Build a better Internet experience that offers users dapp sovereignty and security.

An increasing number of developers are looking to contribute to the building of Web3. However, due to the vastness of the web3 ecosystem, it’s not easy for developers to get started promptly. If you share similar confusion, don’t worry. This article provides a quick overview of the most popular technology stacks and development environments in the Web3 space.

With the popularity of the metaverse last year, Web3 has become one of the hottest areas these days. According to DappRadar’s latest metaverse report, in 2021, blockchain companies involved in the metaverse raised $4 billion. The continued interest from investors and companies has also led to more developers joining startups in the web3 space.

In the Web2 era, web services were primarily centralized and controlled in the hands of tech giants. On the contrary, Web3 creates an accessible and fully self-governed experience. Its features include decentralized, trustless web infrastructure, data and identity sovereignty, open and public tech architecture, and more.

If you are a developer who embraces the concept of web3 and wants to put your ideas into practice, join us as we explore the web3 stack.

Table of Content

First of all, what is Web3?

Web3 envisions a new generation of the World Wide Web. It incorporates concepts such as decentralization, blockchain technology, and token-based economics. 

In Web3, end users interact directly with decentralized applications (dApps). These dApps benefit from a distributed infrastructure while giving users more control over their identity, personal data, and finances. Many believe that Web3 will provide users with greater data security, scalability, and privacy and combat the monopoly and control of large tech companies.

Decentralized storage systems offer a myriad of advantages for businesses and individuals alike. For example, a decentralized storage system leverages peer-to-peer technology to eliminate the need for unnecessary resources and guarantee the service is always available. Moreover, it uses data encryption to increase the security and privacy of users’ data, protecting it from unethical access. 

These are just a few of its many advantages. So selecting a robust storage provider is crucial to a project’s success.

Filecoin and IPFS are complementary protocols for storing and sharing data on the distributed web. Many projects use both networks together to achieve the best outcome of decentralized storage. 

Web3 stack overview

Let’s take a brief look at the components of the web3 technology stack from a developer’s perspective. What follows will help developers understand what steps are involved in building on the blockchain.

Blockchain

A blockchain is a distributed, public ledger that utilizes independent computers (or nodes) to record, share and synchronize transactions in their network. Unlike a centralized network, a blockchain does not require a central administrator and therefore does not have a single point of failure.

An application running on the blockchain is known as a decentralized application, or dapp for short. It is worth noting that the current dapp ecosystem is already booming and features multiple blockchains running side by side.

Layer-1 blockchain acts as the base level of the blockchain architecture, and they validate and execute transactions without support from another network. 

For example, Ethereum is an open-source, decentralized Layer-1 network that allows users to transact with one another through smart contracts. It has the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and hosts a wide variety of decentralized applications in its ecosystem. 

Another prominent Layer-1 network is Polygon, which is currently one of the blockchains housing the largest number of UAWs. It is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Furthermore, its modular, flexible framework and EVM-compatible nature make it one of the go-to blockchains for developers to build their dapps. 

Other popular Layer-1 networks include Solana, Near, Flow, Polkadot, Aptos, and more.

EVM-compatible vs. Non-EVM-compatible

When developers select a blockchain network to build dapps on, they have two primary choices, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible blockchain and non-EVM-compatible blockchain.

As Ethereum rises in popularity, it has also underscored the urgency to address its congestion issue and high transaction costs. To this end, many projects have developed fully EVM-compatible networks to allow users to participate in the broad Ethereum ecosystem.

Furthermore, these EVM-compatible blockchains allow developers to utilize all the same tools, documentation, and communities built specifically for the EVM chains, saving time and flattening the learning curve.

Non-EVM networks emerged because engineers decided that EVM chains were too constrained by the Ethereum framework and chose to innovate by designing new structures.

What is Filecoin’s FVM

Filecoin has launched a native VM that is compatible with EVM. It is a major innovation aimed at bringing on-chain programmability to Filecoin and also improving the efficiency of decentralized computing over data on Filecoin.

FVM actors（aka. smart contracts） can broker computational resources, incentivize compute execution, distribute workloads across available storage providers, and prove the validity of the computation’s result in order to claim rewards. 

FVM unlocks unlimited possibilities, some of which are listed below.

• programmable storage primitives (such as storage bounties, auctions, and more)
• cross-chain interoperability bridges (e.g. trustlessly connecting Filecoin with Ethereum, Solana, NEAR, and more)
• data-centric Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) 
• Layer 2 solutions (such as reputation systems
• data availability sampling, computation fabrics 
• incentive-aligned Content Delivery Networks)

Nodes

A blockchain or a P2P network consists of many distributed computers, also known as nodes, similar to mini servers. The responsibilities of nodes include validating transactions, verifying the network state, and keeping the history of the blockchain. 

