HOW TO BUILD DECENTRALIZED APPS ON THE XDC BLOCKCHAIN?

Constant innovation in blockchain technology has made it more mainstream. Although there are numerous blockchains, every blockchain protocol has specific features that make it unique. Amid this boom in the blockchain world, the demand for hybrid blockchains has increased.

Major industries, including finance and trading, cannot solely rely on a completely private or public blockchain network. These industries do not prefer to share sensitive data on a public blockchain. However, not using a public blockchain can block their access to mass audience adoption. Then what is the solution? Hybrid blockchains.

With a combination of public and private blockchains’ attributes, hybrid blockchain networks are considered a breakthrough technology for reinventing global trade and finance. These networks are highly efficient and interoperable, supporting the development of scalable decentralized apps (dApps) and blockchain-powered solutions.

Other prevalent blockchains like Ethereum are expanding with the release of new versions and enhanced features from time to time. However, even advanced blockchains are stretched to some limits because of network congestion, high transaction costs, and so on.

To address these limitations, the XDC Network uses XDC delegated proof of stake (XDPoS) powered blockchain protocol, promoting decentralization across diverse industries. With interoperable smart contracts, low network congestion, and high-speed transactions, the XDC Network fuels dApp development. Taking note of this, let us discuss the development of dApp on the XDC blockchain.

• What is XDC hybrid blockchain?
• What are decentralized apps (dApps)?
• Why should you choose XDC Network for dApp development?
• How to build dApp on the XDC Network?
• How to use XDCPay?
• How to create the smart contract for dApp development?

What is XDC hybrid blockchain?

The XDC blockchain is a solution to the blockchain scalability and efficiency issue of the first EVM-compatible blockchain, Ethereum. This enterprise-ready blockchain is powered by XDPoS (XDC Delegated Proof of Stake), designed to help enterprises build scalable, low-cost blockchain-powered dApps or other innovative solutions.

Because of its attributes, such as zero network congestion, instant block finality, and low energy consumption, the XDC Network has become widely popular among the global developer community. Brands and enterprises leverage the XDC ecosystem to discover innovative blockchain use cases and customized dApps.

Let us examine how the XDC Network differs from its corresponding blockchains:

• Average transaction fees on the XDC Network are low compared to those on other blockchains.
• The network offers high transaction per second (TPS) speeds.
• It consumes low energy and computation resources.
• It enables solving interoperability issues with interoperable smart contracts.
• The hybrid architecture of the XDC Network combines the attributes of both public and private chains.

What are dApps?

• dApps are like the conventional web app but built on a decentralized network (blockchain).
• For front-end development, dApp requires programming languages such as Javascript and NodeJs.
• Smart contracts regulate the backend of dApps.
• The computation energy consumed for dApp development is paid using the native currency of the blockchain protocol on which the dApp is developed.

For a detailed examination of decentralized apps, follow this insight.

Why should you choose the XDC Network for dApp development?

Ethereum has had sovereignty over blockchains in terms of dApp development for the past few years. With most developers showing interest in building their dApp project on this protocol, it creates challenges such as network congestion and high block finality time. To provide a solution, the XDC Network offers the following benefits:

Transaction per second (TPS): The XDC Network mainnet can process up to 2000 TPS, significantly faster than Ethereum.

Consensus: The XDC blockchain uses XDPoS consensus to make the network faster and eliminate high energy consumption.

Gas fees: The XDC Network imposes low gas fees, 1/1000th of Ethereum dApps fees.

Speed: Block creation time is often less than two seconds, representing the network’s high speed.

Furthermore, the whole XDC Network ecosystem is rapidly evolving, making it an ideal platform for scalable dApp development. Learn more about the XDC Network and its features in this detailed insight.

Benefits of XDC dApps

Smart contracts deployed on the XDC blockchain regulate XDC dApps. The XDC ecosystem is compatible with diverse projects, including gaming, commerce, and NFTs. The following are the benefits enterprises can leverage from dApp development on the XDC Network.

Permissionless

Once the dApp code is deployed on the XDC ecosystem, no changes can be made, and anyone can use its features. Users do not even require permission from the team behind the dApp. Once on the XDC blockchain, it lives there.

Anonymous login

With most dApps, you do not need to share your real-world identity. Your XDC account is your login, and you just need a wallet to gain access.

No censorship

With no centralized body controlling the XDC Network, users cannot encounter censorship issues or be blocked from using the dApp. If Twitter were built on the XDC ecosystem, no authority could block users or stop them from tweeting.

Built-in payments

The XDC Network enables built-in payment with its native token, XDC. Developers do not need to spend much time integrating with any third-party payment solutions.

Plug and play

The dApp code on the XDC blockchain is open and compatible by default. Developers can build their specific dApp using any API of their choice. For instance, if you want to add a swap feature in your dApp, you can directly integrate a swap-compatible API in the dApp instead of writing code from scratch.

No downtime

The XDC Network is highly reliable as it offers zero downtime. It helps brands and enterprises build decentralized solutions that never go down.

How to build dApp on the XDC Network?

The first step of dApp development is to architecture the microservices for the dApp. Depending on the proposed architecture, you can choose a blockchain protocol for dApp development.

Now, let us discuss further steps that you need to follow after you complete the dApp architecture:

Protocol selection

Choose a protocol to build your dApp on it. You can choose a public network, private network, or even a hybrid ecosystem like the XDC Network.

Data gathering

Depending on what microservices the dApp intends to facilitate for users, on-chain and off-chain data from multiple sources, including external sources, are gathered on the blockchain.

Data processing

Now that the data is gathered on the blockchain, the next step is to process the data and use them for an interface design through which users can interact with the dApp and trust the data. From here, architecture design for dApp development occurs in two directions: the frontend and the backend.

