A hub for in-depth development tutorials and new technology announcements created by professional freelance software engineers in the Toptal network. https://www.toptal.com/developers/blog en-usnoA hub for in-depth development tutorials and new technology announcements created by professional freelance software engineers in the Toptal network. React still leads adoption, but Angular is more viable than ever. This in-depth comparison explains what’s changed, where each excels, and how to choose the right front-end framework or library based on team constraints, not hype. Fri, 20 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/angular-vs-react angular-vs-react TOMAS HOLAS, FRONT-END ARCHITECT @ TOPTAL Trying to decide between gRPC and REST? This guide goes beyond surface comparisons to focus on the performance and operational trade-offs that determine which API framework is right for your next build. Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/grpc/grpc-vs-rest-api grpc-vs-rest-api LASZLO GYORI, SOLUTION ARCHITECT @ TOPTAL Python’s logging system goes far beyond basic message output. This guide explores handlers, structured logging, performance trade-offs, and real-world patterns for building production-ready logging pipelines. Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/python/in-depth-python-logging in-depth-python-logging CAMILLE POTARD, SENIOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Laravel 12 modernizes API development with cleaner syntax, streamlined tooling, and developer-first conventions. Learn to build, secure, and test RESTful APIs with best practices and minimal setup. Tue, 03 Feb 2026 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/laravel/restful-laravel-api-tutorial restful-laravel-api-tutorial ALEX BRADEN, SENIOR FULL-STACK DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how medical images are acquired, analyzed, and interpreted. The transformation ushers in a new era of data-driven diagnostics and faster, more personalized patient care. Fri, 18 Jul 2025 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/ai-in-medical-imaging ai-in-medical-imaging MARTIN ELIAS COSTA, AI ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Shopify is the most widely used e-commerce platform for building and managing sophisticated online stores. This guide explores advanced developer tools and strategies designed to refine and optimize your Shopify development workflow. Thu, 27 Feb 2025 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/shopify/top-shopify-tools top-shopify-tools ALEX MASSAAD, SHOPIFY DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Quality annotation is crucial for accurate and useful AI. Learn how to structure and train effective labeling teams that leverage human insight to create robust datasets for machine learning success. Mon, 14 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/data-labeling-teams data-labeling-teams AKSHAY LAMBA, DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL AI-driven speech recognition technology is set to reshape customer service, healthcare, and the legal sector. Explore the latest features and applications in this discussion with two leaders in the field. Sun, 06 Oct 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/whisper/automatic-speech-recognition-guide automatic-speech-recognition-guide ALESSANDRO PEDORI, AI ENGINEER @ TOPTAL LLMs have a vast knowledge base, but training them with domain-specific data can extend their capabilities to specialized industries and tasks. This article delves into data labeling for fine-tuning and includes a step-by-step tutorial for training GPT-4o. Wed, 25 Sep 2024 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/llm-data-labeling llm-data-labeling JEDRZEJ KARDACH, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL It’s crucial to balance accuracy and efficiency when labeling datasets for machine learning—especially when LLMs are involved. In this article we explore a variety of techniques and assess the optimal labeling methods for different projects. Mon, 05 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/machine-learning/advanced-data-labeling-methods advanced-data-labeling-methods NEVEN PIČULJAN, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Machine learning models are trained on massive datasets in which each data point is labeled to give it context and meaning. This deep dive describes how to build a data labeling architecture from scratch, with a focus on workflow, security, and data quality. Mon, 10 Jun 2024 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/how-to-label-data how-to-label-data REZA FAZELI, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Quantum computing is challenging the realities of technology, security, and industry as we know them. Here, we investigate the nuances of quantum mechanics and how to enter the world of quantum software development with tools such as Cirq and TensorFlow Quantum. Sun, 09 Jun 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/quantum-computing/quantum-computing-explained quantum-computing-explained JOAO DIOGO DE OLIVEIRA, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Generative AI is revolutionizing how software developers write code. In this article, three Toptal