Developer Blog
Practical guides and tutorials on the tools and techniques developers use every day. Written and reviewed by developers, each article explains a concept clearly, shows real examples, and links to the free browser-based tools you can use to try it yourself.
We cover working formats like JSON, CSV, YAML and XML; encoding and decoding with Base64, URL and HTML entities; authentication topics such as JWT, bcrypt and hashing; regular expressions; UUIDs and unique identifiers; Unix timestamps and date handling; and the everyday text, color and generator utilities that speed up frontend and backend work. Every guide is free to read, needs no signup, and pairs with a private, in-browser tool so you can go from reading to doing in a single click.
What Is Key Stretching? PBKDF2 & Iteration Counts
A fast hash cracks in seconds. Key stretching runs it thousands of times so each guess costs real time — here's how PBKDF2 and iteration counts work.
SAML vs OIDC: Which SSO Protocol to Use
SAML and OIDC both do single sign-on, but one is XML-and-enterprise and the other is JSON-and-API. Here's how they differ and which to pick.
What Is scrypt? Memory-Hard Password Hashing Explained
scrypt isn't a better bit-scrambler than bcrypt — it demands a lot of memory per guess, and that one requirement is what breaks an attacker's cheapest hardware.
What Is OpenID Connect? OIDC vs OAuth Explained
"Sign in with Google" isn't plain OAuth — it's OpenID Connect adding a verifiable identity layer on top. Here's what OIDC adds and why the difference bites.
What Is a Rainbow Table? (And Why Salt Beats It)
A rainbow table is a precomputed hash lookup that cracks unsalted passwords in seconds — and one random salt makes it worthless. Here's how it works.
What Is OAuth? Delegated Access Without Passwords
OAuth isn't a login system — it's how you grant an app limited access to your data on another service without sharing your password. Here's how it works.
UUID v5 Explained: Deterministic, Name-Based IDs
UUID v5 turns a namespace and a name into the same ID every time — no randomness, no coordination. Here's when a deterministic UUID beats a random one.
What Is a Hex Color Code? (RRGGBB Explained)
A hex color code like #4F46E5 is just three numbers — red, green, blue — written in base-16. Here's how to read one by eye and mix your own.
Domain Rating vs Domain Authority: The Difference
DR (Ahrefs) and DA (Moz) both score a domain 0–100 — but from different crawls and formulas, so the numbers never match. Here's how to read each.
Markdown vs HTML: When to Use Each (and Convert)
Markdown is shorthand that compiles to HTML — not a rival to it. Here's what each is for, where Markdown falls back to raw HTML, and when to convert.
What Is a UTC Offset? Time Zones and UTC Explained
A UTC offset tells you how far a clock sits from UTC — but it isn't a time zone. Here's the difference, and why it fixes most broken-timestamp bugs.
How to Clean a Messy CSV File (Without Losing Data)
A messy CSV rarely errors — it opens and looks fine. Here's how to spot the real problem (delimiter, quoting, encoding) and clean it in the right order.
TypeScript Interface vs Type: What's the Difference?
TypeScript's interface and type overlap almost completely. Here are the few real differences — and a simple rule for which one to reach for.
Argon2 vs bcrypt: Which Password Hash to Use?
Argon2 and bcrypt are both slow password hashes — but only one is memory-hard. Here's what that means and which to pick for a new system.
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