DEV Community: Gottfried Moh

Protecting APIs by Merging Tools and Security Best Practices

Gottfried Moh — Mon, 22 May 2023 15:37:31 +0000

Rapid uptake in adoption by industries ranging from banking to retail to autonomous vehicles of customer- and partner-facing and internal application programming interfaces (APIs) to drive internet traffic has resulted in an equally rapid growth in endpoint attacks - more than 11 billion over just 18 months according to a report from edge computing security leader Akamai. It makes sense that they are more vulnerable to threats from malicious actors, given API endpoints' similarity to internet-facing web servers, and their role as pipelines between divergent platforms.

For DevSecOps teams, protecting APIs is a top priority; they are vital to mobile, SaaS, and web applications and paramount to a healthy software development lifecycle. API security is also a natural extension of DevSecOps' push to break down silos between development, security, and operations and move toward automation and design that integrates security as a shared responsibility.

Thus, it is time to view API security not as an external bottleneck, but as a part of a stable long-term strategy. This can be achieved by altering company attitudes and investing in API tools that facilitate testing, enforce governance standards, and automate recurring security tasks.

Adopt an API-as-a-Product Strategy

A primary reason digital transformation efforts have failed for many brands is because they do not see APIs adding value. As such, they've lost track of the potential return on investment (ROI) APIs can deliver. When APIs are not viewed as assets or value-generating, they aren't subject to the appropriate level of protection or security performance oversight. In fact, Akamai's report highlighted the fact that many enterprises relegate API security checks to the end of the lifecycle and rely on traditional network security solutions which aren't designed to protect against the attacks to which APIs are subject.

This is starting to change, however, as API-as-a-Product strategies gain traction within the developer community. There is a notable shift away from delivering project features based on budgets and deadlines to holistically examining APIs as products and assessing their capabilities. Further, as the concept of monetizing APIs gains prominence, their protection becomes a higher priority at the outset, with organizations more inclined to adopt a human-centered design approach.

What this means is moving API regression tests to the forefront rather than treating them as an afterthought. It means adopting a design-first approach - wherein everyone on the team speaks the same language and every tool is able to leverage the same design - from the outset with the help of an API management platform. This will also help ensure that APIs are built on established authentication and authorization mechanisms such OAuth 2.0, which is the industry-standard protocol for authorization, and OpenID Connect.

API testing tools are critical for protecting something upon which most services in use daily rely. These tools let developers see if an API is reacting adequately to unexpected inputs or possible security attacks. They show immediately if an application is running with optimized functionality, reliability, and security.

Whether it is running user authentication, parameter tampering, unhandled HTTP, or fuzz testing, it is imperative to test an API contract to ensure that services can communicate and that the data they share is consistent with a specified set of rules or standards. Further, there are many solutions in the API testing market, including cross-cloud API testing software, software that supports asynchronous testing and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) integrations, and end-to-end testing - as well as solutions that support various formats eliminating the need for developers to learn new languages.

Continuous testing is essential across the DevSecOps pipeline, as is robust test coverage based on API contracts that have been designed and approved. Plus, by chaining together complex API transactions and workflows, cases can be tested on-demand using continuous delivery or CI/CD to reduce downtime.

Security in 360-degree Lifecycle Management

While API security considerations have typically been an afterthought to ever-increasing business demands, the reality is that no enterprise can afford for software security checks to be the last stage of an API lifecycle. Rather, security must be part of a 360-degree API lifecycle management strategy. It should be incorporated into every level, from planning and design to developing, testing, and release management - all the way out to deprecation.

Developers must also have oversight throughout the entire API lifecycle - which is where an API management platform comes into play. A dedicated platform can provide workflow visualizers that show an API's complete lifecycle in a single view with issue alerts, which helps accelerate production using CI/CD in the DevSecOps pipeline to build trusted artifacts and more rapid iterations, thereby guaranteeing a security-first mindset.

