Decode JWTs in C# for Authorization
There are two main steps in securing an application: authentication and authorization. Authentication is easy enough. A user enters a username and password (maybe even a second factor) to prove (authenticate) who they are. Authorization is a little less cut and dried. There are lots of factors that go into what an authenticated user is authorized to do. First, you need some information about the user that just authenticated. Many modern web apps use JSON...
Build Secure Microservices in PHP
The history of software is a history of improving architectures - from the underlying hardware, OS and virtualization platforms, programming languages and frameworks, to the architecture of the applications we build. The microservice architecture in PHP is a relatively new improvement that’s emerged from the desire of fast-paced companies like Netflix and Amazon to improve their software continually, experiment with different ideas, ship early and ship often. This is difficult to achieve in a traditional...
IInterface Considered Harmful
Developers have been lauded as being early adopters when it comes to technology products, but they seem to be late bloomers when it comes to dropping old habits. It took years of convincing and some guidance from Microsoft to get .NET developers to stop using Hungarian Notation in their programs, but there’s is one last “comfort blanket” it left: developers still use the “I” prefix for interfaces. I want it to stop. Let it go....
Build Mobile Apps with Angular, Ionic 4, and Spring Boot
I’m a big fan of Ionic. I started using it several years ago when it was based on AngularJS. As a developer, I really liked it because I knew Angular. I found didn’t have to learn much more to be a productive developer with Ionic. What is Ionic? I’m glad you asked! Ionic is an open source project that allows you to build mobile apps using web tech. Technically, this is called a "hybrid" app...
Spring Method Security with PreAuthorize
This tutorial will explore two ways to configure authentication and authorization in Spring Boot using Spring Security. One method is to create a WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter and use the fluent API to override the default settings on the HttpSecurity object. Another is to use the @PreAuthorize annotation on controller methods, known as method-level security or expression-based security. The latter will be the main focus of this tutorial. However, I will present some HttpSecurity code and ideas by...
Tutorial: User Login and Registration in Ionic 4
Ionic allows you to develop PWAs and hybrid mobile apps. PWAs are web applications that run in a browser and allow for offline capabilities via service workers. They can be installed on desktops and mobile devices, just like you install apps on your smartphone. Hybrid mobile apps are like native mobile apps, except they’re built using web technologies. Ionic 2 was based on AngularJS. Ionic 3 was based on Angular. Ionic 4 allows you to...
Build a Command Line Application with Node.js
Command line applications (CLI) are often the core tools for automating tasks, such as deploying production applications, running tests, building reports, migrating data, DevOps, and the list goes on and on. If you find yourself doing the same things over and over again, chances are you can automate those steps with a script and save yourself a lot of time! Node.js is a great solution for writing CLI apps. Node.js itself has built-in libraries for...
Add Authentication and Personalization to VuePress
There are several advantages to using a static site generator such as VuePress. With VuePress, you can focus on writing content using markdown, and the VuePress application generates static HTML files. VuePress also turns your content into a single-page application (SPA), so transitions between pages seem instant and seamless. The generated static files can be cached and distributed across a content delivery network (CDN) for even more performance. For the reader, VuePress creates a great...
Alexa, Sign In Every Time: Voice-Only Authentication Verification in .NET
Authentication for voice, specifically Amazon’s Alexa, has its limitations. The initial Account Linking process Amazon provides for identification works for many scenarios, but it is only done once (signing into the skill via the Alexa mobile app or website), and all subsequent sessions with the skill are linked - no log-in screen presented again. I’ve often been asked what the options are for verifying every time a user engages with an Alexa skill. For example;...
Build Login in Xamarin with Xamarin.Forms
Chuck Norris could easily make a single app run on all of the platforms iOS, Android, and Windows - without any frameworks or tools. Most of the rest of us could probably do with some help. Happily, Xamarin Forms is the perfect tool for the job, and makes it a breeze to create an app! With Xamarin Forms your app will run on all three platforms from a single codebase. Xamarin Forms comes free with...