"Ileolami, what is dApp? Why is everyone talking about dApp?” These were Sharon's questions after listening to my conversation with a blockchain developer. "Calm down, Sharon, I will explain everything to you," I responded with a smile. Sharon's curiosity made me take the time to explain everything in detail.
Are you as curious as Sharon, or are you already a developer wanting to start building in web3? This article is for you. In this article, you will learn the tech stack needed for web3 dApps and the role of RPC in dApps including SaaS like dRPC with practical examples and guides.
Be ready to get your hands dirty!
Web3 is a version of the web that primarily promotes and advocates for the adoption of “Decentralization” and “Freedom.” This means that people can build and interact with technology without having to follow strict rules or fear losing their identity, money, or audience because no single entity controls the system.
Web3 applications are called Decentralized Applications(dApps). These are applications that are built and operate with a web3 tech stack. This ensures that no single entity has control over the entire system, promoting transparency, security, and user sovereignty.
dApps distribute data and logic across multiple nodes, enhancing resilience and trust. Smart contracts—self-executing contracts with the terms of the agreement directly written into code—replace traditional back-end logic, ensuring that transactions are transparent, immutable, and automated.
Blockchain networks consist of many nodes (computers) working together to communicate and record transactions. Each transaction is divided into blocks, and these blocks are connected chronologically to form a blockchain. This structure ensures that once data is recorded, it cannot be manipulated or deleted without network consensus, providing a high level of security and transparency. Some of the blockchain networks include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Polkadot, etc.
A typical illustration of how blockchain networks work is shown below ⬇️
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Blockchain Network │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐ ┌───────────────┐
│ Block 1 │ ───>│ Block 2 │ ───>│ Block 3 │
│ (Hash: 000) │ │ (Hash: 123) │ │ (Hash: 456) │
│ Prev: N/A │ │ Prev: 000 │ │ Prev: 123 │
└───────────────┘ └───────────────┘ └───────────────┘
▲ ▲ ▲
│ │ │
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Node 1 │ │ Node 2 │ │ Node 3 │
│ (Miner) │ │ │ │ (Miner) │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
│ │ │
┌────────────┴───────┐ ┌──────┴──────────────┐ ┌──────┴──────────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ Full Ledger │ │ Full Ledger │ │ Full Ledger │ │ Full Ledger │
│ Copy (Node 1)│ │ Copy (Node 2)│ │ Copy (Node 3)│ │ Copy (Node 4)│
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
Distributed Ledger Consensus Mechanism Distributed Ledger
(Blockchain) (Proof of Work/Stake) (Blockchain)
Smart contracts are self-executing programmable codes written to perform specific tasks based on defined terms and conditions. For example, you and your friend decide to bet $100 on an athlete winning a race. The agreement is that if the athlete wins, the supporter of that athlete takes all the money; otherwise, the other person wins the bet. In this case, the smart contract acts as the agreement. Once the race is over, if the athlete wins, the money is released immediately to the person who supported them.
Smart contracts automatically enforce and execute the terms of an agreement when the conditions are met, eliminating the need for intermediaries. These contracts are deployed on blockchain networks and function as the backend of decentralized applications (dApps).
Different blockchain networks support different programming languages for writing smart contracts. Here, you will learn more about some of the most widely used languages and the networks that support them:
Deployment Tools are essential tools that provide a structured environment for building decentralized applications (dApps). These streamline tasks like testing, deployment, and interaction with blockchains.
They are:
While smart contracts power the backend of a dApp, the front-end is what users interact with. Front-end development tools and frameworks are essential for creating user-friendly interfaces that communicate with smart contracts on the blockchain.
They are:
Wallets are important in dApps as they manage users’ private keys, enabling them to sign transactions and interact with the blockchain. Wallet integration SDKs provide a streamlined way to connect users' wallets with the dApp, allowing secure and seamless interactions.
Some of them are:
Decentralized storage solutions are used to store off-chain data, such as files, metadata, and large datasets, in a manner that aligns with the web3’s decentralization. Decentralized storage is distributed across multiple nodes, ensuring security, redundancy, and censorship resistance.
For examples:
According to Alchemy, Remote Procedure call(RPC) is a lightweight software communication protocol, which allows a program (the client), to communicate with a remote program (the server) hosted on a different network without needing details about the server’s network.
In a short term, RPCs act as interfaces between dApp on one computer (the client) and program B (the server), built on a different blockchain network. RPC allows dApps to interact with blockchain networks and feed dApps the required data needed to function as expected e.g. Viewing account status, sending transactions etc.
RPC is made up of Node and Endpoint.
An illustration of the communication process between dApp and blockchain networks is shown below:
+--------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Decentralized Application (dApp) |
| (Client) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------+
|
| Makes an RPC Call
v
+--------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Blockchain Node |
| (Server) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------+
|
| Processes the Request
v
+--------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Blockchain Network |
| (Handles Smart Contracts, Ledger Data) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------+
|
| Fetches/Executes Data
v
+--------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Response with Requested Data |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------+
|
| Returns Data to dApp
v
+--------------------------------------------------+
| |
| Decentralized Application (dApp) |
| (Client) |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------+
+--------------------------------------------------+
In order to simplify the complexity of setting RPC nodes and endpoints, RPC node providers (Software as a Service) takes aways the burden from developers such as dRPC. They provides developers with configured RPC endpoints that can be used to interact with blockchain deveopers.
dRPC serves as a gateway for Web3 developers and users to access a distributed network of independent third-party partners and public nodes. It is designed to distributed workload and ensure that requests are handled efficiently, no matter how busy the web3 ecosystem becomes.
It offers the following features:
Connect
button.
Ensure you’ve already have a wallet extension installed on your browser
sign a message to continue
create new
button on your dashboard. create
. Key settings
API Key
, and click on the clipboard icon 📋to copy your API Key
Congratulations, you’ve successfully create your API Key for your dApp 🎉
Image save app
Endpoints.
mainnet or testnet
HTTP or WS.
Note: the endpoints always end with the API keys
Congratulation, you’ve successfully generate an RPC endpoint for your dApp 🎉
Stats
on the Navbar in your dashboardDetailed Stats
, you see detailed stats on Method calls over time, Latency by network(average) and Method.Error log
. This log contains requests with errors for the last 3 days, which can be opened and viewed in detail.Upgrade
on the nav bar.Add Fund
showing the Input field and the amount of CU you will receive based of the inputed amount.Another interesting feature about dRPC is that you can pay in any cryptocurrecncies of your choice
Congratulation, you’ve successfully add funds to your dRPC account 🎉
Setting
on the Navbar, and Click on Billing
.You will see your Current balance and Transaction history
Now that you understand the core fundamental tech stack for dApp development and the role of RPC like dRPC, it's time to put this knowledge into practice. You will learn how to build a Coffee Payment dApp.
The Coffee payment dApp is a decentralized application built using React.js and dRPC API key and Endpoint. This project demonstrates how to create a simple dApp that allows users to make payment easily from their wallet on the Ethereum network.
The dApp leverages smart contracts to faciliate payment, retrieve total number of coffee sold and total amount of ether made in decentralized manner, ensuring security, transparency, and immutability.
Follow the detailed tutorial below to get started.
Web3 applications are changing the industry by enabling developers to create apps that emphasize autonomy, decentralization, and transparency. This article has provided you with a comprehensive understanding of the tech stack required for building dApps and the crucial role of RPC like dRPC in their development.
By now, you should feel inspired to dive deeper into web3 and start building your projects. For further learning, search for "WEB3" on HackerNoon and explore the excellent content from other writers.
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