Toptal Blog
The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, management consultants, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.
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How C++ Works: Understanding Compilation
Compilation and linking are two fundamental processes during C++ development. But how exactly do they work? Discover how C++ compilers operate, including basic language constructs and common mistakes to avoid.

Daniel Munoz
Daniel is a data structures developer with more than 10 years of experience in C++. He has worked on high-performance applications in C++ for large companies such as Meta, Dreamworks, and Motorola; he also has experience at Amazon using Ruby. Daniel specializes in C-family and assembly languages.
The State of Fintech in 2017
The financial services industry is seeing a wave of innovation that is bringing with it new technology, but also a need to attract and develop talent that have the skillset needed to operate in this changing environment. This article delves into some of the most important trends affecting the industry.

Rajeev Jeyakumar
After working as a management consultant with clients like AIG, Ameriprise, and Santander, Rajeev successfully founded and sold a company.
Aurelia vs. Angular 2 — A Code Comparison
Angular and Aurelia are fierce competitors developed and released at approximately the same time. They have a similar philosophy, but they differ in a number of key ways. This article does side-by-side comparisons of those differences in features and code.

Alexander Mikhalchenko
Alexander is the full-stack developer you bring in to rescue a project with tight schedules. Usually, he prefers less extreme development.
Convince Your Team to Go Remote: FAQ
Going remote can be a big decision. Julia Stanaro, Manager of Enterprise Account Solutions at Toptal, shares her responses to the most common questions posed by executives about the value of remote work.

Julia Stanaro
As a Toptal Sales engineer, Julia is constantly interfacing with clients in order to help them achieve their goals.
The 5-step Process for Turning a Blog Into a High-conversion Funnel
Blog publishers hope to turn their blog into an effective sales and marketing tool. Here are some useful examples that show how to design a high-conversion funnel for a blog and make it a success.

Peter Davis
Peter is a UI/UX designer, digital marketing consultant, and brand strategist. His experience spans clients of all sizes and industries.
Building Cross-platform Apps with Xamarin: Perspective of an Android Developer
Writing reusable code that can be shared across multiple platforms can make developing mobile applications a lot easier. But, how do you do that without paying the usual cost of maintainability, ease of testing, and poor user experience that comes with cross-platform mobile application development?
In this article, Toptal Freelance Software Engineer Emran Bajrami walks us through Xamarin and shows us techniques for building high-quality cross-platform apps.

Emran Bajrami
Emran is a results-driven, articulate, and analytical Android and Java engineer who can think outside the box.
Choosing the Right E-commerce Business Model to Sell Your Product
As retail continues to shift online, businesses and manufacturers are faced with ever-growing pressures to build serious online presences and distribution. This article looks at the different options available, and assesses their merits and considerations from a financial standpoint

Martin Smith
Martin works with large, PE-owned and quoted companies, as well as startups. He is particularly strong in growing top line and margins.
How to Create Custom Fonts: 7 Steps and 3 Case Studies
Designers love to hate some fonts. We’re introducing a simple process and seven easy steps that can quickly transform a typeface into something better and can turn a font into a beautiful logotype.

Micah Bowers
Micah helps businesses craft meaningful engagement through branding, illustration, and design.
SQL Server 2016 Always Encrypted: Easy to Implement, Tough to Crack
Security has always been a primary concern for database experts, and with the advent of new, decentralized services, it’s become even more crucial. Microsoft addressed the need for an added level of security in SQL with the introduction of Always Encrypted functionality in SQL Server 2016.
In this blog post, Toptal Freelance Software Engineer Josip Saban explains how Microsoft’s Always Encrypted concept works, how it’s implemented, and why developers can’t afford to ignore it.

Josip Šaban
With two Master’s degrees and having worked for the largest Slovenian enterprises, Josip is a veteran of Microsoft business/database tech.
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