Category: Tips

Tips

Enhancing Developer Security Skills: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in the Human Element

Post author By Jeanicka Rhey
Post date August 23, 2023

As a cybersecurity professional, you know the significance of foreseeing attacks, identifying issues, and fortifying a defence. You are capable of program management, planning, and analysis. You have the knowledge, qualifications, and experience required to complete the task. But what if the performance of the personnel of the enterprises and organizations you assist in protecting depends on their actions? You must be able to connect with them.

A cybersecurity team must explain to these individuals the significance of recognizing potential cyber dangers. In cybersecurity, having a strong IT team is very important. Businesses that have not made investments in cybersecurity are at a significant risk. Your capacity to defend them against cyber dangers depends on your skill, knowledge, and intelligence (IQ).

However, emotional intelligence (EQ) is crucial as you collaborate to educate your clients’ enterprises about cyber-attacks and the essential defences. Your emotional intelligence (EQ) reflects how well you can control your emotions and comprehend those of others. Your team dynamic will be enhanced, and you’ll perform better in the cyber battle by raising your EQ. Here are five ways that improving your EQ will benefit you.

Improve Team Motivation

IT specialists are needed by businesses and organizations for more than just cybersecurity. For cybersecurity, they want a group of enthusiastic IT specialists. You are aware of the value of your work. You are aware that ransomware attacks leave crucial enterprises incredibly exposed.

These assaults serve as a constant reminder of how valuable you are. You and your group maintain the required systems. Every business you service relies on you for both defence and offensive. You must possess motivation. Sure, learning to code effectively is crucial, but gaining a high EQ can boost your confidence and keep you interested in finding solutions and preventing problems.

You are inspired to progress when actively involved in your task. Being driven makes you more alert and prepared for anything. Your company’s brand is set when everyone on the team is motivated.

Boost Morale

The morale of your workforce fosters self-motivation. The impact of EQ improvement on your mentality is one way it might boost morale. Low self-esteem is correlated with low morale. Gaining emotional intelligence skills and increasing self-awareness also boosts your confidence. Businesses you guard look at their defensive team for both intelligence and confidence.

You frequently collaborate with others. Morale has an impact on people. To explain to staff members why it’s crucial to develop strong passwords, for instance, requires effective cybersecurity people skills. Employees are typically the first line of protection against cyberattacks. They must be vigilant for viruses, attentive when handling passwords, and skilled at spotting phishing emails.

They will benefit from your team’s work and your positive attitude as they strive to succeed. You’ve undoubtedly spent money on schooling and certifications to improve your ability to accomplish your work. If you make an investment in raising your EQ, the reward will be considerably higher. You can enrol in coaching or read about techniques to improve your emotional intelligence and increase your success.

Help Find Weak Areas

One of the cornerstones of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. You will be a valuable addition to any firm and to your team if you can recognize your shortcomings, the vulnerabilities of your team, and the weak spots in a company’s defence. Working on your EQ helps you develop that emotional muscle on a personal level to use in the workplace.

Provide Conflict Resolution

Any team will inevitably experience conflicts, especially in high-stress industries like cybersecurity. If you focus on your emotional intelligence, you’ll be able to function more effectively under pressure independently and in a team

Gain the Trust of Companies and Organizations

Businesses rely on you to impart knowledge and assist in constructing a defence that safeguards them so they can focus on what they do best. It’s true that people are more interested in how much you care than how much you know. Another component of a high EQ is empathy. When you establish an emotional connection with someone, they will trust you more.

If you suppress your emotions in formal contexts, it could be challenging to accomplish this. The secret is to develop the ability to express the right emotions at the right time without letting them control you. Being empathetic shows those you work with that you care about your work and their problems. You can increase your reputation as a trustworthy cybersecurity expert by doing so.

Final Thoughts

High-IQ people frequently underestimate their emotional intelligence. You will work better with your team and provide better services to businesses if you improve your EQ. For example, you can raise your EQ by reading or enrolling in coaching. A high EQ will help in increasing motivation, boosting morale, spotting problem areas, settling disputes, and fostering trust. To become a better leader and cybersecurity professional, you should put time into raising your emotional intelligence (EQ).

Tips

Mitigating Threats and Vulnerabilities in CI/CD Environments through Secure Coding

Post author By Jeanicka Rhey
Post date August 9, 2023

As organizations increasingly embrace Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) methodologies to accelerate software delivery, security in these environments becomes a paramount concern.

The fast-paced nature of CI/CD pipelines can inadvertently introduce significant vulnerabilities, exposing software systems to potential cyber threats.

To mitigate these risks and safeguard critical assets, adopting secure coding practices is crucial. In this article, we delve into the best practices for fortifying CI/CD pipelines against threats and vulnerabilities, empowering development teams to build and deploy software with security at its core.

Understanding the Risks in CI/CD Environments

Common Threats and Vulnerabilities in CI/CD Pipelines

1. Code Injection Attacks

Code injection attacks, including SQL injection and Remote Code Execution (RCE), are among the prominent risks in CI/CD environments. If not appropriately addressed, malicious actors can exploit vulnerable code to tamper with data, execute unauthorized commands, or gain illicit access to critical systems.

OWASP Top 10 reports that code injection remains a concerning issue, accounting for 19% of reported vulnerabilities in web applications.

2. Insecure Dependencies and Libraries

CI/CD pipelines often rely on third-party libraries and dependencies to streamline development. However, libraries that are not up-to-date or from unverified sources might contain potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious individuals.

3. Insider Threats and Privilege Escalation

Insiders with access to the CI/CD pipeline can inadvertently or maliciously introduce vulnerabilities. Privilege escalation is a concern when users are granted excessive permissions, enabling unauthorized actions within the pipeline. According to a recent Insider Threat Report, 68% of organizations experienced insider attacks in some form, emphasizing the importance of robust access controls.

4. Configuration Issues and Secrets Exposure

Misconfigured CI/CD tools and environments may inadvertently expose sensitive information, such as passwords and API keys, to unauthorized parties.

5. Lack of Security Testing and Monitoring

Failing to incorporate security testing and monitoring in CI/CD pipelines can result in undetected vulnerabilities and prolonged exposure to threats. A recent survey revealed that only 40% of organizations conduct security testing throughout the development lifecycle.

Secure Coding Best Practices for CI/CD Pipelines

Code Review and Static Analysis

1. Importance of Peer Code Review

Peer code review is a fundamental practice in CI/CD environments to identify and rectify potential vulnerabilities early in the development process emphasizing the importance of CI/CD security from the outset. Studies show that peer review can detect up to 60% of defects and significantly reduce the number of security issues in software.

