Token authentication has been a popular topic for the past few years, especially as mobile and JavaScript apps have continued to gain mindshare. Widespread adoption of token-based standards like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect have introduced even more developers to tokens, but the best practices aren’t always clear. I spend a lot of time in the ASP.NET Core world and have been working with the framework since the pre-1.0 days. ASP.NET Core 2.0 has great...

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Note: In May 2025, the Okta Integrator Free Plan replaced Okta Developer Edition Accounts, and the Okta CLI was deprecated. We preserved this post for reference, but the instructions no longer work exactly as written. Replace the Okta CLI commands by manually configuring Okta following the instructions in our Developer Documentation. I love lists. I keep everything I need to do (too many things, usually) in a big to-do list, and the list helps keep...

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Xamarin is a cross-platform technology that makes it possible to build native applications for Android and iOS using a single, shared codebase. Like other technologies such as React Native and NativeScript, it allows development teams to spend less time writing code for both platforms. Xamarin is open-source (and free). Under the hood, it uses Mono (a version of the Microsoft .NET runtime), so Xamarin apps are usually written in C#. You can build Xamarin apps...

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It’s that time of year again: Christmas music on the radio, festive decorations in the workplace, and a chill in the air. Except in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s warm and balmy. And on the International Space Station, where the temperature is strictly regulated. But I digress. It’s a season for reconnecting with loved ones, exchanging gifts, and eating delicious food. And, if you’re like me, a little downtime to work on fun projects. Looking...

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