developers share how they’re using Gen AI in their daily work and offer actionable advice for others who want to utilize this nascent technology. Mon, 29 Apr 2024 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/software/increase-developer-productivity-generative-ai increase-developer-productivity-generative-ai SAM SYCAMORE, SENIOR EDITOR OF ENGINEERING @ TOPTAL With proper instruction, LLMs can be highly effective coding assistants. This step-by-step guide shows you how to generate a call to an external API using Python and the OpenAI API. Mon, 08 Apr 2024 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/openai/create-your-own-ai-assistant create-your-own-ai-assistant TAREK MOHAMED MEHREZ, SOFTWARE AND DATA ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Security engineering is a fast-moving field, and getting left behind is not an option. This ask-me-anything-style Q&A covers compliance frameworks, security checks, and the importance of a DevSecOps approach. Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/cybersecurity/devsecops-cloud-security-questions devsecops-cloud-security-questions GÖKAY PEKŞEN, IT SECURITY DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Image labeling can be a tedious, time-consuming task, compounded by the sheer volume of data needed to train deep neural networks. This article breaks down large data set processing and explains how a new SaaS product can help automate image labeling. Mon, 18 Mar 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/machine-learning/ai-image-labeling ai-image-labeling NEVEN PIČULJAN, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SPECIALIST @ TOPTAL Apache Spark is an analytics engine that can handle very large data sets. This guide reveals strategies to optimize its performance using PySpark. Mon, 12 Feb 2024 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/spark/apache-spark-optimization-techniques apache-spark-optimization-techniques NECATI DEMIR, PHD, MACHINE LEARNING DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Setting up authentication in an app with a disparate front end and back end is tricky. This tutorial proposes an innovative solution using JWT and GraphQL. Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/angular/angular-wordpress-graphql angular-wordpress-graphql SAJJAD HOSSAIN SAGOR, WORDPRESS DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Next.js is best known for server-side rendering, but these innovative strategies can help developers configure web apps for more speed, reduced server load, improved SEO, and much more. Sun, 21 Jan 2024 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/next-js/nextjs-rendering-types-page-speed-optimization nextjs-rendering-types-page-speed-optimization SUBHAKAR TIKKIREDDY, NEXT.JS DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL In this ask-me-anything-style Q&A, leading Toptal cybersecurity expert Ilia Tivin responds to colleagues’ questions on AI in cybersecurity and provides data and network protection tips and best practices. Mon, 30 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/cybersecurity/questions-about-ai-cybersecurity questions-about-ai-cybersecurity ILIA TIVIN, CYBERSECURITY ADVISOR @ TOPTAL Generative AI advances raise new questions around data ownership, content integrity, algorithmic bias, and more. Here, three experts at the forefront of NLP present recommendations for developing ethical generative AI solutions. Fri, 15 Sep 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/future-of-generative-ai-ethics future-of-generative-ai-ethics MADELYN DOUGLAS, TOPTAL Build a simple, reusable foundation for your video processing apps and alleviate the common challenges of video manipulation. Thu, 10 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/computer-vision/computer-vision-pipeline computer-vision-pipeline NATHAN BABCOCK, FRONT-END DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Design patterns offer a convenient way to tackle challenges with tried-and-tested solutions, saving developers time and effort. Here’s how React design patterns allow for coherent modules with less coupling. Tue, 01 Aug 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/react-design-patterns-and-best-practices react-design-patterns-and-best-practices MUDASSIR IJAZ, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL In this ask-me-anything-style Q&A, leading Toptal AI developer Joao Diogo de Oliveira fields questions from fellow engineers about resources for pivoting to ML, approaches to large language models, and the most critical future applications of AI. Tue, 25 Jul 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/trending-questions-about-ai trending-questions-about-ai JOAO DIOGO DE OLIVEIRA, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Generative AI is taking the world by storm, with potentially profound impacts on the content we create. Learn the basics of AI image generation and produce sophisticated artistic renderings with this tutorial. Fri, 02 Jun 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/advantages-of-ai-gpt-image-generation advantages-of-ai-gpt-image-generation JUAN MANUEL ORTIZ DE ZARATE, DATA SCIENTIST AND DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Want to expand your