Nodes enable dapps to connect to the blockchain, access its data, and interact with smart contracts. When connecting your dapp to a node, there are mainly two ways to do it. 

• Run your own node
• Use a node provider

Running and maintaining a node usually takes a lot of time and effort. However, for developers who want to focus on building dapps, blockchain node providers can be an option. Companies like Infura, Quicknode, Chainstack, Alchemy, Getblock, RunNode, and Pocket Network allow developers to use their nodes. 

Smart contract development environment

A development environment allows you to deploy your smart contracts, run tests, and debug code without dealing with live environments. Let’s take a look at what are the mainstream environments currently available for Ethereum development.

Hardhat

Hardhat is one of the most commonly used. It helps developers in the management and automation of common tasks while developing dapps and smart contracts. Some of the powerful features of Hardhat include Solidity debugging, error messages for failed transactions, and explicit stack traces.

Truffle

Truffle is a JavaScript-based framework for building smart contracts and one of the oldest development tools for Ethereum developers. Apart from serving as a development and testing framework, it can be used as an asset pipeline for dapps by using the Ethereum Virtual Machine. 

Other noteworthy Web3 development environments

• Foundry
• Brownie
• Anchor
• Embark
• Waffle

Front-end framework

Developers have a variety of frameworks they can use to build the front-end interface for Web3 projects.

React is very popular among developers for client-end building. It is a lightweight, efficient, and flexible JavaScript library that helps develop smooth and user-friendly web applications. 

Next.js and React are neck and neck in terms of popularity. It is widely accepted for a number of reasons. For example, it has excellent performance when it comes to loading time. It also creates a fantastic user experience and delivers great SEO results.

Additionally, web3ui kit becomes popular as it brings lightweight UI components for web3 developers. This UI library will speed up developers’ dapp development no matter which chain they build on.

Ethereum web client library

The ethers.js library provides a complete and compact library for interacting with the Ethereum Blockchain and its ecosystem. Initially, it was built to support the use of ethers.io. But now it has expanded into a more general-purpose library.

The web3.js library is an open-source JavaScript library built by the Ethereum Foundation in 2015. As it offers functions to communicate with an Ethereum node and a good API reference, it has been adopted by many projects.

Developers can also have ethjs as an option. It is a highly optimized agile JS utility for Ethereum based on web3.js, but even lighter, async only, and using bn.js.

Wallet

In web3, identity verification takes on an entirely different paradigm. In web2, verification is almost always based on the user’s personal information. However, in web3, identity revolves around the technology of wallets and public key cryptography. As a developer, you must understand how to access and interact with a user’s wallet and address in various ways.

In addition, you must remember that different blockchains may require different wallets. For example, one of the most popular wallets, MetaMask, supports networks such as Ethereum, BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche, and more.

Another popular solution is WalletConnec, the decentralized Web3 messaging layer and a standard to connect blockchain wallets to dapps. It strives to enhance the interoperability of the Web3 space by providing easy-to-use tooling and infrastructure for Wallets to deliver a smooth user experience. 

Storage

Data on the web has to live somewhere. In Web2, almost all user data, such as videos, images, and account information, use a centralized database for data storage.

Unfortunately, this storage model poses several problems. One of the biggest problems is leaking important personal information and unauthorized access.

Data right is a human right, so maintaining user data sovereignty is one of the key tasks of Web3. With its built-in security, untrustworthiness, and transparency, Blockchain can form a barrier between digitized users and their real identity, thus protecting their privacy. However, storing large amounts of data on the chain currently takes a lot of work.

Thankfully, decentralized storage networks, such as Filecoin and IPFS, can solve this problem. A decentralized storage platform distributes files on a distributed system, keeping them secure and immutable. 

Indexing and querying

The Graph is a decentralized protocol for indexing and querying data from blockchains, starting with Ethereum. It enables the querying of data that is difficult to query directly.

What makes The Graph’s technology outstanding is that it enables dapps to access all kinds of blockchain data without being limited to the information provided by a particular data provider.

Build on the Web3 Stack today to shape our future

The Web3 space is evolving faster than ever, and developers must keep learning to enhance their skills. As more robust technology solutions become available, developers can create the systems and products that work best for their users with greater efficiency.

If developers want to maximize a smooth, one-stop development process using many out-of-the-box tools, Filecoin’s decentralized storage solution and powerful FVM is a winning combination that will meet their needs. 

Learn how to leverage Filecoin to enhance your dapp security and user experience via the links below.

Disclaimer — This is a sponsored article. DappRadar does not endorse any content or product on this page. DappRadar aims to provide accurate information, but readers should always do their own research before taking action. Articles by DappRadar can not be considered as investment advice.

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• Source: https://dappradar.com/blog/how-developers-can-enhance-their-web3-stack-with-filecoin