreEnable Intellisense for AWS Boto3 Type Hints in Microsoft Visual Studio Code

Rescan SCSI Controller on Linux to Detect New Disks

I am running Ubuntu Linux virtual machines on VMware ESXi (vSphere Hypervisor), and needed a mechanism to add SCSI disks to VMs without having to reboot. After adding the disk in VMware ESXi, the disk still wasn’t visible to the guest operating system. It seemed like I needed some mechanism to force Linux to rescan … Read moreRescan SCSI Controller on Linux to Detect New Disks

Set up a PowerShell and .NET Development Environment with AWS Cloud9 and Amazon EC2

Background Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud9 provides a cloud-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) where you can author, test, and deploy your .NET Core and PowerShell-based applications. You can connect to your Cloud9 IDE using a web browser. One of my favorite features offered by Cloud9, that enables developers to comfortably use it, is the support … Read moreSet up a PowerShell and .NET Development Environment with AWS Cloud9 and Amazon EC2

Designing Command Line Tool User Experience

Linux Terminal Running Docker

Introduction Software developers, infrastructure & DevOps engineers, and operational IT staff are heavy users of the command line. The benefits of the command line are clear: Commands are / should be readable Commands are repeatable Commands can be shared amongst a team (eg. via source control / chat / etc.) Automation is scalable across many … Read moreDesigning Command Line Tool User Experience

Azure PowerShell Extensions Updates

The Azure PowerShell Extensions module (AzureExt) for Windows PowerShell has seen another interesting update! Let’s take a look at some of the high-level changes: External dependencies have been completely removed The module now supports PowerShell ISE Snippets for Azure Resource Manager (ARM) Resources New command: Remove-AzureRmResourceGroupGui New command: Start-AzureRM Check out Art of Shell’s Microsoft … Read moreAzure PowerShell Extensions Updates

Image Re-sizing Utility for Windows

Do you have a lot of large photos that you’d like to resize, to reduce upload times, and make more friendly for the web? Check out this free picture re-sizing extension for Windows! I’ve been using this on Windows 10 Enterprise RTM (Build 1024), and it works great! It’s an open source project that, as … Read moreImage Re-sizing Utility for Windows

PSA: Upload your PowerShell Modules!

For some time now, the PowerShell Gallery has been available, enabling the upload of PowerShell modules to a centralized repository. This repository provides an easily discoverable location from PowerShell 5.0’s PowerShellGet module. In order to install a PowerShell module in PowerShell 5.0, a user must simply type Install-Module -Name <ModuleName>. The module gallery is still … Read morePSA: Upload your PowerShell Modules!

Auto-Complete .NET Constructor Params

Introduction If you’re a regular PowerShell script or module author, you’re probably accustomed to creating .NET objects using object constructors. In the Microsoft .NET Framework, each struct or class can have one or more constructors. A constructor enables the type consumer to instantiate the object using a set of zero or more input parameters, as … Read moreAuto-Complete .NET Constructor Params

Key Techniques to Record a Great Video

I’ve been doing more video recordings lately, in favor of doing blog posts, and other forms of social media content sharing. Well, that doesn’t include Twitter. I’m on there way too much, and it’s a great way to share “nuggets” of information in a matter of seconds, instead of minutes or hours. It is a … Read moreKey Techniques to Record a Great Video

Create a Visual Studio Project for your PowerShell Scripts

Are you eager to take advantage of Visual Studio PowerShell Tools? This video talks about how to create a Visual Studio Solution & Project to help you manage your PowerShell script files. If you’ve already got a set of one-off scripts, that doesn’t necessarily warrant a PowerShell module, but you still want to author, debug, … Read moreCreate a Visual Studio Project for your PowerShell Scripts