Back-end

Nearly every app requires an authorization system on top of an authentication system. We often need a fine-grained permissions model to allow only specific users to access certain resources while simultaneously restricting access for everyone else. In this tutorial, Toptal Freelance Firebase Developer Joaquin Cid teaches how to build just such a system. Called a role-based authentication, we’ll learn how to implement this system in an API using Node.js and Firebase.

Subscription-based apps need a special approach when it comes to analytics. Learn how a variation on the traditional sales funnel helps you work with LTV, subscriber retention, and churn rates to make your app better—and more profitable.

GraphQL is a domain-specific language for data query and manipulation by Facebook. It is meant to replace the de facto REST standard in API creation. In this article, Toptal Freelance GraphQL Developer Ioram Gordadze creates a GraphQL API from scratch, summarizing problems new GraphQL developers face. He also teaches us to rethink the standard methods used in REST APIs in a more GraphQL-friendly manner.

Five years after Dart 1.0, Google's rewritten open-source language is attracting increasing numbers of developers. What do C# and Java developers need to know to get started with it?

WordPress code, especially back-end PHP code, is often a mess—even in WP core! But legacy code is no excuse. Find out how to develop WP customizations the right way, so your code is readable and maintainable.

The ELK stack boasts a range of impressive capabilities, but in some scenarios, it can be difficult to configure and maintain. In this article, Toptal DevOps Engineer Fabrice Triboix explains why he decided to shift to a serverless solution that requires less maintenance and allows for superior scaling.

Rails 6 is finally here, featuring major improvements and clever new features that should make development easier and faster than ever. In this article, Toptal Ruby on Rails Developer Avant Mittal dives into the Rails 6 changelog to introduce you to these new features and explain how you will be using them in your next Rails project.

It's no secret that the WordPress codebase is a mess. Many developers use its legacy code as an excuse for writing sloppy code themselves, even if its newer additions follow best practices. If this is you, it's time to level up your skills!