2. Utilizing Static Code Analysis Tools

Security sit in early-stage software development can be significantly enhanced by leveraging static code analysis tools. Static code analysis tools automatically scan the source code to identify security vulnerabilities and coding errors. The use of such tools can reduce the number of security defects by up to 85%.

Implementing Proper Authentication and Authorization

1. Secure Access Control Mechanisms

Robust authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and strong password policies, bolster the security of CI/CD pipelines against unauthorized access attempts.

2. Role-based Access Control (RBAC)

RBAC ensures that users have the appropriate permissions based on their roles, limiting their access to only necessary resources within the CI/CD pipeline.

3. Least Privilege Principle

Adhering to the least privilege principle grants users the minimum level of access required to perform their tasks, reducing the potential impact of a compromised account.

For example, a CI/CD pipeline administrator is given only the necessary permissions to manage the pipeline infrastructure. This limits the scope of an attacker who gains access to the administrator’s credentials, minimizing the potential damage.

Managing Dependencies and Third-Party Libraries

1. Regularly Updating Dependencies:

Regularly updating third-party libraries and dependencies helps to patch security vulnerabilities and ensure the use of the latest features.

2. Validating and Verifying the Integrity of External Libraries

Ensuring the authenticity and integrity of third-party libraries before integrating them into the pipeline safeguards against supply chain attacks.

3. Using Trusted Sources and Repositories

Relying only on reputable and trusted sources for third-party libraries reduces the likelihood of introducing malicious code.

Instead of downloading libraries from random websites, developers should use official repositories and package managers like npm, Maven, or PyPI, which are more secure and continuously monitored for vulnerabilities.

Secrets Management and Configuration

1. Storing Secrets Securely

Storing sensitive information, such as API keys and passwords, in secure, encrypted storage systems prevents unauthorized access.

2. Encryption and Decryption of Sensitive Data

Encrypting sensitive data in transit and at rest ensures that even if intercepted, the information remains unreadable to unauthorized entities.

3. Techniques to Avoid Hardcoding Credentials

Avoiding the practice of hardcoding credentials directly into the code helps prevent accidental exposure.

For example: A developer utilizes environment variables or configuration files to pass sensitive data to the application during runtime, reducing the risk of accidental leakage through version control systems.

Security Testing and Quality Assurance

1. Incorporating Security Testing in the CI/CD Pipeline

Integrating security testing tools into the pipeline enables continuous security checks throughout the development lifecycle.

For example: A CI/CD pipeline includes automated security testing, such as SAST (Static Application Security Testing) and DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing), to detect and address vulnerabilities early in the development process.

2. Automated Vulnerability Scanning

Automated vulnerability scanning tools help identify security weaknesses in software components, improving overall security posture.

Before each deployment, the CI/CD pipeline automatically runs a vulnerability scanner to identify any known vulnerabilities in the application’s dependencies and libraries.

3. Fuzz testing and Penetration Testing

Fuzz testing and penetration testing help identify potential weaknesses and security flaws by simulating real-world attack scenarios.

Conclusion

Securing CI/CD pipelines through robust coding practices is not just a choice; it is imperative for modern software development. As evidenced by the prevalence of code injection attacks, insider threats, and insecure dependencies, the risks faced by organizations today are both persistent and dynamic.

To stay ahead in the cybersecurity landscape, organizations must integrate secure coding practices at every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. By conducting peer code reviews, utilizing static code analysis, enforcing proper authentication and access controls, and managing dependencies with care, teams can significantly reduce the attack surface.

By recognizing the vital role secure coding plays in ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of software, organizations can foster a culture of security awareness among developers.

AI Content Detection Report

Plagiarism Report

Tips

Headless Raspberry Pi Setup – WiFi and SSH

Post author By Ayan Pahwa
Post date August 8, 2023

Setting up a new Raspberry Pi Board can be daunting without a monitor and keyboard, Once you flash a new image of the Operating System – Raspberry Pi OS or similar, the next obvious step is to boot the Pi, log in to it and access the terminal over SSH. But for a headless setup, i.e. without a Monitor and Keyboard, it’s not that straightforward. The same goes if you’re using a lite image of the OS (without a Desktop Environment). For SSH to work, you first need to get your board on your home network, even if you manage to create an ad-hoc network between your Pi and workstation, the SSH is disabled for security reasons.

Are you ready to influence the tech landscape too? Take part in the Developer Nation survey and be a catalyst for change. Your thoughts matter, and you could be the lucky recipient of our weekly swag and prizes! Start Here

There are two simple ways to sort this out, and we’ll look into it one-by-one

#1 The Simple Way: Using the official Raspberry Pi Imager,

Raspberry Pi’s official flashing utility can be downloaded from here . This tool allows you to pick the OS image you want to flash. It also has a setting page where you can enable SSH and add credentials of your home router WiFi SSID and password. All this information is baked into the OS image during the SD card flashing process.

#2 The Ninja Way: Underneath the hood

While the Raspberry Pi Imager way works pretty straightforward, for the ninja user, it’s important to understand how this all works underneath the hood. So the job of the flasher programmer is to partition your SD card into two segments – BOOT and the Root File System (rootfs) of the raspberry pi. This is how typical how Linux distributions are stored.

The boot partition holds all the essential files used during the booting process, including the bootloader, and the rootfs partition holds the primary filesystem of the Linux operating system. Now let’s add settings for our WiFi connection and enable SSH on the raspberry pi board the ninja way.

Once you flashed a new operating system, the SD card shall be auto-ejected, so re-insert the SD card, and you shall see a partition named BOOT mounted on your system. Create a new file in the root folder of the boot partition with the exact name – wpa_supplicant.conf. In this file add following using your favourite text editor or terminal:

“` code-block

This information shall be used by “wpa_supplicant”, a utility used by Linux distributions like Debian to connect to wifi networks. After the boot is complete, it’ll scan for WiFi networks nearby and connect to your SSID and password you supplied.

Don’t worry about supplying your password in plain text, after the boot, this file will be removed automatically.

Now to enable SSH, which is disabled by default for security, just create a new empty file with the name ssh in the root directory of the boot partition. Use the terminal command to create this file

And that’s it, your raspberry pi will be connected to your WiFi network and ready to accept incoming SSH connection requests, and all this is done without ever connecting your board to a monitor and keyboard – Headless.

