Token Authentication in PHP
JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) have turned into the de-facto standard for stateless authentication of mobile apps, single-page web applications, and machine-to-machine communication. They have mostly superseded the traditional authentication method (server-side sessions) because of some key benefits: They are decentralized and portable (you can request a token from a dedicated service, and then use it with multiple backends) There is no need for server-side sessions - a JWT can contain all the required information about...
Build a Node.js API with TypeScript
JavaScript has been turning into more and more of a robust language and is no longer just seen in browsers. Server-side JavaScript has become quite relevant. However, one major thing that JavaScript is not, is a strongly typed language. Being explicit with what types to expect from function parameters or object and class properties can help prevent bugs from creeping into the code. It can also help make the code easier to understand if you...
Easy Single Sign-On with Spring Boot and OAuth 2.0
Single sign-on used to be the “Holy Grail” of enterprise size companies and was usually only available companies that could afford it. Nowadays, we take SSO as a matter of course. For instance, you would think it was completely weird (and unpleasant) if you logged into GMail and then had to log in again when you went to Google Docs. But, what about building custom applications for developers? SSO was still in the domain of...
Is the OAuth 2.0 Implicit Flow Dead?
You may have heard some buzz recently about the OAuth 2.0 Implicit flow. The OAuth Working Group has published some new guidance around the Implicit flow and JavaScript-based apps, specifically that the Implicit flow should no longer be used. In this post we’ll look at what’s changing with the Implicit flow and why. The Best Practice Around Implicit in OAuth 2.0 is Changing The Implicit flow in OAuth 2.0 was created nearly 10 years ago,...
Use Firebase with Your ASP.NET MVC App
Working with databases hosted online has become easier over recent years. The emergence of Database as a Service (DaaS) specifically makes quick integrations much easier. It is important to keep application user data separate from personally identifiable information, especially in this day and age. When using a third party auth provider like Okta, user information like a name or email address can be stored by that provider directly in their system, benefitting from their oversight...
Pro Tips for Developer Relations, Part 2
Being a developer advocate can be a difficult job. Developer advocates are often responsible for writing blog posts, speaking at conferences, and helping developers use their company’s products. If there’s developer friction, it’s an advocate’s job to help educate their company about how to reduce it. Advocates are often recognized leaders in their communities, so they have to keep up that persona as well. Writing, traveling, speaking, educating, and helping can be exhausting. The first...
Tutorial: Build Universal Applications with Nuxt.js
Reducing the time between a user clicking your application and the content being displayed is vital. Optimized images? Check! Minified CSS? Check! Minified JS? Check! But if your application is a single page app (or SPA) there is a large bundle of JavaScript that must reach the user before the site can be rendered. Universal applications address this problem by executing as much as possible on your server and sending only the finished page to...
Angular MVC - A Primer
When designing software with a user interface, it is important to structure the code in a way that makes it easy to extend and maintain. Over time, there have been a few approaches in separating out responsibilities of the different components of an application. Although there is plenty of literature on these design patterns around, it can be very confusing for a beginner to understand the features of limitations of the different patterns and the...
Build a CRUD App with ASP.NET Core 2.2 and SQL Server
I’ve always said that you can tell a lot about a person by the kind of music they listen to. Don’t tell me you haven’t had serious doubts about whether you can be friends with someone when you find out that they like a particular band or artist. In that spirit, I created JudgeMyTaste, an ASP.NET Core web application where people can enter their favorite band or artist so that people on the Internet can...
User Account Linking in Alexa with ASP.NET Web API
REST APIs are often written for enterprise-level companies as a way of allowing a client-side application to access core business logic. For many companies, simply extending their existing API by adding an endpoint for Alexa integration is the best way to manage that flow. For this example, you will use an existing Web API project on ASP.NET 4.7 and demonstrate how to link existing users to the Alexa skill the first time they access it,...