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A decision guide and real benchmark for EF Core 11: use ExecuteUpdate for set-based writes by a predicate, and the load-then-SaveChanges path only when you need the change tracker, interceptors, or a complex object graph.

Use custom tool calling for one app you own end to end, MCP for any integration you want reused across Claude Code, Cursor, and ChatGPT, and OpenAPI plugins only as a bridge when you already have a spec. MCP is the cross-client standard in 2026; plugins are legacy.

A version-pinned migration guide from EF Core 6.0 to EF Core 11.0, walking the breaking changes across EF7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 that break real apps: Encrypt=True, OPENJSON Contains, PendingModelChangesWarning, the native json column, and the SqlClient 7.0 split.

Pick Riverpod for most new Flutter apps in 2026. Choose Bloc for large teams that want an enforced event-driven structure, and keep Provider only for legacy code.

Pick BackgroundService for in-process loops, raw IHostedService when you need fine lifecycle control, and Hangfire when jobs must survive a restart. A decision matrix with code and the one gotcha that picks for you.

Claude Code wins on raw agent quality and predictable flat pricing, Cursor wins as the editor you live in with the best multi-model routing, and GitHub Copilot wins when the work starts and ends on GitHub. The June 2026 token-billing shift is the tiebreaker for cost.

.NET 11 Preview 4 drops support for pre-2013 x86/x64 chips and bumps the JIT baseline to x86-64-v2. Here is what breaks, why, and how to check your hardware before you upgrade.

RenderBox was not laid out is almost always a secondary error. Find the first layout assertion above it, usually a scrollable given unbounded constraints, and fix that.

This crash means code touched a controller after dispose() ran. Guard async callbacks with a mounted check, and never dispose a controller you do not own.

For a large .NET 11 / C# 14 solution, Claude Code wins on agent quality and runs anywhere a terminal does. Cursor wins if your team wants a GUI and tab completion, as long as you can live without C# Dev Kit. Aider wins on cost and openness.