Decentralized applications or dApps should be referred to as a class of software programs that utilize distributed ledgers for their data processes. As such, basically, every dApp consists of a front-end and smart contracts.
GetBlock prepares a shortest digest of what is required to build a successful decentralized application in 2021.
What is a dApp?
Decentralized applications or dApps are software programs using blockchains for data transfers and payments. dApps can be deployed to the blockchains that support smart contracts e.g. Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Polygon (previously Matic Network, MATIC), Eos (EOS), Tron (TRX), Near (NEAR), Solana (SOL), and so on.
In this case, ‘decentralized’ can be replaced with ‘serverless’, ‘peer-to-peer’ as dApps have no single point of centralization: server, cloud storage, dashboard, cold wallet for crypto and so on.
Launched in 2015, Ethereum was the first smart contracts platform specially created for dApps deployment while primitive Bitcoin-based game Satoshi Dice was, in fact, first dApp ever.
What are the benefits of using dApps?
Unlike ‘centralized’ applications of Web2.0 epoch, dApps are way more attack-resistant, censorship-resistant and transparent. For instance, this is crucial for gambling and betting tools when provable randomness is a pivotal element of the business model.
Also, dApps can ‘natively’ interact with cryptocurrencies, so they can easily target the rocketing audience of crypto enthusiasts.
By Q4, 2021, decentralized finances protocols (DeFis), online gambling tools, marketplaces for non-fungible tokens and high-risk schemes are the largest categories of dApps.
What do you need to build a dApp?
All in all, dApps building remains the complicated process that takes specific skills, software and infrastructure instruments.
Developers of dApps utilize special programming languages, software instruments and nodes connection services to deploy their products to distributed ledgers of all kinds.
How To Build a Dapp: Languages
Purpose-made programming languages are utilized for dApps programming. To deploy dApps to Ethereum (ETH) or other blockchain compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Huobi Eco Chain, and so on), developers use Solidity, an object-oriented programming language.
Cardano devs utilize Haskell language; dApps on Cardano (ADA) are deployed through a special Plutus Core compiler.
Also, some blockchain-focused teams created their own programming languages. ‘Singaporean Ethereum’ Zilliqa, for instance, utilizes Scilla language for its decentralized applications.
How To Build a Dapp: Software tools
Software stack necessary for dApps building can be better studied with Ethereum (ETH) as an example. Ethereum developers utilize multiple dApps development, testing and debugging frameworks such as Truffle, Etherlime, Brownie, Embark, Open Zeppelin and so on.
Metamask software is used by devs as a core wallet while The Graph instrument can optimize data structures of your dApp.
How To Build a Dapp: Nodes
Once the code of a decentralized application is ready, it can be deployed to blockchain nodes. Instead of running nodes themselves, dApps developers access nodes via APIs by nodes connection providers.
Launched in 2019, GetBlock is a high-end provider of node connection. It empowers dozens of dApps with the access to Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, Bitcoin, and other nodes.
Besides providing dApps with the access to nodes, GetBlock builds block explorers from scratch and supports CTOs with blockchain expertise. To start building on GetBlock today, please, contact our team in Telegram or Discord.
Bottom line
In a nutshell, decentralized applications are software programs where all centralized elements are replaced by smart contracts architecture.
To develop modern dApps, engineers need special software, specific programming language and nodes access provider.