API tools also allow perimeter scans, which enable the discovery and inventory of APIs and allow for easy breakdowns for DevSecOps teams to work with. The best platforms will leverage a command line interface (CLI) - a unified tool for managing and controlling multiple services from the command line or with automation through scripts - to make APIs more easily discoverable. The team can easily determine where and how many APIs are deployed; a level of visibility that is mandatory for enterprises.

Tools for Success

In short, an API team is only as successful as the set of tools at its disposal.

API security best practices are no mystery to seasoned security professionals - and they start with establishing solid API security policies through an API management platform.

Finally, a collaborative approach to API governance - in line with the DevSecOps mission to eliminate siloes - is imperative for any organization's security.

About APIWizAPIwiz is a low-code, API automation platform allowing developers to build and release reliable APIs quickly. With APIwiz, API teams have complete control, visibility, and predictability over their entire API program, allowing organizations to stay open and connected.

Why Learning to Code Is the Ultimate Skill for Future-Proofing Your Career

Gottfried Moh — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 12:50:13 +0000

As technology continues to shape the world we live in, it’s becoming increasingly clear that learning to code is one of the ultimate skills for future-proofing your career. With the demand for technology skills rapidly growing across all industries, the ability to code is no longer just a valuable asset but an essential one.

Coding is a great skill on its own, but it can even enhance your existing skills such as writing or marketing. In this article, we’ll explore why learning to code is so important and how it can help you future-proof your career with practical advice that will further your learning.

Why You Should Learn Coding

Firstly, let’s consider the job market. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, computer and information technology jobs are projected to grow by 11% between 2019 and 2029, much faster than the average for all other occupations.

This growth is expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs in the field, making it one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. By learning to code, you position yourself to take advantage of this growth, opening up a world of exciting career opportunities in technology.

Tech Takeover

Moreover, technology is rapidly transforming the way we work across all industries, from healthcare to finance to retail. As businesses become more reliant on technology to stay competitive, the demand for tech-savvy professionals who can develop, implement and maintain technology solutions is skyrocketing.

By learning to code, you develop a growth mindset that allows you to stay current with the latest trends and technologies. This not only helps you stay relevant in the job market but also allows you to continually improve your coding skills and take on new challenges throughout your career.

Professional Growth

In addition to the job market benefits, learning to code can also enhance your problem-solving skills, creativity, and critical thinking abilities. Coding requires you to think logically, break down complex problems into manageable parts, and find creative solutions to technical challenges.

These skills are transferable to many other areas of life and can be applied to problem-solving outside of coding. For example, problem-solving skills in coding are easily applicable to the logistical aspects of sales work. Finding the fastest and most cost-effective way to tackle a problem is something that coding instills in its pupils.

Fulfilling Career Path

Furthermore, coding is a skill that can be used to build and create, making it an incredibly fulfilling pursuit. The ability to build and bring ideas to life through coding is a powerful tool, allowing you to create software, websites, and apps that can further your financial future. By learning to code, you gain the ability to create things that matter and make a difference in people’s lives.

Not to mention, coders aren’t going to be hurting for opportunities for a long while. Even with the rise of AI, there’s always going to be value in a human developer who is willing to work with a team.

Your career path can help you build wealth, it can help you in the future in case you need to work on your credit score and take out a loan as employment history is one of the things lenders will review.

The Basics Of Learning How To Code

So, how can you start learning to code? There are many resources available online, including coding boot camps, online courses, and coding communities where you can connect with other developers and learn from their experiences.

Pick And Stick To One Programming Language

There are many programming languages to choose from, such as Python, JavaScript, and Ruby on Rails that could be the foundations of your first project.

There are too many languages out there to list down, but what’s more important than your first language is sticking to that language for at least a year.

Programming at its core involves using instructions to tell a computer what to do. You can’t learn the basics if you keep changing languages while learning. Most computer languages aren’t all that different, so it’s best to stick with a language you find relevant to your goals.

Practice Consistently

Practice, as always, makes perfect, and the same goes for programming. Start with simpler projects and gradually work your way to more meaty projects. There are many online resources available to help you learn to code, such as Codecademy, FreeCodeCamp, and Udemy.

