You Need More than REST for API Success

On the surface, REST API design looks to be quite simple. You just need to follow some conventions for your URL paths and return an appropriate HTTP status code. But the reality of the networked world and the needs of your API consumers often go beyond what standing up a REST API can offer you. […]

Add F# to Your Web App with Fable

I’ve written previously about JavaScript-free web development using F#, but there are other options if you don’t have the luxury of starting a new project with F#. One of those is Fable, which has a pretty low barrier to entry in terms of integration with existing projects.

Sharing TypeScript Code Between Web and React Native

We’re building a hybrid mobile app out of an existing web app. The front end will run out of a webview, and we’re adapting the back end to run on-device in [React Native]. One of the challenges we encountered was how to share code between our existing [monorepo] built with [webpack] and our new React […]

Creating a Simple Server with Next.js

It can take a long time to get a full-stack React and Node.js app off the ground. Fortunately, with the addition of API Routes, Next.js offers a way to do that in just minutes.

Recursion in the Real World – Using Recursive Algorithms in Web Dev

Recursion (solving smaller and smaller sub-problems until arriving at the base case) has always intrigued me. The first recursive function I ever wrote computed the factorial for n, and it looked like this: def recur_factorial(n): if n == 1: return n else: return n*recur_factorial(n-1)

Taking Advantage of the (Few) Good Parts of CSS

My attitude toward CSS used to be that it is simply unmaintainable. If in the course of development, you think things like: These styles are already a mess, so I can’t make it any worse. I can’t figure out why this is getting overridden, so I’ll just use !important. It seems like these styles are […]

Taming Your Java Environment

You may not be concerned with what version of Java or Node you are using to run your JavaScript on a regular basis. However, setting up a CI build that can run successfully and repeatedly over the years is a pretty crucial endeavor. Here are a few pointers to set up Java and Node properly […]

JavaScript-free Web Development with WebAssembly, Bolero, and F#

A while back, I remember hearing about WebAssembly and how it would finally release the web from the grip of JavaScript. (Languages that transpile to JavaScript don’t cut it). Although WebAssembly doesn’t make the news much these days, it turns out there is quite a bit of work being done in this area. Since I […]

Getting Started with Chart.js – The Easy, Beautiful Way to Chart

Chart.js is a JavaScript tool which allows you to generate charts for a webpage. It is an approachable way to create beautiful charts with little effort. Due to the good examples and solid documentation, it won’t take long to get your data on the page.

Single Sign-On/Sign-Out With SAML 2.0

SAML 2.0 is an authentication protocol, an agreed-upon way to transfer authentication information between parties. It was approved as an OASIS standard in 2005, and there are SAML Protocol Documents with details about the protocol. The protocol is complex (the core document alone is 86 pages) and has a wide range of capabilities. In this post, I’ll scratch […]

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