How to Hash Passwords in C# Using BCrypt for Enhanced Security

Slow initial load times can drive users away from your React application. One powerful technique to improve performance is lazy loading - loading components only when they're needed.

Let's explore how to implement this in React.

The Problem with Eager Loading

By default, React bundles all your components together, forcing users to download everything upfront. This makes navigation much quicker and more streamlined once this initial download is complete.

However, depending on the size of your application, it could also create a long initial load time.

import HeavyComponent from './HeavyComponent';
import AnotherHeavyComponent from './AnotherHeavyComponent';

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      {/* These components load even if user never sees them */}
      <HeavyComponent />
      <AnotherHeavyComponent />
    </div>
  );
}

React.lazy() to the Rescue

React.lazy() lets you defer loading components until they're actually needed:

import React, { lazy, Suspense } from 'react';

// Components are now loaded only when rendered
const HeavyComponent = lazy(() => import('./HeavyComponent'));
const AnotherHeavyComponent = lazy(() => import('./AnotherHeavyComponent'));

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
        <HeavyComponent />
        <AnotherHeavyComponent />
      </Suspense>
    </div>
  );
}

Route-Based Lazy Loading

Combine with React Router for even better performance:

import React, { lazy, Suspense } from 'react';
import { BrowserRouter, Routes, Route } from 'react-router-dom';

const Home = lazy(() => import('./pages/Home'));
const Dashboard = lazy(() => import('./pages/Dashboard'));
const Settings = lazy(() => import('./pages/Settings'));

function App() {
  return (
    <BrowserRouter>
      <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading...</div>}>
        <Routes>
          <Route path="/" element={<Home />} />
          <Route path="/dashboard" element={<Dashboard />} />
          <Route path="/settings" element={<Settings />} />
        </Routes>
      </Suspense>
    </BrowserRouter>
  );
}

Implement these techniques in your React application today and watch your load times improve dramatically!

Closing a SqlDataReader correctly prevents memory leaks, connection issues, and unclosed resources. Here’s the best way to do it.

Use 'using' to Auto-Close

Using using statements ensures SqlDataReader and SqlConnection are closed even if an exception occurs.

Example

using (SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString))
{
    conn.Open();
    using (SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Users", conn))
    using (SqlDataReader reader = cmd.ExecuteReader())
    {
        while (reader.Read())
        {
            Console.WriteLine(reader["Username"]);
        }
    } // ✅ Auto-closes reader here
} // ✅ Auto-closes connection here

This approach auto-closes resources when done and it is cleaner and less error-prone than manual closing.

⚡ Alternative: Manually Close in finally Block

If you need explicit control, you can manually close it inside a finally block.

SqlDataReader? reader = null;
try
{
    using SqlConnection conn = new SqlConnection(connectionString);
    conn.Open();
    using SqlCommand cmd = new SqlCommand("SELECT * FROM Users", conn);
    reader = cmd.ExecuteReader();

    while (reader.Read())
    {
        Console.WriteLine(reader["Username"]);
    }
}
finally
{
    reader?.Close();  // ✅ Closes reader if it was opened
}

This is slightly more error prone if you forget to add a finally block. But might make sense when you need to handle the reader separately from the command or connection.

Working with dates is a common requirement in many applications, and calculating the difference between two dates is a particularly frequent task.

C# provides several powerful built-in methods to handle date arithmetic efficiently. Let's explore how to calculate date differences in C#.

Using DateTime and TimeSpan

The most straightforward way to calculate the difference between two dates in C# is by using the DateTime struct and the TimeSpan class:

DateTime startDate = new DateTime(2023, 1, 1);
DateTime endDate = new DateTime(2023, 12, 31);

TimeSpan difference = endDate - startDate;

Console.WriteLine($"Total days: {difference.TotalDays}");
Console.WriteLine($"Total hours: {difference.TotalHours}");
Console.WriteLine($"Total minutes: {difference.TotalMinutes}");
Console.WriteLine($"Total seconds: {difference.TotalSeconds}");

Getting Specific Units

Sometimes you need the difference in specific units (years, months, days). The TimeSpan class doesn't directly provide years and months, since these units vary in length. Here's how to handle this:

int years = endDate.Year - startDate.Year;
int months = endDate.Month - startDate.Month;

if (months < 0)
{
    years--;
    months += 12;
}

// Adjust for day differences
if (endDate.Day < startDate.Day)
{
    months--;
    int daysInMonth = DateTime.DaysInMonth(startDate.Year, startDate.Month);
    int dayDifference = daysInMonth - startDate.Day + endDate.Day;
    Console.WriteLine($"Years: {years}, Months: {months}, Days: {dayDifference}");
}
else
{
    int dayDifference = endDate.Day - startDate.Day;
    Console.WriteLine($"Years: {years}, Months: {months}, Days: {dayDifference}");
}

Using DateTimeOffset for Time Zone Awareness

If your application needs to handle dates across different time zones, consider using DateTimeOffset:

DateTimeOffset startDateOffset = new DateTimeOffset(2023, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, TimeSpan.FromHours(-5));
DateTimeOffset endDateOffset = new DateTimeOffset(2023, 12, 31, 0, 0, 0, TimeSpan.FromHours(1));

TimeSpan timeDifference = endDateOffset - startDateOffset;
Console.WriteLine($"Total days including time zone difference: {timeDifference.TotalDays}");

Practical Applications

Date difference calculations are useful in many scenarios:

• Calculating age from birth date
• Determining duration between events
• Computing business days between dates
• Scheduling recurring events

With these techniques, you can handle most date arithmetic requirements in your C# applications efficiently and accurately.