As far as scheduling goes, make sure to set aside a set amount of hours each week where you’re learning new things. Coding doesn’t have to be rushed, but you do need to be learning something every week. Stagnancy is the enemy of progress, and to avoid that, make sure you always have time to practice coding.

Connect With The Community

Programming is often a collaborative effort, and working with others can help you learn faster and get feedback on your code. Join online communities, attend meetups, and contribute to open-source projects to expand your knowledge.

The community is also a great avenue to vent your frustrations and worries. All these developers have had their own wellness issues. They can help you work your way through the tougher parts of coding in ways that are relatable to you.

Sign-up to our Newsletter to receive more resources and blogs like this in your email.

Ada Developers Academy: Diversifying the tech industry for good

Gottfried Moh — Thu, 30 Mar 2023 11:54:29 +0000

The Developer Nation community takes great pride in collaborating with organisations that contribute to the diverse and inclusive evolution of the software development ecosystem.

Featured in our blog spotlight today, the Ada Developers Academy whose mission is to prepare women and gender expansive adults to be software developers while advocating for inclusive and equitable work environments. Ada primarily serves and addresses the needs of Black, Latine, Indigenous Americans, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander, LGBTQIA+, and low-income people. Here is more about Ada as explained by Alexandra Holien, VP of Revenue and Marketing, Deputy Director.

Nine in ten students, employees, senior HR leaders, and human resources officers surveyed by Accenture in 2019 said that attracting women with tech experience is critical for their company’s success.

Gender diversity brings substantial benefits to individual companies and the tech economy at large:

Bringing more women onto engineering teams directly improves product quality – by reducing problems like algorithmic or design bias, which are made worse by a lack of diversity. Companies with above-average diversity received 45% of their revenue from new products vs. 26% for companies with below-average diversity scores.
A study by the Stanford Graduate School of Business found that greater gender diversity raises tech company share prices. Companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams are 21% more likely to outperform and out-earn the U.S. average (WomenDeliver.org), and tech companies led by women are more capital-efficient than companies run by men, achieving 35% higher ROI and, when venture-backed, 12% higher revenue (Kauffman Foundation).
Companies with inclusive environments nurture innovation and shrink the gender pay gap. A study by the Gallup Organization found that more diverse companies have 22% less employee turnover rate; creating faster, sustainable growth.

Still, many companies struggle to recruit and retain diverse talent – that’s where Ada Developers Academy comes in.

Our one-year, tuition-free coding school fast-tracks women and gender-expansive* folks into junior software developer roles. Through six months in the classroom and five months in an industry internship with one of our company partners, Ada students build the skills and experience they need to become developers. We know our model works – 94% of our graduates are hired into full-time software engineering jobs within six months of graduation.

We develop engineers who are highly skilled and collaborative; graduates are experienced in practical, team-based software development and learning new technology rapidly. Our students are highly diverse; all are women or gender-expansive, 72% are people of color, 40% are racial minorities underrepresented in tech (Black, Latine, Indigenous, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander), and 34% are LGBTQIA+. Through our internship program, we help you find your future software developer from our diverse talent pool while also providing inclusive leadership training to managers to build better teams, better tech, and better business.

Our company partners rave about Ada graduates:

“Ada is a great partner that produces professional, and technically skilled women, who have proven successful in a fast-paced, technically challenging environment. Not only have the employees that we have hired through Ada internships continued to grow in their careers, given the strong foundation they started with, but they have all been strong carriers of our core values. They are collaborative, communicative and passionate about their work…I’ve gotten to know a lot of different coding education programs, and Ada continues to be a favourite to work with.”

Zillow

“Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace is a top priority for Skytap. We know we still have a long way to go, but also recognise, we would not be where we are today without Ada. We have learned a great deal on the importance of having diverse talent and perspectives and inclusion in the workplace at all levels. Our organisation absolutely reaps the rewards by having more diversity in thought as we build a great product for our customers.”

