Technology

Cross-platform mobile apps are increasingly being built with React Native. But how can you scan for QR codes and augment the user's camera view when they're present?

Updating live applications used to be a tedious and somewhat risky affair, but with the emergence of modern development frameworks and tools, updates and deployment are becoming straightforward. In this article, Toptal Java Developer Elene Latsoshvili explains how you can update a Laravel app with zero downtime, and how this can be done for most PHP applications.

Google’s Flutter mobile SDK only recently made it to version 1.0, but it is already catching up with React Native in terms of market share. Flutter is also used to develop apps for Google’s upcoming Fuchsia OS. In this article, Toptal Java Developer Nemanja Stosic demonstrates how to create a simple messaging app using Flutter and Firebase.

Automatically scaling container deployments in a microservices-based app architecture is downright luxurious...once it's set up. But what's the best way to tune an app's orchestration parameters?

The Bitcoin Lightning Network is an independent solution that’s heralded as the solution to bitcoin’s scaling problem by keeping fees minuscule and making transactions instant, away from the blockchain. In this article, Toptal Freelance Blockchain Developer Amin Shah Gilani explores what the Bitcoin Lightning Network really is, how it can make the guarantees it provides, and its current state.

When complex systems are life-critical, it can be extremely difficult to modernize and upgrade them safely. While many engineers will never work on such systems, there is much to be learned from those who do. In this article, Toptal Solutions Architect Dr. Kyle Kotowick explains how to properly maintain and update systems that are too important to fail.

We’ll explore the application of parameterization and how it relates to mainstream design patterns such as dependency injection, strategy, template method, and others. In Python, many of these are made unnecessary by the fact that parameters can be callable objects or classes.

One of the best ways to elevate your status as a WordPress developer, at least in the eyes of your clients, is to become skilled at writing API consumers. In this article, Toptal Freelance WordPress Developer Scott Fennell guides you through five techniques that will help you create powerful WordPress API clients to perfectly suit your needs.