Test your SSH connection from your workstation open the terminal, and type:

and you shall be logged in.

Found this tutorial interesting? Read more about the latest trends in Embedded System development in our previous blog here and take your embedded projects to IoT using MQTT via this blog here .

Tips

Building Scalable and Resilient Web Applications: Strategies for Developers

Post author By Srdjan Gombar
Post date July 26, 2023

Currently, there are 6.9 billion people with access to smartphones and at least some form of internet worldwide. This means that, when developing an app, you have a potential audience of well over 80% of humankind.

Now, while it’s unrealistic to expect any app to pull these numbers (even Instagram is used by “just” 2.35 billion), the tipping point past which your app can no longer function as before is far closer than you assume.

To make matters worse, it takes just a couple of (very) dissatisfied users to ruin your rating and leave enough bad reviews to ruin your app’s reputation. This is why you must ensure that your app is scalable and resilient. Here are the top six strategies to help you with that.

Horizontal scaling

When structuring your servers, vertical scaling makes the most sense. After all, upgrading the server, you’re already using or starting with an impressive server (the one that gives you room for growth) is intuitive. The problem is that this system is not the most reliable. Instead, horizontal scaling, where you add more servers instead of improving a single one, might provide you with more value.

Horizontal scaling is impressive because it will allow you to withstand much higher traffic. For an app developer, having more users is the optimal end goal, so not having a plan for success simply makes no sense.

Horizontal scaling improves performance, and it’s much more cost-efficient. Adding a server sounds expensive, but it offers you flexibility and simplicity. After all, you can add more servers as you go. This means you don’t have to start too ambitious (like with vertical scaling).

Most importantly, you have the privilege of isolating services from one another. This way, you gain a lot of resilience because a flaw, a failure, or an attack on a single service won’t compromise the rest. This also makes troubleshooting a lot easier.

The biggest challenge of horizontal scaling is achieving data consistency; however, there are more than a few ways to overcome this.

Work on load balancing

Previously, we’ve talked about the imperative of working on multiple servers. Without load balancing, this would be like having five rooms in a home and spending 90% of the time in a single one. With the help of load balancing, you can evenly distribute this and get the most out of the servers you’re using.

There are numerous load-balancing techniques:

Hardware load balancers: This is the simplest form of load balancing since it relies on having a device that distributes traffic when it reaches a certain load.

Software load balancers: This is a part of the application stack. These are virtual machines that act in a similar way to hardware load balancers.

Content delivery networks: A content delivery network is located in different locations. This caching service is scattered across the globe to provide you with an even higher service resilience.

The best thing about load balancing is that it’s incredibly scalable. This is why the sooner you start doing this, the better results you will face. When your audience outgrows your current capacity, you can provide consistent performance across peak hours.

More importantly, load balancing boosts the availability of your application. This means that, in the scenario where one of the servers falls, your app will not be completely unavailable. You’ll try to avoid this worst-case scenario at any cost.

Use mobile IP proxy in research and testing

As a web developer, you have to do a lot of research. Now, some of this research will be unavailable due to geographical restrictions. This is why you must use a mobile IP proxy while researching.

While doing research, you’re assuming a role of a customer, which means that various competitor platforms you’re researching target you based on your history. Because your research patterns may take you to the most unexpected places, the experience you get when you try to emulate the customer experience will be all but authentic.

It’s also worth mentioning that mobile IP proxy helps you avoid being blocked or flagged. Some platforms will do this if you make too many requests, which is sensible from their standpoint but may seriously slow down your research.

Then, there’s the issue of load testing and scalability. You need to see how the platform will behave when accessed through a different IP, especially one using a different locale. This way, you test whether the experience provided by your app gives a consistent experience.

Finally, you can avoid captchas and bot detection measures by rotating IP addresses. Sure, this is not a huge problem, but it’s a slight annoyance that you can easily bypass with the right approach.

Embrace asynchronous processing

Imagine a scenario where you plan a five-course meal at a restaurant but refuse to order all the meals simultaneously. Imagine waiting until you finish the first course only to request the second, the third, and so on. It would be inefficient, waste everyone’s time and cause a massive hold-up in the operations.

This is what synchronous processing is like. It’s a system where you make one request at a time and must wait for the current task to be completed to move to the next one. It will slow down the application process and make your audience perceive your application as slow and inefficient.

The solution is asynchronous processing, which makes all the necessary requests without waiting for previous tasks to finish. Since modern apps and servers running them can run multiple processes in the background, there’s no good reason not to use all this computing power.

The benefits of this process are numerous:

Improved responsiveness

Reduced latency

Scalability

Parallelism

In other words, you improve your app in all fields, directly contributing to a superior UX.

Most of these tasks are achieved through asynchronous APIs, background tasks, and non-blocking I/O libraries. The latter performs network communication without blocking the main application thread.

Look into auto-scaling

Real-time demand will consistently change. Even in video game apps, you have peak times on servers. In the past, some games tried to handle this by adding a user queue. This is hardly a technique that would work in web applications. Instead, you must create a system with enough elasticity to handle increased traffic.

More importantly, you need a system capable of efficiently managing these resources and automatically adjusting to the increased demand.

The way this functions is quite simple – you have a system that monitors the application’s performance across all users. Instead of allowing the service to slow down during peak, the system would utilize a cloud-based environment to improve CPU utilization quickly. This can be set to happen as soon as the number of incoming requests passes a certain threshold. Even here, you need the right strategy.

If we compared this to naval combat, it would be like firing your cannons seconds before the enemy vessel enters your range just because you know the shell will take a while to reach the target. In other words, you need to develop an in-depth understanding of your traffic patterns and create a system that will instantly respond (far quicker than a human-issued command ever could).

This way, you will get the optimal cost-efficiency, availability, and, most importantly, optimal performance.

The key, however, lies in finding the right auto-scaling triggers. The most effective ones are usually:

Incoming traffic

CPU utilization

Response time

The last one is a bit imperfect because, from a user’s perspective, it’s reactive rather than proactive.

Double down on performance testing

Previously, we’ve discussed using an IP proxy to test how your platform behaves when accessed from different locations. However, this is not the only metric that you should test. You must also test the following:

Load

Stress

Endurance

Spike

Scalability

Volume

Besides determining the subject of your tests, you must also figure out the KPIs you’re looking into.

Response time: The most important aspect of user experience is response time. People hate using laggy apps. Chances are that they’ll switch to an alternative, provided that there is one.

