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Imagine being able to rent out the idle space on your computer’s hard drive to people and businesses globally, and in return, make profits. Or think about having a database hosting sensitive information, which is secure from multifarious threats and hacks. Blockchain is creating all these new opportunities and possibilities that we couldn’t have imagined before. To develop a decentralized app with blockchain is another buzz in the digital world. DApps are software with almost no downtime that no central authority can control or shut down. They are open-source applications that use smart contract solutions to execute transactions on the blockchain. Let’s understand about blockchain-based decentralized apps in a more detailed manner.
Decentralized Applications (DApps)
For an end-user, a dApp does not have much distinction than traditional apps we use today. However, what makes dApps different and far superior is blockchain, the uunderlying technology used to build it.
A developer can develop a decentralized app's front-end code and user interface in any language, that can make calls to its backend. Its backend code is deployed on a decentralized peer-to-peer network, while all records of the applicationʼs operation are stored on the blockchain.
If we develop a blockchain-based decentralized App, it also provides additional security advantages. As transactions are distributed across nodes and encrypted on the blockchain, it leaves no central point of failure for a hacker to breach and gain access.
Key Attributes of DApps
Given that the concept is still in its infancy, there is no defined explanation of what is a Dapp. However, the following are some noticeable common features that make an app a Dapp.
Open Source
Essentially, a DApp must operate with an autonomous governing system, and any changes must be decided by the majority of users’ consensus. Also, a dApp’s codebase must be available for audit or scrutiny.
Decentralized
Operational and transactional records of a dApp should be stored on a decentralized ledger to ensure that no single authority gains its control.
Rewards
Transaction validators in a blockchain invest human efforts, computing power and electricity to validate transactions and add them as a block in the chain. Thus and so, it is important to incentivize them in cryptographic tokens to make the system sustainable.
Protocol
The stakeholders in a decentralized application must agree on a cryptographic consensus algorithm to show proof of value. For instance, Ethereum uses Proof-of-Work for transaction validation.
Also Read: Why Develop a DApp | Is It Better Than A Traditional Web or Mobile App
Develop DApps over Traditional Apps
The following section highlights the key advantages that decentralized applications provide over traditional applications.
- Tamperproof and unalterable records.
- Highly secure and immutable from hacking, intrusions and any other potential threat
- Faster payment processing due to having no intermediary, such as an integrated payment gateway for accepting funds
- Greater anonymity, privacy, and security with no lengthy signup processes
- Reliable data records as users can access the public blockchain to verify and check transaction information
Steps to Develop a DApp
The DApp development process can be quite complex as compared to the process of building a centralized application or traditional software. In the following section, go through a high-level overview of the steps required to develop a decentralized app.
First Step
The DApp development process’s first step is to determine the right business use case. An appropriate way, to begin with, is to outline the problem and assess if a decentralized app can address it.
Are you looking for encrypted transactions? Or do you need to safeguard data with immutability? Perhaps, you may want to decentralize or distribute the information? Basically, you need to think in this way about solving a problem with a DApp.
Second Step
The second step involves creating a proof of concept (POC), which can make stakeholders completely understand the idea. After the establishment of the POC and its demonstration to the right people, it is time to create visual and technical designs.
Experts suggest that the POC should be precise, for instance, creating a smart contract or user interface demonstrating how the end-to-end cycle works will be sufficient. One important thing to ensure is that it must not take more than 2-4 weeks to complete the POC cycle.
Third Step
Upon successful POC completion, determining the right underlying technology for the dApp development is crucial as there are various distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based platforms available. Each blockchain development platform provides different advantages and fits best only for their specific use case. Here. it is important to pick the right blockchain technology platform as per your requirements, such as transaction speed, scalability, consensus mechanism, public or private network functionality, and more.
Fourth Step
After finishing the development, the next step is to deploy the DApp on the test network. The step is necessary to scrutinize the code and find any bugs or errors before going live.
Fifth Step
Now, the DApp is ready to launch on the production server after the code and functionality testing and when it functions as per defined in the POC. We need to more attentive here as there will be no room for errors in the production server environment. In a traditional app, you can write the code, deploy the app and then modify it again whenever needed.
Best Blockchain Platforms to Develop a DApp
Some of the most popular blockchain platforms to develop a DApp are Ethereum, EOS, Corda, and more. Here’s a brief discussion about the key features of each of these blockchain app development platforms.
Ethereum
For a DApp development, Ethereum is most suitable due to its provision to create 'smart' smart contracts. Ethereum smart contracts are applications that operate without any censorship, downtime, fraud or third-party intermediaries.
Ethereum has its native crypto coin known as Ether, used to pay for transactions and services on the ethereum network.
Hyperledger
Hyperledger is one of the most popular open-source blockchain platforms to develop DApps. It is a collaborative project maintained by the Linux Foundation.
Hyperledger projects propel the collaboration between cross-industries by providing blockchains and distributed ledgers. The project focuses on improving the reliability and performance of blockchain based application and make them adaptable for global business transactions for use cases in financial markets, and supply chain companies.
Hyperledger Frameworks:
- Sawtooth
- Iroha
- Fabric
- Burrow
- Indy
Also, there are some Hyperledger Tools:
- Caliper
- Cello
- Composer
- Explorer
- Quilt
EOS Blockchain
EOS.IO is a unique blockchain-powered open-source platform that mainly focuses on decentralization. At Oodles, our developers use the EOS blockchain platform to build and deploy enterprise-grade decentralized applications.
EOS blockchain enables developers to code a DApp according to specific needs.
EOS uses a unique consensus algorithm called the delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS).
Due to DPoS consensus, EOS provides fast transactions, scalability, low-latency, and much more.
Also Read: EOS Blockchain: Is It a Better Investment for DApp Development
Corda
Corda is an open-source blockchain platform used to develop a decentralized app requiring secure facilitation of financial agreements with smart contracts.
It provides the global interoperability of public networks, they can have the privacy of private networks. It enables the sharing of transactional data only with permissioned participants, and thus, ensuring no information hacks or leaks.
With Corda blockchain development services, you can create an ecosystem of interoperable decentralized applications for commerce, finance, and more, called CorDapps.
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