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Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

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Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#141
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've started to remove them from my own code. It's widely mentioned as The Right Way, but I feel the reasons why are obsolete. The stated reason is always that you could forget to add braces when adding a second statement. That was useful in a time where a text editor was "smart" when it copied your indentation to a new line. But nowadays any tooling will warn you when indentation doesn't match the bracing. The odds…

You don't know what tooling anyone editing your code is using though.

If you enforce correct formatting before commits or in your CI builds that is no longer a problem.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#142
post #64
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you leave the country without setting up SMS you can’t ever use 2FA. They claim to support adding foreign numbers, support people being abroad, support adding new DigiD accounts from abroad, but oh no you can’t just add a number. Not even by going to an office or doing a virtual interview. I would think this violates EU law on discrimination. If you live in the UK post-Brexit it’s now totally impossible, I believe…

Holder of Dutch passport here. I created a DigiD account from France, using a French phone number. You plan a video conf using their web app, connect at the right time, and show your passport when asked. As an aside, I login without using their app, as my Android phone does not support Google Play. Don't know what happens if you don't have a dutch passport though. I guess they are under no obligation to render servic…

Create - from the EU - yes. As I said: you cannot add to existing that you already use extensively. And not create new from outside EU. That’s what makes it so shambolic. They clearly have the ability to both do it technically and to verify appropriately.

No problems using similar UK services for EU citizens I know, nor non-EU. Usual bank/address shenanigans at the start, but no issues with government gateway etc.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#143

Italy does the same: https://github.com/pagopa/io-app This is the official government app (you can get benefits, pay taxes, etc...), downloaded by 30+ million citizens, stack is React Native + Typescript

maybe EU countries could save a bundle and co-develop these apps. might also improve quality / ensure best practises are available to all etc.

The tax systems are national responsibility, and building a bespoke app for a given tax system is cheaper than supporting 27 widely different tax systems in a single app.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Power games happen in every large scale collaboration that does anything of value. This is not a reason to refuse doing it altogether.

You're saying how things should be. I told you how they are, from experience with both worlds. I have the impression you are vastly underestimating the "power games" happening at country/union level compared to the ones in a company. In the usual company there is a reasonably clear hierarchy, if someone doesn't fall in line some superior dons the big boots and drop kicks them all the way past the company parking lot…

EU is a collaboration between countries where anyone can veto anything, yet they still manage to pass laws. Open source is much easier in comparison: no need for full consensus and no way to retract code that has already been published.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, eIDAS is currently being amended / extended, it's driving the entire data wallet ecosystem.

Oh interesting, I didn’t know about that. Is there a place I could read more?

https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/eidas-regu...

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#146
post #112

Speaking as an immigrant from America, I really like DigiD! I wish the US had something even remotely similar. The fact that we do not have a standardized national ID easily available to everyone is embarrassing. DigiD has some minor annoyances, but it's a helluva lot better than some alternatives I could think of.

> The fact that we do not have a standardized national ID easily available to everyone is embarrassing. Surely that's hyperbole. State IDs are pretty standardized, and even more so with the REAL ID system (if the mandates for it ever go into effect). When have you ever had a problem using one state's ID in another state?

It makes coordinating your information across many different service providers much more efficient. Here in the Netherlands for example, I can use DigiD to login and pay my taxes, pay for health insurance with a private company, authenticate to my pension plan and a ton of other things.

I cant vote with my Texas ID in Wyoming. A passport might be sufficient to vote in a different state for a national election but I’m admit that I’m not 100% sure on that.

Every government agency in the US doesn’t know who I am without me telling them. And even then if they fat finger the number I could be in for a world of hurt until someone realizes.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I vaguely suspect that this is a product of the sort of environment where you have to fill out a form in triplicate to get the static analyser to let you concatenate strings (which, to be clear, may not be inappropriate for something like this). I do object to the variable being called ‘percentage’ tho, as it clearly isn't one.

This is likely an effect of translation more than anything. While the Dutch are generally very competent English speakers and writers, their expertise tends to end the conversational level. Anything technical in its conception takes decades of intense every day use to intuit. Source: native English speaker working in the Netherlands with a team of Dutch people. They are all really smart people, but they tend to err o…

I think another cause is that english tends to have simpler sentence structures when compared to dutch in the first place, and dutch folks tend to over-correct towards simplicity when speaking/writing/thinking english.

E.g. this is a perfectly cromulent dutch sentence:

"Vorig jaar zijn we gestart met scholing rondom systeemdenken met als doel de lessen rond begrijpend lezen naar een hoger niveau te tillen en de leesresultaten van de kinderen te verbeteren."

Which when fairly directly translated to english ends up something like:

"Last year we have started with schooling around system thinking with as goal lifting the classes on reading comprehension to a new level and improving the reading results for the children."

which while valid english, isn't very idiomatic -- never mind hard to parse. A native would most likely split this into three or four sentences. E.g.:

"Last year we started with schooling around system thinking. The goal of his is to lift the classes on reading comprehension to a new level. Simultaneously this will improve the childrens' learning results."

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#149
post #130

Great so now we can be sure some hacker working at an intelligence agency or criminal syndicate reads this and now knows how to hack DigiD, which is basically the Dutch government's SSO. After you get in you can do all kinds of things like apply for student loans, passport taxes etc. There will be another layer of security but still.. this is not great. Don't get me wrong I am not against publishing source code but t…

Which would you rather trust? 1. A safe that's been sitting on a public square for ten years, which the best safe-crackers in the world have tried – and failed – to break. 2. A safe hidden in a secret room that no one is allowed to access, but the manufacturer claims it's safe without real evidence beyond "trust me".

If I had great faith in the security of this product I would be fine with it.

Re: Source code for Dutch DigiD app released under Dutch Open Government Act

#150

Great so now we can be sure some hacker working at an intelligence agency or criminal syndicate reads this and now knows how to hack DigiD, which is basically the Dutch government's SSO. After you get in you can do all kinds of things like apply for student loans, passport taxes etc. There will be another layer of security but still.. this is not great. Don't get me wrong I am not against publishing source code but t…

It's the frontend app. Even script kiddies can download it from the Play Store and decompile it.

But now they have more information. Comments. Variable names. Decompiled code is difficult to read.
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