If you have ever taken any training modules or learned something new by going through the official documentation, the material you used was probably written or co-authored by one or many contributors. These individuals often are volunteers who offer their time and expertise to cover knowledge gaps in our portfolio or to keep the existing content current.
In this series, we’ll be interviewing repeat contributors to the Microsoft Learn platform to get to know them better and to learn what motivates them to keep contributing.
Today, we're thrilled to introduce you to Fiyaz Bin Hasan, an accomplished Software Engineer with a proven track record of designing and implementing sophisticated solutions for major corporations. Fiyaz is a highly skilled technology professional with a comprehensive knowledge of the Microsoft .NET ecosystem. He is passionate about sharing his expertise with others and helping them succeed.
Fiyaz's outstanding contributions to the industry have earned him the esteemed recognition of being an MVP in Developer Technologies. However, Fiyaz's contributions extend beyond accolades. He is an active member of the ASP.NET community, regularly communicating with the product team and making significant contributions to the Microsoft Learn platform.
Rick Anderson, from the ASP.NET content team, nominated Fiyaz for his significant code contributions to the ASP.NET Core repo over the last three years. Notably, Fiyaz ranks as the #15 contributor to the repo, surpassing several full-time employees who also worked on it.
Here are the links to his recent contributions:
- Test Minimal API apps
- Filters in Minimal API apps
- Write custom ASP.NET Core middleware
- Prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF/CSRF) attacks in ASP.NET Core
- Tag Helper Components in ASP.NET Core
Meet Fiyaz Bin Hasan
Sherry: Hi, Fiyaz, thanks for joining us today. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your expertise and experience.
Fiyaz: Hi, Sherry; thanks for having me. I'm a .NET and JavaScript enthusiast with experience in full-stack development, cloud computing, and IoT. I've worked on projects in various industries and value clear communication, attention to detail, and a customer-focused approach.
I'm also an active blogger and occasional public speaker, and I volunteer for a non-profit organization called Mentors Without Borders, where I teach coding to unprivileged students in Asia and Africa.
Sherry: It's really impressive to hear about your experience, Fiyaz. I also want to acknowledge your volunteer work with Mentors Without Borders. Could you please share about this program?
Fiyaz: Mentors Without Borders is a fantastic organization that I'm proud to be a part of. Their mission is to empower underprivileged students worldwide by teaching them how to set and achieve their goals in their chosen field. As someone who's passionate about teaching, I was delighted when the founder of the organization, , Edmond Pruteanu, reached out to me to teach programming to students in need. It's been a fulfilling experience to help people get started on their journey to become IT professionals.
Mentors Without Borders recently launched a mobile app that connects professionals with students from partner NGOs. The app is an innovative way to deliver lessons and guidance to students who might not otherwise have access to this kind of support. I'm excited to see how this app can change lives and provide new opportunities to students around the world.
Sherry: Fiyaz, your dedication to the community is truly admirable. It's impressive that you are recognized as one of the top contributors to the ASP.NET Core repository. Can you tell us about what inspired you to start contributing, and what motivates you to keep going?
Fiyaz: I'm glad you asked, Sherry. My motivation to contribute comes from a desire to give back to the community that has given me so much. I have significantly benefited from the knowledge and experience of others, and I want to pay it forward by sharing my expertise. It is also a great way to stay up to date with the latest developments in the industry and to learn from other experts.
Sherry: That's great to hear, Fiyaz. I'm curious, has this experience helped you acquire new skills or advance your career in any way?
Fiyaz: Yes, contributing to the Microsoft Learn platform has definitely helped me gain new skills and advance my career. By creating content for the platform, I'm constantly researching and learning new concepts and technologies. It has also allowed me to showcase my expertise and build my personal brand within the developer community.
Sherry: That's fantastic. What advice would you give to those who are interested in contributing to open-source content but are unsure of where to start?
Fiyaz: My advice to anyone who is interested in contributing to open-source content is to simply get started. Look for projects that interest you, and start by contributing in any way you can, even if it's just reporting bugs or fixing typos. The important thing is to get involved and be consistent. Over time, you'll gain more experience, build your network, and become a valuable contributor to the community.
Sherry: Fiyaz, your advice on contributing to open-source content is very helpful. Now, let's talk about something aside from work. In your free time, what are your hobbies or interests?
Fiyaz: When I'm not working, I spend a lot of time with myself. I'm an avid video gamer and a fan of 80's heavy metal music. I also enjoy black and white photography and reading horror/thriller novels, with Stephen King being my favorite author. Like many programmers, I'm a cat lover and have two cats named Leo and Bagha. My favorite food is sushi!
Sherry: That sounds like a great way to unwind. Is there anything else you would like to share about your experience contributing to open-source projects?
Fiyaz: Yes, I have always enjoyed blogging, and my journey into community work started with a blog post on "Building Web Apps with ASP.NET 5 MVC and Entity Framework 7." Jon Galloway highlighted it in the "ASP.NET Community Standup," and that's when my interest in contributing began. Rick Anderson reached out to me on Twitter and asked me to write a sample on how anti-forgery middleware works in ASP.NET Core, and that's where my open-source contribution journey began.
https://twitter.com/RickAndMSFT/status/718223893119561728
As a junior software engineer finishing my internship at Microsoft Bangladesh, I wasn't very familiar with source control at the time. However, I discovered that GitHub was the home of Microsoft's open-source technologies. Despite my lack of experience, I sent Rick a simple doc file containing my first draft of "Prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF/CSRF) attacks in ASP.NET Core." Thankfully, the ASP.NET Core community member Steve Smith helped me publish the article, and I felt very welcomed by the community. This positive experience encouraged me to keep contributing, and once I learned Git, I forked the AspNetCore.Docs repository and began creating pull requests.
There are many issues that you can work on within this repository as well, which you can find here: https://github.com/dotnet/AspNetCore.Docs/issues.
I feel very comfortable working within this community, as the members are always willing to jump into GitHub conversations and help me in the best way possible. Along the way, I've met many amazing people who have helped me write code following best practices and taught me how to write articles with proper sentence structure. It wouldn't be fair to not mention their names, so I would like to extend my thanks to Rick Anderson, Jon Galloway, Steve Smith, Tom Dykstra, Damien Bowden, Luke Latham, Kirk Larkin, Scott Addie, Safia Abdalla, Stephen Halter, Damian Edwards, and David Fowler, just to name a few.
In the last three years, I've contributed enough to be nominated for the Microsoft MVP award. And as of right now, I'm a Microsoft MVP in the Developer Technologies category. I love that everybody within the community works as a joined force to improve the platform daily besides their daily work. It comes from a passion for teaching and learning from one another. Everyone here is an MVP in their own way!
Sherry: Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights with us today, Fiyaz. It has been a pleasure speaking with you and getting to know the person behind the impressive contributions.
Fiyaz’s top contributions to Microsoft Learn:
- Test Minimal API apps
- Filters in Minimal API apps
- Write custom ASP.NET Core middleware
- Prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (XSRF/CSRF) attacks in ASP.NET Core
- Tag Helper Components in ASP.NET Core
To keep up with Fiyaz:
- Connect with him on LinkedIn
- Follow him on Twitter
- Check out his blog
- Check out his YouTube channel
- Check out his MVP profile
To learn more about contributing to Microsoft Learn, visit the Microsoft Learn documentation contributor guide.