Front-end development

Front-end development of a decentralized application focuses on end-users aspects that include improving the user interfaces, optimizing the web pages and the visual aspects, debugging, etc. The front end further allows the dApp to interact with the user. The following is the technology stack you need for dApp development on the XDC ecosystem.

• AngularJS
• BootStrap
• jQuery
• React

Backend development

The backend of any dApp primarily focuses on smart contract development and the following components:

User identity

User identity includes basic decisions such as whether to keep identity centralized or decentralized, which is an important factor in defining the user interface.

Authorization and roles

The key considerations regarding authorization and roles include regulating user movements, determining where to save authorization, and ensuring that roles are duly managed.

Notifications

Notifications are mostly off-chain and send alerts about the actions happening both on and off the chain.

Business Logic

Business logic is intended to determine how to showcase the business logic data to the public, whether they will be available as on-chain or off-chain data.

Storage

For storage, you have two options, either to save data to the cloud or to allow the blockchain itself to save it. Depending on your dApp, you can choose a storage option.

Smart contracts

Smart contracts regulate the whole blockchain, define its functioning, and the method through which the external data sources or APIs interact with the on-chain data via oracles, when a call is to be made, and so on.

• dApp development further requires APIs and third-party integration that can help front-end programs communicate with the backend or smart contracts.
• Once the architecture is ready, it is deployed on the AWS (Amazon Web Services) server.

• Connect the dApp to the smart contract, wallet, and the XDC ecosystem for decentralization.

How to create the smart contract for dApp development

Now that we have understood the architecture of the dApp. Let us discuss the technicality of creating the smart contract that regulates the dApp.

1. Setting up the dApp Environment

For dApp development on the XDC Network, we first need to create a dApp environment that supports both front-end and backend aspects. The following are the prerequisites for setting up the dApp environment.

The network for testing the smart contract

Deploying a smart contract on the mainnet consumes energy resources like CPU, storage, and memory. Therefore, developers should use test networks to tune and test their smart contracts and ensure that they are fit to deploy.

Wallet client

Wallet-CLI is the command-line wallet for the XDC Network that developers use to post and deploy smart contracts and execute other operations on the main network.

2. Smart Contract Development

After you set up the dApp environment, proceed to smart contract development that regulates the functions of the dApp. Let us discuss the process of compiling, debugging, and deploying the contract.

Initiate the private chain

The private chain in the prerequisite must be successfully deployed to determine whether a log message appears saying “produce block successfully.”

Develop smart contracts

Write the contract code, and compile and debug the code using Remix. Make sure that the log is accurate and the code is bug free.

Compile using SimpleWebCompiler

The XDC Compiler still integrates with Remix. Thus, adopt temporary means of acquiring ABI and ByteCode rather than acquiring them straight from Remix. For this, copy the smart contract code, paste it into the SimpleWebCompiler, and then click the compile button.

Deploy the compiled smart contract via Wallet-CLI

Download the Wallet-Cli to compile it:

Initiate Wallet-Cli

#Command to initiate the wallet-CLI

Input the command to the portal after initiation. You can also import the private key to inquire about the remaining balance.

3. Contract deployment

A message with “deploy the contract successfully” will appear upon the successful smart contract deployment.

4. Access the dApp via XDCPay

After deployment, your dApp becomes ready to benefit end users. To access any XDC dApps, users must connect the respective platform with a wallet. XDCPay is a wallet that XDC Foundation offers for users.

Once connected, users can access the dApp, navigate its features, execute transactions, and leverage many other benefits. In this regard, let us discuss how to install and use XDCPay.

How to use XDCPay?

1. Install XDC Pay

To use XDCPay, you need to install this web app in your browser. Visit the Chrome web store and download the XDCPay extension. Click on “Add to Chrome,” and the XDC pay extension will immediately be installed on your browser.

When you open the extension, you will be redirected to the landing page of XDCPay, from where you need to log into XDCPay. Before logging in, you need to accept certain terms of use, phishing warnings, and privacy notices.

Insert the seed phrase in the indicated order and confirm it. Note that these seed phrases are the only means to restore your XDCPay account. Therefore, keep them secure at some other place.

2. Fund the XDCPay

On the XDC Network, you will be provided “test XDC” to test smart contracts for the dApp. Real XDC costs money, but test XDC is free and does not hold any real value. You must be on a test network to get XDC. Change your network from “Main Network” to “Apothem Test Network” and get your test token from the faucet. The test XDC balance will now reflect in your XDCPay wallet.

Use these test tokens to pay the computation fees required for testing any dApp, smart contract, token transfer, and so on. However, actual deployment will take place only on the main XDC network.

Conclusion

With more people identifying the potential of decentralized technology, variations in dApps continue to surge. The XDC Network has been making dApp development feasible on its ecosystem by offering different SDKs and ecosystem tools like XDC Origin (smart contract tokenization app), XDCPay (XDC Wallet), Network Stats (network explorer), and XDC Explorer (block explorer).

The timely launch of tools and constant updates in their features will keep the momentum of the XDC Network up as a hybrid, EVM-compatible (Ethereum Virtual Machine) blockchain. The XDC blockchain further welcomes developers worldwide to leverage its open-source ecosystem to build creative dApps and contribute to the network’s growth.

Developing XDC dApps and maintaining them can be challenging, requiring keen effort, expert supervision, and careful execution of processes. Therefore, it is always helpful to partner with an XDC development team to help you develop and maintain your XDC dApp without complications.

If you are looking for dApp development services for the XDC Blockchain, please connect with us. We have a team of experienced blockchain developers who can create and deploy smart contracts on various blockchain platforms, including XDC, Ethereum, and Tezoz.