> All the signature and encryption stuff in JWTs is complex. While common JWT libraries have now mostly got their stuff together, this has not always been the case.
This is a red herring. Applied cryptography was never considered an easy subject in software engineering circles. Neither was algorithms and data structures. Yet, it's still a basic tool, and developers are still expected to understand things such as why some maps allow reads in constant time while others require log time.
Some libraries being buggy never was an argument against using libraries. And do you expect your single-purpose code not to be?
I think we are seeing in this thread a knee-jerk reaction against perceived complexity. Yet, if you sit down and compare JWTs with alternatives and list all features along with pros and cons, you'd be hard-pressed to even try to put together a case for JWTs being bad.
This is a red herring. Applied cryptography was never considered an easy subject in software engineering circles. Neither was algorithms and data structures. Yet, it's still a basic tool, and developers are still expected to understand things such as why some maps allow reads in constant time while others require log time.
Some libraries being buggy never was an argument against using libraries. And do you expect your single-purpose code not to be?
I think we are seeing in this thread a knee-jerk reaction against perceived complexity. Yet, if you sit down and compare JWTs with alternatives and list all features along with pros and cons, you'd be hard-pressed to even try to put together a case for JWTs being bad.