Concurrency: Users only assess your app’s performance from their personal experience, which may vary based on the time of day when they access it. With scalable development, you’ll be able to achieve a pretty similar consistency around the clock.

Error rate: Does the app break often? What are the odds of requests failing? Sure, people are more tolerant of this, but if your response time is slow, restarting the app or trying again will be even worse.

In the end, you can see how these KPIs stack. A poor response time can make a critical error exponentially worse. This is why you can’t afford to ignore a single problem.

With the right strategy, your web applications will be more scalable and resilient

By Srdjan Gombar

Ultimately, you want to prepare for traffic growth and use as many resources as you need. Finding this balance is difficult but not impossible. This will determine your app’s functionality and the cost-effectiveness of your entire project.

Veteran content writer, published author, and amateur boxer. Srdjan is a Bachelor of Arts in English Language & Literature and is passionate about technology, pop culture, and self-improvement. His free time he spends reading, watching movies, and playing Super Mario Bros. with his son.

Community Tips

How to Build a Free Educational Web3 Community in Your Country

Post author By WEB3DEV
Post date July 26, 2023

Developers can earn financial incentives from the community by teaching other DEVs how to get into Web3.

Web3 has become increasingly popular among developers. Various job opportunities arise for companies wishing to develop decentralized software and applications in various sectors to bring innovation to their businesses.

However, not all developers have enough knowledge about Web3 and its technologies to create solutions in this area. That is why a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) of DEVs in your country can be an excellent way to exchange knowledge about Web3 and still receive financial incentives for it.

The Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) is an autonomous entity based on blockchain technology, where the DAO is capable of automating administrative processes such as voting, resource allocation, and contract execution without the need for intermediaries.

These organizations have a structure that enables democratic and transparent governance. Through blockchain technology, the DAO operates with a public and distributed ledger, ensuring transparency and immutability of operations conducted by the DAO.

This means that all transactions, including votes, execution of smart contracts, among others, are recorded permanently and verifiably by any participant in the network. This strengthens trust and security in the DAO, as there is no central authority controlling or manipulating the records.

Known as the “decentralized web”, Web3 is a new internet phase that is rapidly expanding and aims to create a more secure and fair internet. Web3 is based on blockchain technology and smart contracts.

Even though it is still in its initial stages, Web3 is already the focus of projects that aim to revolutionize the way we interact within the internet. For developers who want to join this new web, one way to learn or teach about Web3 is by creating a Web3 community in their country.

How to Create a Web3 Community in Your Country

The meeting point of a Web3 community is usually a website or a free Discord application, which allows democratic access. The tool allows several types of interactions among

members, regardless of language or country, expanding the potential of each member, whether in personal or professional realms, with technical or behavioral skills.

The WEB3DEV community is ready for educational expansion in new countries. In Discord, there is already support from proficient developers in English, Spanish, and Portuguese who can help create WEB3DEV in your country, providing support to DEVs in other languages.

How to Receive Incentives to Expand WEB3DEV

At WEB3DEV, for example, DEVs are encouraged to learn, following the concept of “learn to earn”, with a commitment to be rewarded for teaching what they learn through educational materials, whether in text, video, or audio, generating this multiplier effect.

Developers can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and can adapt and transform it for any purpose. All the work at WEB3DEV is organized into “Pods”, working groups focused on specific needs.

Each “pod” has a specific purpose, and the groups share responsibilities and autonomy among participating developers. You can create a community in your country and start a pod, collaborating and bringing other DEVs freely and earning proportional remuneration based on what is produced. Or you can create a community in your country with fixed members, where developers have a connection with the “pod” and commit to the routine and demands that arise.

Based on our economic model, you can have a clearer understanding of how local community founders are remunerated:

What is WEB3DEV?

WEB3DEV is a DAO that focuses its initiatives on three pillars: education, community, and building. It brings the future of the internet in an accessible way to developers all around the world.

Created in 2022 by Daniel Cukier, Yan Luiz, and Melk, the community is dedicated to creating content that encourages all software developers to share high-quality knowledge about Web3.

Through WEB3DEV, didactic content about blockchain is taught. Additionally, it promotes the connection of companies and developers to foster new talent and build and support DEV teams in Web3 projects.

Any developer can start a WEB3DEV community in their country, using or creating content and adapting it to the local language. Participating in this community can be a unique opportunity to improve your skills, meet other developers, and contribute to the development of Web3 technology worldwide. If you want to create a community in your country, please get in touch with the DAO directly through our website.

Salaries Tips

How well-paid do developers feel?

Post author By Brayton Noll
Post date July 14, 2023

Studying wages and compensation can offer insights into the supply and demand of various skill sets in an employment market. Despite recent layoffs across many technology companies, our data indicate that the number of professional developers across the globe continues to rise. A driving factor in the persistent growth of developers worldwide is that modern enterprises recognise the fact that, as technology becomes increasingly intertwined with society, all companies are or will ultimately become technology companies.

This means that grocery store chains, online commerce platforms, and car manufacturers alike must all compete against one another to attract developers. Compensation is one of the principal means used to vie for said talent. Understanding the compensation landscape for developers can help companies make informed decisions about salary, bonuses, equity, and other benefits they offer to attract and retain skilled developers. Likewise, studying compensation can aid developers in making decisions about their own careers, including negotiating salaries and benefits.

In this chapter, we present findings from SlashData’s latest Developer Nation survey – the 24th edition – exploring developers’ compensation patterns. We look at differences across regions and note how developers and companies alike, when negotiating compensation, need to take into account differences in costs of living and expenses. Further, we will examine developers’ self-perceptions regarding their salaries and what factors are associated with believing that they are under or overpaid.

The compensation landscape for professional developers varies greatly across the globe. In our latest survey, we collected information from developers living in more than 160 countries across the globe. As expected, the distribution of reported annual compensation reflects the diversity of respondents and the myriad of personal situations.

According to our data, 9% of professional developers earn less than $1,000 per year in total compensation – including base salary, bonuses, stock options, and other perks. This group encapsulates many of the developers working part-time, starting off their careers in internships, or working on commission. As expected, reported annual compensation is significantly correlated with overall experience in software development. Hence, as developers gain experience, they are able to command higher compensation. When we control for the differences across the globe, we find that, on average, for every year of experience a developer gains in software development, they earn nearly $4,000 more each year.

On the upper end of the spectrum, we find that roughly 6% of professional developers earn more than $200,000 per year. According to the World Inequality Database, in almost every country in the world, workers earning above $200K a year belong to the top 1% of earners in that country. This is one indicator that developers’ average compensation is higher than in other sectors of the economy. Below, we break down the average compensation by region to offer a bit more context to the earnings of developers.

