Hi👋, so it's 2023 and the buzzword is AI after web3 and blockchain dominated the better part of 2020-2022, so now you are at a crossroads between learning Ai and Blockchain, but you still believed in the web3 momentum isn't dead yet, so you decided to go with blockchain, Hurray!! now you made up your mind, let's make you a blockchain developer.
Basic Blockchain Knowledge
A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and oftentimes public, digital ledger consisting of records called blocks that are used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved block cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks.
Let's break it down in a more understandable context. For instance, say a group of computers in a network running the same program contains a record that keeps track of all transactions done on that network. when a computer(node) updates its record other computers in that network have to reflect the changes made by the computer thereby updating their records. This constant updating is what birthed the blockchain with a touch of encryption algorithms.
Click the link to learn more about Blockchain and also see Demos on mining processes.
Decentralization
In the blockchain, decentralization refers to the transfer of control and decision-making from a centralized entity (individual, organization, or group thereof) to a distributed network. Decentralized networks strive to reduce the level of trust that participants must place in one another, and deter their ability to exert authority or control over one another in ways that degrade the functionality of the network.
Let's say you make a post on Facebook or Twitter which is a little bit controversial now young mark or Elon may decide to take down your post without any form of notice or warning now making them the king or probably queen of the application with a magic wand to make or destroy everyone and anyone. Now assuming our Twitter app or Facebook is a decentralised application(Dapp), to take down any post or story you posted on their platform there must reach a consensus basically an agreement by the users of the platform to allow the post to stay or be removed, now this situation takes power from the kings to the masses just like democracy but online. Examples of decentralised applications are GNU social, PeerTube , Mastodon and Uniswap etc.
N/B: Some Applications may seem to be like a decentralised application such as FTX or Binance they are mainly centralised apps.
Smart Contracts
Now you gearing to get into the working of the blockchain soon you will become a blockchain dev, but first what are smart contracts?
A smart contract is a computer program or a transaction protocol that is intended to automatically execute, control or document legally relevant events and actions according to the terms of a contract or an agreement.
Basically a bunch of immutable computer codes that are deployed to the blockchain network.Ethereum and Solana to name a few uses smart contract for their daily transactional operations, programming languages like solidity are used by Ethereum while rust is for Solana.
Resources to get you started
👉 Official Solidity Documentation
docs.soliditylang.org/en/v0.8.10
👉 Solidity By Example
👉 Learn Solidity By Creating a Zombie Factory
👉 Solana-labs
👉 Solana-labs
Check this blog post below for more web 3 resources.
Building Decentralised Applications (Dapp)
Decentralized applications, or Dapps, are software applications that run on a decentralized peer-to-peer network, such as a blockchain. Dapps are designed to operate without the need for intermediaries or centralized servers, which makes them more secure, transparent, and resistant to censorship.
Building a Dapp is similar to creating a Fullstack application the difference is instead of a backend server you interact with the blockchain network provider.
various platforms are available online to tutor you in making you a better web3 developer, such platforms:
Hurray!! now you getting to know the working of the web3 space and we appreciate you for that.
Keep Learning
Now hold on we're not done yet just like the infamous quote.
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn." - Benjamin Franklin
Basically, we keep learning to get better, further structural learning guides visit Blockchain roadmap.
Conclusion
I hope this article gave you some ideas for building projects to improve your Web3 and Blockchain skills. It may appear challenging to grasp at first but I assure you it pays in the long run. Thank you for sticking to the end have a great day.
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See you in my next blog article. Take care!!!