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While numerous technological advancements and breakthrough innovations are disrupting the industry ecosystem, Blockchain is unarguably one of the major innovations to date that has reshaped the way we do business.
Simply put, a blockchain is a distributed, immutable, highly secure digital ledger that has succeeded in capturing the attention of the industry giants, especially in the Fintech and Supply chain space. With the aim to eliminate the intermediaries in financial transactions, blockchain systems offer substantial data security and transparency. Hence Blockchain development has become one of the hottest career options on the market.
If you’re interested in starting a career in Blockchain development, here’s a guide on how to go about creating your first decentralized app or DApp.
Defining the Problem Statement and Goal
Defining the problem statement is the first and foremost step in the process of any app development. You must identify the problem areas which your decentralized app or DApp is expected to solve. Given the wide-scale adoption and popularity of blockchain development, some might think as a go-to solution for any sort of problems, however, certain problems may not be solved by the blockchain either. Do a resource utilization analysis to check whether the time and resources involved in the DApp building make business sense for this use case. Only if comprehensive analysis reveals that a blockchain-based system is a marked improvement, then start building your DApp. Otherwise, you may opt for several other conventional, proven solutions.
Identify the Best Platform/Technologies
There are several blockchain platforms that enable the developers to build decentralized apps without creating one from scratch. Most of these blockchain platforms are open source and hence, you need to choose the platform according to the problem you expect the DApp to solve. Some of the key blockchain platforms for DApp development include Ethereum, BigChainDB, Hyperledger Fabric and Quorum.
Have a Clear Architecture in Place
The architecture of your DApp must be in adherence to the high-level requirements of the DApp. Though blockchain-based applications can be on the cloud, on-premise, or in a hybrid model, the cloud framework is recommended as it supports agile working.
Prepare a Consensus Document
Consensus can be defined as the process in which all the members in the blockchain network have to authenticate a transaction, given the decentralized nature of blockchain-based applications. Bitcoin is one of the most-preferred consensus mechanisms; however, based on individual needs, there are several other options to choose from. Preparing a consensus document is thus crucial while building decentralized applications on the blockchain.
Build APIs
While building a decentralized App, you may leverage pre-existing APIs. However, specific purposes may warrant the creation of custom APIs. Some of such purposes include: generating key pairs and addresses, functions related to data authentication, auditing, storage as well as retrieval of data.
Design the Front-end
The user interface (UI) of your DApp is crucial that decides the success or failure of it. Thus, it must be highly intuitive, easy to use, responsive across platforms/devices, aesthetically good. In order to achieve these objectives, make sure to choose the front-end programming language, servers and external database for the app, carefully.