Skytap

“The ability to attract outstanding tech talent is one of our greatest challenges. Ada has allowed us to do that while increasing the diversity of our workforce. Our software engineering organization is now 30% percent female — three times the national average. Ada has had a huge positive impact on our work culture. We’ve made improvements in our inclusivity and hiring practices, and it’s awesome to give our male developers the opportunity to work with devs who break the mold and shatter stereotypes.”

EnergySavvy

“After graduating from Ada, I not only successfully entered the industry but also advanced my career more quickly than I ever thought possible. Now, as a CTO, I can create opportunities for so many more people from non-traditional backgrounds, and I’m excited to impact how a whole company thinks about talent.”

Strike Graph CTO and Ada alum

“We want and could employ so many more Ada students.”

Amazon

Ada welcomes companies of all sizes to share in our mission by becoming a partner. We not only partner with tech heavyweights like Amazon, Google, Uber, and Microsoft, but also smaller companies and startups seeking diverse talent. Alexandra Holien, VP of Revenue and Strategy at Ada explains, “Companies are finally seeing the positive impact diversity has on productivity and the bottom line. DEI has steadily and rightfully become a priority for big tech. We are giving them direct access to the most diverse pool of talented coders that will transcend the next generation.”

After nearly ten years of success in Seattle, Ada began expanding operations across the U.S., starting with Atlanta in 2021 and the greater Washington, D.C. area in 2023. “Our aim in expanding to diverse cities that are beginning to experience tech industry growth is to ensure that the wealth generated by the industry benefits the whole community and not just a select few,” says Ada CEO Lauren Sato. “Coming from Seattle, we have seen how booming tech can push communities out of their city, and we hope to see Atlanta become the first market to grow tech from within.”

Since our founding in 2013, Ada has served over 1,000 participants and generated $50M in new salaries for women and gender-expansive folks in the tech economy, narrowing gender and racial equity gaps in one of our most prosperous and influential sectors.

Learn more at www.adadevelopersacademy.org, and contact partnerships-team@adadevelopersacademy.org for information on partnering with us. Follow Ada on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, or Facebook.

*Ada uses a national reference for the term “gender-expansive” (also sometimes called non-binary, non-conforming or genderqueer) and Transgender provided by GLAAD: https://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender

DevOps 101 for a Dev Who Doesn’t Like Ops

Gottfried Moh — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:58:14 +0000

(To the tune of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)

Now this is a story all about how
DevOps improves software development, here and now
And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there
I’ll tell you why DevOps should make developers care

In the world of software, development and ops
Often work apart, and it’s easy to flop
But DevOps brings them together, for a common goal
To make software faster, better, with more control

Now that the sick rhyming has captured your attention, let me tell you why even as a developer with little knowledge of ops knowledge, I’m a big fan of DevOps. It’s so time-saving that I cover the basics, even when I’m the sole developer on a project. Who doesn’t like saving time?

The basics of DevOps

So, what is DevOps? At its core, DevOps is a culture and set of practices that aim to break down the barriers between development and operations teams to improve collaboration and efficiency. It involves automating and streamlining the software development process, from code creation to deployment and beyond. DevOps is not just a set of tools or processes, but a way of thinking about software development. It’s about creating a culture of collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement. With DevOps, developers and operations teams work together to build, test, and deploy software faster and more reliably.

Additionally, DevOps promotes collaboration and communication between different teams, which leads to a more efficient and streamlined development process. By breaking down the silos between development and operations teams, everyone is on the same page, working towards the same goal. This results in faster and more reliable releases, as well as overall better quality of the product. In short, DevOps is a time-saving and collaborative approach to software development that ultimately leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.

Why should developers care about DevOps?

You might be wondering why, as a developer, you should care about DevOps. After all, isn’t that more of an operations thing? Well, the truth is that DevOps is highly relevant to developers as well. According to the Developer Nation Survey 23 results, DevOps adoption keeps increasing (from 47% to 56% in 1½ years), while most of the implementation work is done by software developers themselves, with an earlier Developer Nation report mentioning only 5% of the DevOps practitioners being DevOps specialists.