skills amid the current surge of revolutionary language models like GPT-4? In this ask-me-anything-style tutorial, Toptal data scientist and AI engineer Daniel Pérez Rubio fields questions from fellow programmers on a wide range of machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence topics. Mon, 22 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/artificial-intelligence/ask-an-nlp-engineer ask-an-nlp-engineer DANIEL PÉREZ RUBIO, DATA SCIENTIST AND DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Formosa enhances crypto wallet management by leveraging easy-to-remember, themed security sentences rather than traditional and disparate recovery keywords. Formosa is secure, intuitive, and efficient. Wed, 03 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/blockchain/formosa-crypto-wallet-management formosa-crypto-wallet-management YURI DA SILVA VILLAS BOAS, SECURITY ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Discover the differences between React and Next.js, a framework used by companies like TikTok, Hulu, and Nike to supercharge their web apps. Plus: Learn when and how to use Next.js, including rendering, routing, page, and navigation tips. Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/next-js/next-js-vs-react next-js-vs-react AYYAZ ALI, FULL-STACK DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL To protect client data, your system must identify and block uninvited visitors. Create a REST API using Node.js, TypeScript, and Express, enhanced with JWT support. Mon, 10 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/json/jwt-nodejs-security jwt-nodejs-security GONZALO HIRSCH, FULL-STACK DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Discover a powerful RxJS and React approach that adds state management to single-page applications. RxJS provides an elegant, succinct, and comfortable implementation for developers that becomes more effective with custom libraries. Fri, 17 Mar 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/rxjs-react-state-management rxjs-react-state-management MARK EVANS, FULL-STACK DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Django’s built-in security checker identifies vulnerabilities with ease. Here’s how you can enforce HTTPS redirects to tighten security on your web applications. Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/django/secure-django-heroku-pydantic-tutorial-part-4 secure-django-heroku-pydantic-tutorial-part-4 ARJAAN BUIJK, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL JavaScript’s default synchronous methods can freeze an application, scaring off end users. Here’s how you can leverage asynchronous JavaScript techniques to increase control over front-end responsiveness. Mon, 20 Feb 2023 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/javascript/asynchronous-javascript-programming asynchronous-javascript-programming MUHAMMAD AMMAR ILYAS, WEB DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Programmers gain valuable real-world skills from algorithm competitions that can boost their job prospects—and contest ratings make it easier for hiring managers to find top talent. Explore competitive C++ with a programmer whose scores got them recruited by Google. Tue, 07 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/c-plus-plus/c-plus-plus-competitive-programming c-plus-plus-competitive-programming ANITET WHEELER-ROSE, FULL-STACK DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Microsoft’s Entity Framework Core is a popular object-relational mapper, but it doesn’t support the return of complex type results from stored procedures. A clever bit of code gets us around this limitation, returning non-database entities with ease. Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/dot-net/entity-framework-core-stored-procedure entity-framework-core-stored-procedure PANKAJ KANSODARIYA, BACK-END DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL With the rise of big data, cloud, and streaming platforms, monolithic apps just won’t do. Here’s a blueprint for an adaptable and scalable event-driven microservices project using Kafka and Python. Mon, 30 Jan 2023 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/microservices/event-driven-microservices-kafka-python event-driven-microservices-kafka-python DMITRY SHUROV, SOFTWARE ENGINEER @ TOPTAL SolidJS is a blazing-fast framework that dodges virtual DOM manipulation. Let’s see how it compares to React, the industry standard, when it comes to components, performance, and developer productivity. Tue, 17 Jan 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/solidjs-vs-react solidjs-vs-react NATHAN BABCOCK, SENIOR REACT ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Today’s cloud building blocks empower any size team—even a lone engineer—to build big data solutions. Learn how to use open-source tools to create scalable architecture for your next project. Mon, 16 Jan 2023 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/big-data/ksqldb-kubernetes-tutorial ksqldb-kubernetes-tutorial DMITRII BOLOTOV, SOLUTION ARCHITECT AND DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Bugs are often buried deep within the code and software developers spend a great deal of time hunting them down. Many software developers debug front-end