Regional differences

North American professional developers report the highest average annual compensation – more than $100,000. The median compensation in the region, however, is closer to $75,000. Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, developers working in South Asia report the lowest average compensation of just under $27,000 and the median compensation is around $5,500 per year. As is frequently the case with compensation, those with higher earnings greatly inflate the average, as is evident when we compare the median vs the average annual compensation.

Anyone who has travelled outside their hometown recognises that the costs of goods and services can vary depending on where you are in the world. Compensation very often reflects these differences in the cost of living. Should developers and companies wish to compare compensation between two locales, considering these differences is crucial.

As an example, we examine two countries with large developer populations: the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China. The median compensation of developers in the USA is around $75,000 per year. This is five times greater than the median developer compensation in China of $15,000 per year. However, when we account for differences in costs of living using the purchasing power parity index, we see that the average developer in China earning $15,000 per year can afford similar goods and services as a developer in the USA earning $25,000 a year. In practical terms, this means that developers in the USA still generally enjoy a higher wage compared to Chinese developers, but by a lesser margin (3 times more vs 5 times more) than is apparent when we directly compare compensation.

Perceptions surrounding compensation

On top of asking developers about their current annual compensation, we also asked them about the compensation they think would be fair for their role. Just over half (51%) believe that the compensation they currently receive is fair for their role. Meanwhile, 39% believe they are underpaid, whereas 11% of developers report that their current compensation was more than what they believe is fair for their role.

To better understand what factors are associated with developers believing they are over or underpaid, we modelled developers’ sentiments about the compensation in their current role. We find that men are significantly more likely to report feeling underpaid in their current role. More specifically, 16% of men report feeling underpaid compared to 11% of women and 14% of developers who identified as non-binary. Conversely, 7% of women feel overpaid compared to 4% of men and 1% of non-binary individuals.

We additionally see that developers with more experience and those working for larger companies are more likely to report feeling underpaid. For each additional year that a developer gains in experience, we estimate that there is approximately a 7% increase in the odds that the developer will report feeling underpaid compared to fairly compensated. This suggests that companies do not financially value experience to the same degree as developers do amongst themselves.

However, more experience and working for a larger company are both correlated with being compensated higher. This could indicate that more experienced developers working at larger companies have responsibilities that they feel are not commensurate with their compensation. On the other hand, sentiments of being underpaid could also stem from a perception based on a lack of information, being influenced by larger companies’ generally greater profit margins, or unrealistic thinking from the developer.

Finally, if a developer has an undergraduate degree in software engineering, they are more likely to report feeling underpaid. The odds of a developer with an undergraduate degree in software engineering feeling underpaid vs paid fairly, are 9% greater when compared to all other developers. This effect disappears, however, once developers have a postgraduate degree; as having a postgraduate degree increases the odds of feeling overpaid by 50% compared to not having a postgraduate degree.

This could indicate that companies place a lesser value on undergraduate education than developers perceive they will; possibly leading to the sentiment of feeling underpaid by those who do not yet hold advanced degrees. Other external factors, such as geographical location, also affect how a developer perceives their compensation, likely due to cost of living differences, as discussed in the previous section.

Compensation is often considered a difficult topic to discuss and research due to the taboo nature of discussing money in many companies and cultures. Our aim with this chapter is to open up the conversation surrounding developer compensation with our analysis.

Do you like data such as the above?

If you’re a professional or hobbyist developer into Web, Mobile, Desktop, Cloud, Industrial IoT, Consumer Electronics, Embedded Software, AR & VR, Apps/extensions for 3rd-party ecosystems, Games, Machine Learning & AI, and Data science, we would like to hear your voice.

Tags developer compensation, developer salaries

Tips Tools

Artificial Intelligence Developer Toolkit: Essential Tools and Frameworks for AI Development

Post author By Anastasia Stefanuk
Post date July 11, 2023

Artificial Intelligence has been around for a long time. People have studied it and have made progress but it’s only in recent years that people have started to recognize how AI is being used. Research on AI shows how much it can affect different industries in the years to come.

AI can be used correctly to enhance the human experience as a whole. AI is used for automation so that processes that are tedious and repetitive can be done easily. Automation is needed by different industries. Whether it is businesses that are focused on healthcare or those who are running their Ecommerce website, automation is going to play a huge role in how consumers will use apps and purchase other needed items.

Importance of Essential Tools and Frameworks for AI Development

An AI engineer can work better with the right tools and frameworks to develop the right apps that people will love. People from various industries who would like to start an AI project should understand that there are always different requirements that are needed. Some tools and frameworks can work well together depending on the project being created.

A wide variety of tools and frameworks are thoroughly discussed by other professionals on the internet. They are available in forums, on some websites, and even through videos. An artificial intelligence developer will have no issues in trying to find the right information for a project.

Data Preparation and Preprocessing

If there is one thing that is crucial in data preparation and processing, it is data quality. Machines are created by people and they will not work unless people have set them up very well. It has always been said that people are only as good as their mentors. If they want to become better, they need experience, they need more than one mentor, and they need different inputs and outputs.

This is the same with the machines for AI. The data quality can highly impact the reliability of the machines. The accuracy and performance of the machine will only be as good as the people who are making the machines work. Artificial intelligence programmers are aware of this fact. This is why they always make an effort to provide a diverse and quality dataset to the machines.

Tools and Techniques for Data Cleaning, Transformation, and Feature Engineering

Good data and bad data can help businesses. Recognizing the bad data can eliminate the extra work that will be done to create the right dataset for any industry. Data cleaning is not people’s favorite activity but it is required to create the right type of data for the project.

It is through data cleaning that bad data can be weeded out from the dataset. Once this is figured out, the issues will be properly corrected. Some data can be considered unfixable which means that they need to be removed.

The usual reasons for unclean or bad data are the following:

Human error
Getting scrap data
Combining data from different sources

The use of bad data can make businesses spend more money than they should which is why it should be eradicated.

To do effective data cleaning, transformation, and engineering, these are the techniques to do:

Get rid of duplicates – You can get duplicated entries when you get information from different sources. Get rid of duplicates so that you will not skew the results.
Get rid of irrelevant data – Data that is not important to the project will only slow down the results. Remove things that will add nothing to the data that you have.
Make sure that text is consistent – One way that you can do this is by standardizing capitalization. Those who can also do NLP labeling can help with this.
Clear formatting – Most machines are unable to read data accurately if the data is heavily formatted. You may be dealing with different formats especially if you have gotten your data from various sources. Clear formatting and the data will be read smoothly.
Carefully remove errors from the data – This should be done to get a reliable dataset. Key findings might become hard to see if you do not clean the errors immediately.

