Toptal Blog

The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, finance experts, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.

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Toptal core team members share their experience, expertise, and perspectives on the Toptal Edge Blog

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A Deep Dive Into Entity Framework Performance When Using “Contains”

Entity Framework is a great tool, but in some cases its performance is slow. One such case arises when complex queries use “Contains.”

Join Toptal .​NET Developer Anton Shkuratov in exploring how performance issues can be mitigated and finding the best approach to this type of complex queries.

8 minute readContinue Reading
Anton Shkuratov

Anton Shkuratov

Anton is a software developer and technical consultant with 10+ years of experience in desktop-distributed applications.

Words Matter: The True Value of UX Copy

Well-crafted words improve UX and provide people with decision-making clarity. We explore the true value of UX copy and provide sensible writing tips for greater user engagement.

8 minute readContinue Reading
Micah Bowers

Micah Bowers

Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.

Getting to the Greeks: The Comprehensive Guide to Option Pricing

Stock options are widely used in public and private markets, both as malleable trading tools and for employee compensation. Yet many do not understand the components behind how they are priced. This guide discusses what drives the behavior of call and put options and how they can be deployed within portfolio management.

15 minute readContinue Reading
Nathan Krishnan S

Nathan Krishnan S

During his two-decade career in Asia and the US, Nathan has consulted in strategy, valuations, corporate finance and financial planning.

Cause and Effect: Exploring Color Psychology

The use of color in design can affect the emotions and moods of the people. Using colors wisely can improve UX and induce desired behaviors in significant ways.

9 minute readContinue Reading
Cameron Chapman

Cameron Chapman

Cameron comes from a design background and is the author of two web design books: Color for Web Design and The Smashing Idea Book.

AI Investment Primer: Laying the Groundwork (Part I)

Over the last few years, the world has witnessed an explosion of interest surrounding Artificial Intelligence. Nevertheless, there still exists a significant gap in understanding and knowledge about AI applications, particularly amongst the investor community. This article, the first of a two-part series on the topic, is a collection of thoughts and advice by Toptal Finance Expert Carolyn Deng, based on her experience having founded an AI startup as well as having worked as VC Investor.

11 minute readContinue Reading
Carolyn Deng, CFA

Carolyn Deng, CFA

A Wharton MBA and CFA, Carolyn has executed 20+ VC/PE deals, managed a $700M portfolio and is a fundraising, growth and M&A specialist.

Ethereum Oracle Contracts: Solidity Code Features

Solidity is the programming language of choice for Ethereum and the de facto industry standard for smart contract development.

In the second article of our three-part series, Toptal Blockchain Developer John R. Kosinski takes a closer look at Solidity quirks and features, explaining how to make the most of it.

21 minute readContinue Reading
John R. Kosinski

John R. Kosinski

As a full-stack dev for nearly two decades, John’s worked with IoT, Blockchain, web, and mobile projects using C/C++, .NET, SQL, and JS.

Option/Maybe, Either, and Future Monads in JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Swift, and Scala

If you’re searching for the holy grail of bug-free code in JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Swift, and/or Scala, look no further! This monad tutorial by Toptal Freelance Functional Programmer Alexey Karasev takes you from category theory to the practical implementations of the Option/Maybe, Either, and Future monads, plus a sample program—in all five languages.

23 minute readContinue Reading
Alexey Karasev

Alexey Karasev

Alexey (MEcon) is skilled in several languages and prefers functional programming, particularly Scala, to lower time wasted hunting bugs.

Know Your User: UX Statistics and Insights (With Infographic)

Billions are lost by businesses due to poor UX. This article outlines key UX statistics and insights that stress the importance of “knowing your user” (with infographic).

< 5 minute readContinue Reading
Miklos Philips

Miklos Philips

Miklos is a UX designer, product design strategist, author, and speaker with more than 18 years of experience in the design field.

A/B Testing UX for Component-based Frameworks

UI components are about modularity and reusability. A/B testing can be employed very effectively during a lean product development process to test components that make up an application’s UI.

6 minute readContinue Reading
Stewart Pressney

Stewart Pressney

Stewart has developed a user-centered design and prototyping workflow proven successful in healthcare, education, and eCommerce.

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