Put the Cloud to Work, pt 1: Create a Background Worker Using Quartz.NET

I've written a [long] article for Tech.pro on how to use Quartz.NET to build an end-to-end background worker on AppHarbor.

I plan to write a couple more follow-ups about more advanced usage of Quartz with a pretty big finale (I don't want to get anyone's hopes up though).

Some fun stats:

• ~5300 words
• ~40 hours of work
• ~40 pages in PDF

It seems longer than it is; most of it is code snippets and pictures but it takes about 20 minutes to read and about 45-60 minutes to work through (follow along).

I marked it as a Beginner tutorial and as such went into a lot of detail I wouldn't normally spend time on if it was just a blog post. I find writing formal articles forces me to verify what I know (or I think I know), explore alternatives, and do a deep-dive into whatever topic I want to talk about. It's mostly driven by fear: fear of being wrong, fear of being humiliated, fear of what other people think. Writing about a topic forces you to learn about things you maybe thought you knew but didn't really. I also believe it helps you become better at teaching others; if you can't explain what you know, do you really know it? At it's core, it's just good exercise!

I chose tech.pro because I like what they're trying to do, I like that they're open with development, and I also like the cash prize if your article is the top in its category ($1000). I also like that they don't "own" your content; you're free to post it to other venues and it's your own work. I think it already has some great tutorials, including ones by someone I follow regularly, Filip W.