Machine Learning and Deep Learning Frameworks

Machine learning is continuously growing and it can provide the smart solutions that businesses from different industries need. The frameworks can be understood better because of the libraries, interfaces, and tools that are available for people to view and study.

TensorFlow

This is created by Google’s Brain Team and it can be used for Python. It uses dataflow graphs to create and process data. This is preferred by those who do AI development because the learning models are easy to build. It can also be used for powerful research and experimentation.

PyTorch

This is a framework created by Facebook’s AI Research Lab also known as FAIR. This can be used for different libraries such as Python and C++. The framework is designed to be scaled and improved so that it can become more flexible depending on the project that you are making. This is best for people who are already familiar with C and C++ as there are some similarities.

Scikit-Learn

This is an open-source data analysis library which is usually one of the first choices when people want to do machine learning for Python. This can be helpful for data that needs to be segmented depending on the algorithm. It will also have the ability to recognize data based on the patterns that it shows.

Natural Language Processing Tools

NLP tools and techniques are very helpful for AI as they can make AI more accurate. The process can also be done in a faster time as compared to not using the right NLP tools. NLP allows applications to do more every day. People can also gain more every day because of this. The more that technology improves, the more sophisticated the algorithms that become available.

Essential NLP Libraries and Tools

People who are searching for IT jobs in Germany usually try to increase the number of skills that they have. Still, they cannot just rely on their skills. They need to make an effort to learn more about the libraries and tools that they can use.

Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) – This is a library that supports various tasks from text segmentation to semantic reasoning in Python. This is the main tool that professionals use for NLP and machine learning.
TextBlob – This is the tool that most beginners use when they want to make better experiences while still exploring Python and NLTK. This can help design people’s prototypes.
Core NLP – This is one of the tools that can be used when you are using Java. It is required that you have Java installed on your device before you can use this for different processes like sentiment analysis and part-of-speech tagger.

Model Evaluation and Deployment

How sure are you that your machine is providing the type of data that you are looking for? You need AI development services from a trusted company or professionals. They should know the different techniques to check the accuracy of the AI model that has been created.

Accuracy

This is the most widely used metric for model evaluation. This will show you the ratio between the corrected values and the data that you have placed on the machine. This will also show you if the classes that you are trying to analyze are imbalanced.

Precision

This will provide the percentage of the predicted positive instances. This will let you know if the model is giving you information about how right the machine is when it says that it can accurately read the data.

Specificity

The percentage of the negative instances are being measured against the actual total of the negative instances. This can be the most effective if you want to measure the actual number of people who have indicated negatives in the data set vs what the machine says is the percentage of negative instances.

Machine learning is not something new. An artificial intelligence development company can offer professionals who can use the right tools to deploy AI and machine learning easily. People have already learned a lot of details about it and it is expected to become more accurate in the years to come.

Different machine learning tools might become steeper for beginners especially if they do not know anything about the processes. The sheer determination of people can weed out those who can become good at it.

Community Tips

8 Java Programming Tricks Every Java Developer Should Know

Post author By Daria Minkevich
Post date May 2, 2023

Java is one of the most popular programming languages in the programming world, used by millions of developers to build complex software systems and applications. As a Java developer, it’s essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques to remain competitive and produce high-quality code. In this article, we’ll explore eight Java programming tricks every Java developer should know, including how java developers for hire can help you implement them in your projects.

Use Lambda Expressions

Lambda expressions are a powerful feature introduced in Java 8 that allow you to write functional-style code with less boilerplate. With lambda expressions, you can define a method as a parameter to another method, reducing the amount of code you need to write. For example, instead of writing:

List<String> names = new ArrayList<>();
for (Person person : people) {
    names.add(person.getName());
}

You can use a lambda expression like this:

List<String> names = people.stream()
.map(Person::getName)
.collect(Collectors.toList());

This code is more concise and easier to read, making your code more maintainable.

Use Optional Instead of Nulls

Nulls can cause many problems in Java code, including NullPointerExceptions, which can be difficult to debug. Instead of using nulls, use the Optional class, which allows you to represent an object that may or may not be present. Optional provides a safer and more elegant way to handle nulls in your code.

Use Streams for Collection Operations
Streams provide a concise and powerful way to perform operations on collections in Java. With streams, you can perform operations like filtering, mapping, and reducing without the need for complex loops or temporary collections. Streams can significantly simplify your code and make it easier to read and maintain.

Use String.format for String Concatenation
String concatenation can be a performance bottleneck in Java code, especially when concatenating large strings. Instead of using the + operator, use the String.format method to concatenate strings. String.format creates a formatted string that you can customize with placeholders and arguments, making your code more readable and efficient.

public class StrFormat  
{  
    /* Driver Code */  
    public static void main(String args[])  
    {  
        String s1 = new String("Hello");    //String 1  
        String s2 = new String(" World");    //String 2  
        String s = String.format("%s%s",s1,s2);   //String 3 to store the result  
            System.out.println(s.toString());  //Displays result  
    }  
}

Use Immutable Objects

Immutable objects are objects whose state cannot be changed after creation. Immutable objects are thread-safe and can simplify your code by eliminating the need for locks or synchronization. Use immutable objects whenever possible to improve the performance and reliability of your code.