In my mind, this makes sense. DevOps is, at its core, a culture of breaking down the walls between devs and ops people. While a specialist can be invaluable in complex implementations, or to help kickstart a culture, the culture itself should be the responsibility of generalists. By adopting DevOps practices, you can save time and streamline your development process. You can avoid manual steps in building and deploying your code, get test results without running tests, and have your changes live in production far faster than you would without DevOps. Sure, setting up version control, pipelines, testing, and deployments takes some effort. But more often than not – even sometimes when you’re the only one working on the project – the investment is worth it!

DevOps exists to make your life easier

This is the bottom line – DevOps is not there to create a new profession of DevOps consultants (just like Agile Software Development isn’t there to ensure Agile Coaches make their bread). It’s there to make the lives of devs and ops people easier. By adopting DevOps practices, whenever I am actually working with Ops, DevOps makes the collaboration easier as everything is traceable, often reversible, and even easier to document. This means that if there are any issues or bugs, we can quickly identify where the problem occurred and take steps to fix it.

According to the Q3,2022 Pulse report DevOps implementation witnesses more instrumental action from the programmers and software developer community with a 45.6% involvement, while the supervisory roles reflect the participation of less than 12% with Tech/engineering team leads at 11.2%, architects involvement at 10.7% and the C-level CIO/CTO and IT management roles at the lowest 10%. Computer and data science students show some practical learning involvement with 13.3%.

DevOps also encourages frequent communication between developers and operations, which helps to avoid misunderstandings and ensures everyone is working towards the same goals. The result is a more efficient and effective development process, with better quality software releases and happier customers. And even when I’m working by myself, DevOps makes it easier to deploy, maintain, and scale my apps. This collaboration can help to identify and fix issues earlier in the development process, reducing the risk of costly delays and downtime caused by issues discovered during deployment or after release.

Just recently, I was building a .NET MAUI project – my first one – and realised I only had a rough idea of how to build, test and publish an app, and not even that on how to distribute it. The obvious solution was to let someone else figure the details out for me. Luckily, I have someone who knows more about this stuff – namely, GitHub. Getting the basics to function using GitHub and Visual Studio App Center took me about an hour. GitHub Actions would take about 15 minutes to ship my code – from checking in to having a download available on App Center – and I don’t have to do anything! I should probably add some tests to the build process, but hey, I’ll add those right after I’m done with the documentation. If you want to read more, the whole article is here.

How to get started?

Here are some simplified steps to get started with your journey as a DevOps-savvy developer:

Automate everything you can: Automate your build, testing, and deployment processes using tools like GitHub, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, TeamCity, and GitLab.
Collaborate with Operations: Work closely with your Operations team to understand their needs and to ensure your code runs smoothly in production.
Embrace Continuous Improvement: DevOps is all about continuously improving your development processes, so always look for ways to streamline and improve your workflows.
Learn by Doing: DevOps is a hands-on approach, so start by experimenting with new tools and practices on small projects.
Prioritise Communication: Effective communication is essential to DevOps, so ensure you regularly communicate with your team to ensure everyone is on the same page.

And remember, DevOps is a journey, not a destination. By taking small steps towards automation, collaboration, and continuous improvement, you can gradually incorporate DevOps practices into your development workflows and reap the benefits of faster, more efficient software development. Don’t get too attached to any one tool – plenty of tools exist, and you can get tremendous value from many.

Bio: Antti Koskela is a Microsoft MVP trying to stay current on what’s what in the Azure and .NET world, and a Developer Nation Dev Committee member.

Developer Nation 23rd Edition Pulse Report

Gottfried Moh — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 16:16:23 +0000

Our latest Pulse Report (Q3, 2022) has been out for a couple of weeks now, providing deep insights into the developer eco-system from a community perspective.