code using the browser’s console logging, but this is cumbersome and inefficient. Discover how React Developer Tools can speed up the debugging process by providing powerful tools to inspect components, monitor state and props, and track rendering and performance. Tue, 06 Dec 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/debugging-react-developer-tools debugging-react-developer-tools TEIMUR GASANOV, SOFTWARE ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Kotlin and Java are two powerful general-purpose languages popular for Android and beyond. We’ll discuss their top features and differences, then focus on how to smoothly transition between the two. Mon, 05 Dec 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/kotlin/kotlin-vs-java kotlin-vs-java GABE GIRO, ANDROID SOFTWARE DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Heroku makes deployment—and redeployment—incredibly simple. Explore Heroku’s Django hosting in this tutorial, and see for yourself. Tue, 29 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/django/deploy-django-heroku-pydantic-tutorial-part-3 deploy-django-heroku-pydantic-tutorial-part-3 ARJAAN BUIJK, MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Stakeholders demand quick fixes for a buggy app release. Such patching is costly, and does not always offer a complete solution. Break the cycle with unit testing, a worthwhile investment in project quality. Tue, 29 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/qa/unit-testing-benefits unit-testing-benefits DACIAN FLOREA, MOBILE APPLICATIONS DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL With websites being viewed on so many different types of devices and in so many screen sizes, a responsive user interface is more important than ever. Leverage the power of two popular technologies with the React-Bootstrap library for performant, responsive components. Tue, 15 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/bootstrap/react-bootstrap-components react-bootstrap-components MATEJ BILIĆ, SOFTWARE DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Unnecessary component computation drastically reduces application performance. Avoid this pitfall by using React memoization hooks and render component caching. Mon, 14 Nov 2022 06:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/react-memoization react-memoization PRATEEK KARKI, REACT ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Naive React routing increases risk and maintenance. This tutorial provides a full exploration of routing approaches, achieving an elegant solution that seamlessly fits into any React code base. Tue, 01 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/react/react-router-tutorial react-router-tutorial NATHAN BABCOCK, SENIOR REACT ENGINEER @ TOPTAL Listening is everything—especially when it comes to effective marketing and product design. Gain key market insights from social media data using sentiment analysis and topic modeling in Python. Mon, 31 Oct 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/python/python-social-media-analysis python-social-media-analysis FEDERICO ALBANESE, DEVELOPER AND DATA SCIENTIST @ TOPTAL Explore X (formerly Twitter) data clusters to uncover user behaviors (e.g., repost and reply patterns) within online communities. This guide focuses on a politically charged data set to illustrate the process of visualizing and analyzing social data. Mon, 26 Sep 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/r/social-network-analysis-in-r-gephi-3 social-network-analysis-in-r-gephi-3 JUAN MANUEL ORTIZ DE ZARATE, DATA SCIENTIST AND DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Improving supply chains is a top priority worldwide. Discover how mathematical optimization and Python coding can help keep a complex supply chain competitive. Sun, 25 Sep 2022 23:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/mathematics-expert/supply-chain-optimization-product-blending supply-chain-optimization-product-blending MICHAEL HOPF, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Incorporate comprehensive unit testing into your Flutter project to ensure best practices and reduce bugs before—not after—the app's release. Mon, 19 Sep 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/flutter/unit-testing-flutter unit-testing-flutter DACIAN FLOREA, MOBILE APPLICATIONS DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL Clustering in machine learning has a variety of applications, but how do you know which algorithm is best suited to your data? Here's how to amplify your data insights with comparison metrics, including the F-measure. Wed, 07 Sep 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/machine-learning/clustering-metrics-for-comparison clustering-metrics-for-comparison SURBHI GUPTA, DATA SCIENTIST AND MACHINE LEARNING DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL The functional reactive programming (FRP) paradigm is becoming increasingly mainstream. In this installment, we discuss FRP essentials like system design and libraries, and implement a sample application. Wed, 07 Sep 2022 05:00:00 +0000 https://www.toptal.com/developers/android/functional-reactive-programming-part-2 functional-reactive-programming-part-2 ILIYAN GERMANOV, ANDROID DEVELOPER @ TOPTAL