String name = "baeldung";
String newName = name.replace("dung", "----");
assertEquals("baeldung", name);
assertEquals("bael----", newName);

Use Interface Default Methods

Default methods were introduced in Java 8 and allow you to add methods to an interface without breaking existing implementations. Default methods provide a powerful way to extend existing interfaces and create more flexible and maintainable code.

import java.time.*; 
public interface TimeClient {
    void setTime(int hour, int minute, int second);
    void setDate(int day, int month, int year);
    void setDateAndTime(int day, int month, int year,
                               int hour, int minute, int second);
    LocalDateTime getLocalDateTime();
}

Use Reflection Sparingly

Reflection is a powerful but dangerous feature in Java that allows you to inspect and modify the behaviour of a program at runtime. Reflection can be slow and error-prone, and should only be used when necessary. If possible, use other features of Java, such as interfaces, to achieve your goals.

import java.lang.reflect.*;

 
   public class DumpMethods {
      public static void main(String args[])
      {
         try {
            Class c = Class.forName(args[0]);
            Method m[] = c.getDeclaredMethods();
            for (int i = 0; i < m.length; i++)
            System.out.println(m[i].toString());
         }
         catch (Throwable e) {
            System.err.println(e);
         }
      }
   }

Use Enumerations Instead of Constants

Enumerations are a more powerful and flexible way to represent constants in Java. Enumerations allow you to group related constants and define their behaviour, making your code more expressive and maintainable. Use enumerations whenever possible to avoid the problems associated with traditional constants.

public class Main {
  enum Level {
    LOW,
    MEDIUM,
    HIGH
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    Level myVar = Level.MEDIUM; 
    System.out.println(myVar);
  }
}

Use Try-With-Resources for Resource Management
Try-With-Resources is a feature introduced in Java 7 that allows you to automatically close resources such as files, sockets, and database connections after they are no longer needed. Try-With-Resources can simplify your code and ensure that resources are always properly closed, reducing the risk of resource leaks and other problems.

Use Javadoc to Document Your Code
Javadoc is a powerful tool for documenting your Java code. With Javadoc, you can create professional-looking documentation for your code that can be easily shared with other developers. Javadoc can also help you understand your own code better and identify potential problems and bugs.

Use Dependency Injection for Loose Coupling
Dependency Injection is a design pattern that promotes loose coupling between components of a system. With Dependency Injection, you can inject dependencies into a class instead of creating them inside the class, reducing the complexity and dependencies of your code. Dependency Injection can also make your code more flexible and easier to test, making it a valuable technique for Java developers to learn.

Use Unit Testing for Quality Assurance

Unit Testing is a crucial technique for ensuring the quality and correctness of your Java code. With Unit Testing, you can test individual units of code in isolation, identifying and fixing problems before they become larger issues. Unit Testing can also improve the maintainability of your code by ensuring that changes and updates don’t introduce unexpected side effects or bugs. As a Java developer, it’s essential to understand and practise Unit Testing to produce high-quality, reliable code.

Conclusion

Java developers for hire can help you implement these programming tricks in your projects. The tricks we mentioned can improve the quality and efficiency of your code, and help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques in Java programming. But if you need to do it asap, Java developers for hire can help you implement these programming tricks in your projects.

Tags developers, java, programming languages

Community Tips

Why Custodial Wallets Remain Popular Among Some Crypto Users

Post author By David Breiner
Post date May 2, 2023

For storing, transmitting, and receiving digital assets, cryptocurrency wallets are crucial tools. Custodial and non-custodial wallets are the two major varieties that are available. A third party, like an exchange, manages custodial wallets, whereas non-custodial wallets allow users complete control over their assets. Although non-custodial wallets have become more common, some bitcoin users still choose custody-based wallets. We examine the benefits of custodial wallets for some cryptocurrency investors in this article.

Convenience and simplicity of use
Custodial wallets are still widely used for a number of reasons, including their practicality and simplicity. Cryptocurrency exchanges frequently provide custody wallets, making it simple for customers to maintain their digital assets in addition to their trading. When contrasting custodial wallets vs non-custodial wallets the former frequently offers an easier user experience since users are relieved of the responsibility of storing their backup phrases and private keys, which can be burdensome and confusing for certain users. Instead, individuals may easily access their assets by logging into their account anytime they need to.

Giving up control of one’s digital assets to a third-party provider is the price one pays for this convenience. On the other hand, non-custodial wallets provide users more privacy and control over their assets, but they also require them to take responsibility for managing their own private keys and security protocols. In the end, whether a user chooses a custodial or non-custodial wallet will depend on their desire for convenience against control.

Insurance and security
Users with non-custodial wallets have greater control over their digital assets, but there is also more danger and responsibility involved. A user could never again be able to access their assets, for example, if they lose their private key. Furthermore, if malware infects a user’s computer or gadget, their digital assets could be taken. Custody wallets, on the other hand, provide extra security measures like two-factor verification and advanced encryption techniques. Customers can feel more secure knowing that the vast majority of reliable custodial wallet suppliers also offer insurance against asset loss or theft.

Assistance and client services
Custodial wallets also have the advantage of the support and customer service provided by the wallet provider. If a user encounters any issues with their wallet, the provider’s support team is frequently able to assist them. This might be quite beneficial for inexperienced bitcoin users who may have questions or concerns about their wallet. Additionally, custodial wallet providers usually hire a larger team of engineers and security experts that are dedicated to ensuring the dependability and security of their platform. Updates and solutions for any possible issues could be provided more quickly as a consequence.

Integration with trading platforms and exchanges
Custody wallets also offer easy communication with bitcoin exchanges and trading systems. Due to the fact that custodial wallets are frequently supplied by exchanges, users may easily move money between their wallet and their trading account. This may prove to be of great assistance to active traders who need to move their assets quickly and successfully. Users may get a more complete view of their trading habits with the use of advanced trading capabilities and statistics that can be included in custody wallets.

Adherence to regulations
Last but not least, businesses and institutional investors typically choose custodial wallets since they adhere to standards. Since they are typically registered with regulatory entities, suppliers of custody wallets must adhere to strict security and reporting standards. This may be of particular significance to businesses that may be the target of regulatory audits or compliance inspections. Additionally, custodial wallets can offer more accountability and transparency, which makes them a more desirable option for institutional investors.

Opportunities to earn interest

Another reason for the ongoing popularity of custody wallets is the chance to make money that they provide. By creating an interest-bearing account with some providers of custody-based wallets, users may earn a return on their digital assets. Custodial wallets can provide interest rates that are far higher than those of traditional savings accounts, making them an attractive option for anybody looking to enhance their bitcoin holdings. In addition, some providers of custodial wallets provide staking services, which let users be compensated for participating in the network’s consensus mechanism. This might prove to be quite advantageous for those who hold certain cryptocurrencies that offer stacking bonuses.

Reduced fees

Custodial wallets may also be less expensive than non-custodial ones. Customers usually benefit from lower transaction fees when transferring assets between their wallet and their exchange account since custodial wallets are commonly provided by cryptocurrency exchanges. Additionally, suppliers of custodial wallets could charge less for certain services like trading or cash withdrawals. This can be especially useful for users who wish to lower their transaction costs and boost their earnings.