If you haven't checked it out yet, here's a small teaser video we made for our Youtube channel. When you're there don't forget to hit the subscribe button ▶️

Watch here

community #developer #pulsereport

Integrating Test Automation In Small Tech Business: Advantages And Disadvantages

Gottfried Moh — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 11:10:27 +0000

Software testing verifies that the software or product meets the technical requirements of the project and works as expected. It checks for bugs and errors to ensure that the product delivers an ideal user experience. Software testing is vital to the success of the project. However, it could be time-consuming and stressful to execute without using automation tools. Simply reviewing the entire project manually could be a massive burden on the testing team, especially in the case of heavy-duty software.

It has become increasingly important for small tech businesses to integrate software automation testing in their development process. Testing automation tools allow testers to perform the tests with greater accuracy and efficiency. The tools handle the bulk of the grunt work so the testers can devote their time and attention to more critical tasks.

This article will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of test automation for small businesses.

Advantages of Test Automation for Small Tech Businesses

Test automation can help small tech businesses in various ways. For starters, it can help them to streamline their operation and improve the quality of their product or service. Here are some more advantages of test automation to small businesses.

Increased Efficiency

Automation testing helps the testing team to save time and be more efficient in the testing process. For instance, In manual testing, the testing process is entirely left to the testers, so testing can only happen during working hours. On the other hand, a test automation approach does not require manual intervention, so it can be executed around the clock; the testers can set it on the schedule, thus saving time and getting conclusive test results faster.

Test automation could also be run on multiple devices simultaneously, further speeding up the testing process and reducing the testing time.

Improved Accuracy

Small tech businesses looking to perform more thorough testing can benefit from the improved accuracy of test automation. During manual testing, you have to rely on the expertise and exposure of the testers. They could make mistakes, especially when they have to perform repetitive tasks. The quality of the tests could decline as the project becomes complicated. On the other hand, automation tests are highly repeatable and consistent; you can run automated tests severally without any reduction in thoroughness.

Test automation can reduce the risk of human error so you can get the best quality results.

Better Coverage

Performing end-to-end tests on lengthy projects can be challenging with manual testing. The testers and developers may be unable to efficiently cover all memory contents, data tables, internal program states, and file contents to ascertain if the software works as expected.

With test automation, you can increase the depth and scope of tests to review all parts of the software. It can help you to create more complex test cases, test more features, and improve the overall quality of your software.

Early Identification of Issues

Test automation can help you to detect bugs and errors earlier in the development process. This helps to speed up the development process while ensuring that smaller problems are attended to before they transform into more complicated issues.

The earlier the defect is identified, the easier it is to fix it and the more cost-effective it is to resolve the issue. According to IBM Science Institute, a bug discovered in the testing phase costs fifteen times more than a bug discovered in the design phase, and a bug discovered in the implementation phase costs a hundred times more to fix than a bug in the design phase. You will save more money if you can uncover all the hidden errors earlier in the production process.

Disadvantages of Test Automation for Small Tech Businesses

As the famous saying goes, “every coin has two sides”. The same goes for test automation. Test automation may offer some disadvantages for small businesses. Here are some of the possible disadvantages of test automation.

Initial Cost

Small businesses may be unable to afford the high initial setup and implementation costs. However, this depends on the scope and complexity of the project. Larger projects require more time and resources, which may cause a tremendous financial strain for small tech businesses.

Maintenance Cost

They also have to deal with the cost of maintenance. Automated tests must be constantly modified and maintained as the product changes to ensure that they continue to function effectively. For example, suppose there is a modification to the software’s user interface. In that case, the testers must update the test scripts to reflect the new change. This can be time-consuming for the testing team.

Lack of Flexibility

Automation testing is not as flexible as manual testing. As automated tests are designed to test specific scenarios or situations, they may have difficulty adapting to changes or unexpected results.

Not Suitable for Open-Ended Testing

Open-ended and exploratory testing involves randomly testing the products to check how they behave under different conditions and uncover unforeseen issues. Automated tests have a defined purpose, making them unsuitable for tests that need to be performed randomly.