Conclusion
In conclusion, some cryptocurrency users continue to choose custodial wallets because of how convenient and simple they are to use. By handling the protection and storage of digital files, they provide a more user-friendly experience, but at the expense of ceding control to a third-party supplier. Non-custodial wallets provide users more freedom and privacy, but they also force them to take care of their own security precautions. Ultimately, the user’s interests and preferences will determine whether they choose a custodial or non-custodial wallet.

Tags crypto wallet, cryptocurrencies, wallets

Tips

The State of Blockchain Development

Post author By Richard Muir
Post date April 19, 2023

The distributed transaction ledgers and smart contracts that comprise blockchain technologies have applications in a wide range of industries, particularly in finance, logistics, and government. Today, we present an overview of who is involved in blockchain development and which blockchain platforms they use. Earlier on, we discussed the state of blockchain development in detail in our webinar and you can find a link to watch it below.

Engagement with blockchain technologies

Of the three blockchain technologies we track in our survey, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) garner the least attention from developers – 58% of them show no interest, likely due to its perception as a novelty technology. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies are most salient to developers – 27% are either learning about or currently working on such projects, and non-cryptocurrency blockchain technologies are very close behind, with 25% of developers similarly involved. We discussed this topic in detail in our webinar on the state of Blockchain Development.

We will focus solely on blockchain applications other than cryptocurrencies, as these technologies have the widest range of use cases and thus the most potential to shape our world. We’ll begin by looking at developers’ engagement with blockchain technologies from a regional standpoint and then through the lens of experience in software development. Finally, we’ll give an overview of which blockchain platforms are being used.

A regional view of Engagement with blockchain applications

Engagement with blockchain applications other than cryptocurrencies, referred to as blockchain applications from here on, varies greatly depending on where developers are located. North America and East Asia excluding Greater China are hotbeds of blockchain development – 15% and 12% of developers in these regions, respectively, are currently working on blockchain applications, with another 17% learning about the technology in both regions.

“North America and East Asia are hotbeds of blockchain development”

Further down the list, we see that while the Middle East & Africa has a smaller proportion of developers actively working on blockchain projects; it has the highest incidence of those learning about them (20%). This suggests that the Middle East & Africa could well become important for blockchain development in the future. Indeed, given the region’s history of rapid adoption of new foundational technologies – exemplified by Africa’s mobile banking revolution – blockchain applications in finance and banking are particularly exciting here – though the data suggests that there may still be some way to go.

“Finance and banking professionals in the Middle East and Africa are more interested in blockchain technologies than finance and banking professionals in other regions”

About a quarter of professional developers in the Middle East & Africa who are interested in blockchain technologies are also working in the finance and banking sector. It seems these developers have seen the potential for this technology to shape and disrupt the sector and are getting a head start. Looking at this from the other side, we see that the proportion of finance and banking professionals who are currently working on or learning about blockchain applications is broadly in line with the average for the region (31% vs 33%). However, the proportion who are interested in blockchain applications is 29% higher (37% vs 29%). This is the highest incidence of interest in blockchain applications amongst finance and banking professionals across any region and indicates that blockchain applications could play a pivotal role in this industry in the future.

How does experience affect engagement with blockchain applications?

Developers with 6-10 years of experience are the most likely to work on blockchain projects. It’s likely that these developers have reached the point in their career where their technical skills are sufficiently advanced to enable them to work on such demanding projects. On the other hand, we see that the least and most experienced developers are the most likely to be disinterested in such projects. Those with less than a year under their belts have yet to build their knowledge, while the most experienced developers may be looking to maintain some stability in their career and are reluctant to change tack.

“Many of the least experienced developers are actively learning about blockchain technologies. They constitute a strong pipeline of future contributors”

Developers with 11-15 years under their belts show the most passive interest in blockchain applications – whilst they aren’t learning about or working on such projects, 32% are interested in some way. These developers are at the zenith of their careers and whilst they are some of the least likely to be learning about the technology, they are also some of the most likely to be currently working on it. These developers are likely keeping a close eye on developments in the space – should they spot an opportunity, they will be able to pivot their considerable experience to become effective contributors to the space.

How does experience affect engagement with blockchain applications

Interestingly, although we see that the least experienced developers are less likely than their counterparts with 1-15 years of experience to be currently working on blockchain applications, they are only slightly less likely to be learning about these projects. This demonstrates that although they lack the skills to be active contributors, the myriad applications and potential of blockchain applications are a powerful draw. We can expect that, as learning materials improve and the barriers to entry reduce – as is the case with many technologies – over the next few years, developers will be able to get involved in blockchain projects much earlier in their careers.

Which blockchain platforms are most popular?

Looking at the specific blockchain platforms that developers report using, we see that Ethereum is clearly dominant amongst learners and those actively developing alike. It’s also unique amongst the blockchain technologies that we ask about, in that it is the only one which is more popular amongst those learning about the technology than those who are currently working on it. This indicates that Ethereum’s ecosystem is in good shape – not only is it large, but it also has a healthy pipeline of new contributors.

Although new contributors are certainly good news – the utility of a blockchain rises with the number of applications that use it – a large influx can also create problems. For example, too many transactions on a network can slow things down severely and greatly increase the price of a transaction. For example, when CryptoKitties surged in popularity, the cost of a transaction on the Ethereum network increased ninefold, from ~$50 to over $450. Such is the price of success. This said, Ethereum’s recent transition to a proof-of-stake model is expected to reduce energy consumption by 99.95% and makes the platform more scalable, secure, and sustainable, potentially mitigating this pitfall.

“The Binance blockchain platform benefits from its association with the Binance crypto exchange and its interoperability with the Ethereum blockchain”

Further down the list, Binance Smart Chain is the second most widely used blockchain platform and is used significantly more by active developers than learners. Here, the Binance Smart Chain not only benefits from its association with the Binance cryptocurrency trading platform, but also its interoperability with the Ethereum blockchain. We also see a similar story with the IBM Blockchain platform – this platform is based on open-source blockchain technology managed by the Linux foundation and clearly benefits from the backing of these two large organisations and their developer and business communities.

Despite the hype, blockchain technologies are still somewhat in their infancy. Blockchain, much like cloud computing fifteen or so years ago, has the potential to underpin and enable many other technologies and experiences, but as we saw earlier, only 9% of developers are currently working on such projects. Rather than affecting an instant technological transformation, blockchain technologies have the opportunity to become a foundational technology on which our digital experience sits, much like TCP-IP – the building blocks of the internet – and developers will be key players in shaping this particular view of the future.

To get more of these articles in your inbox, SUBSCRIBE to the developer nation Newsletter.