Why and how to develop Dapps in Telos
If you are a programmer developing on EOS, on another blockchain platform like Ethereum or Tron, or just don’t work with blockchain, this article is for you. Although the first blockchain platform launched was Bitcoin, it was finally Ethereum that laid the foundations for the development of DApps on its platform, through smart contracts and its Solidity language. Taking the idea from Ethereum, other platforms followed suit in developing blockchain specifically for programmers, such as Tron (fork of Ethereum) and EOS, based on EOSIO software. Also based on EOSIO, in 2018 the Telos platform was launched with the premise of being the most developer-oriented blockchain ecosystem. Next,
The process of DApps Development Services applications on the blockchain has been devised in order to be as similar as possible to the traditional process, with the addition of other tools and smart contracts, where the logic is stored and executed within the blockchain. Another feature of this infrastructure is to allow transaction information to be stored on the blockchain as well, thus leaving a mark on the block that cannot be removed, modified or compromised without leaving a trace of the action on the chain. This feature is what gives Dapps a higher level of security and reliability.
The main difference between developing apps traditionally, such as on iOS or Android, and developing them on the blockchain, lies in the intrinsic characteristic of decentralization of the latter, translating into the freedom of developers and users to connect with applications, and manage both the code and the information, without the need for an intermediary. Another difference, which also makes the development process cheaper, is running the backend code on a P2P network instead of using centralized servers. Likewise, it should be mentioned that the software of these blockchain platforms is open source and includes licenses, such as Telos, which has implemented an MIT license, where it does not limit “the rights to use, copy, modify, join, publish, distribute, sublicense,
Regarding programming languages, dapps can have their frontend code written, for example, in JavaScript or C++, scripts can run with Python or Ruby, while smart contracts are developed with WebAssembly. Basically, the only requirement to code on the blockchain is that the selected language supports API calls to the backend code.
However, developing on Ethereum and EOS has its drawbacks, such as the existence of whales making platform decisions and triggering resource prices, slow transactions due to network instability, Build decentralized apps difficulty in fixing bugs in the post-launch code on the mainnet, among others. The Telos developer group is made up of EOS block producer (BP) candidates who identified these difficulties and set themselves the goal of developing a new and improved blockchain infrastructure.
The first step towards that goal was to make it possible to develop private dapps on the platform, going the extra mile by even allowing developers to select which parts of the code they aspire to be private and which can be open. The latter expands the opportunities for dapps to be used in a wide variety of businesses and allows developers to make a profit; this at the same time that they offer low-cost solutions, thanks to having a RAM management system based on the real requirements of the network, promoting price stability and affordability, no transaction charges are applied, there is a sufficient fund to the opening of 2,000,000 free accounts and, finally, an IPFS system for storage of Dapps resources. Adding more value to the platform,Telos Foundation Grant and GoodBlock’s program called GoodGrants .
For their part, the BPs of Telos have been organized and directed to be the heart of the network. These must meet strict requirements regarding their technical capabilities and the needs of the network to operate efficiently. Additionally, the BPs operate under a rotating work schedule, thus allowing to jump between BPs at the moment the assigned one fails to produce blocks for 30 minutes, when in EOS the waiting time is 3 hours.
The BPs are also responsible for keeping the testnet active, a network identical to the mainnet, by contributing a node; in this network developers can run and test their dapps. In this way they are able to identify defects and work on improvements before releasing them on the mainnet, where making these changes to the code would become an expensive task. Another benefit of having a testnet is to safeguard the integrity of the mainnet and its operations by preventing faulty dapps or erroneous code changes from getting through.
It is important to clarify that the goal of Telos is to improve the blockchain ecosystem to take it to new heights. Based on this, its mainnet and its code were designed to be fully compatible with EOS, thus allowing EOS applications to run without problem on Telos. Likewise, it is important to evaluate that, although Ethereum is the platform with the most Dapps, it is EOS that is ahead in terms of number of users and earnings. Evaluating the information in DappRadar, Ethereum is the platform with the most dapps, followed by EOS and then Tron. Each represents respectively the following percentages of registered dapps: 66.3%, 18.6% and 15.1%. However, when analyzing the number of users using the app in the last 24 hours, EOS is the winner. Taking into account the list of the top 100 Dapps in relation to users, 18% are developed in Ethereum, 56% in EOS and 26% in Tron. Likewise, when evaluating the number of tokens in circulation, EOS takes the lead again. In the top 100 dapps for tokens, 31.3% are developed in Ethereum, 39.5% in EOS and 29.2% in Tron. This clearly indicates that, despite having considerably fewer developed dapps than Ethereum, it is the EOS dapps that have the highest flow of users and tokens.
These data show the opportunity of the Telos Blockchain: capturing the market of dapps and companies with its innovation and by providing them with speed, scalability, resources, security, trust and opportunities above what is offered by other blockchain platforms.
How to get started with Telos Blockchain
Telos has to offer a wide variety of resources and the most engaged community to help developers transition to dapps. The first step should be to read the Telos Whitepaper where the technical aspects of the platform are detailed; additionally, it specifies the strategies applied to improve the weak points detected in EOS. The Telos Foundation website offers an option to monitor activity on both the testnet and the mainnet, DApps Development Solutions so developers can check the list of BPs and which one is active.
Within the same web page, there is a section specifically for developers where more resources are compiled; such as a detailed article on why Telos offers lower costs and a tutorial on how to develop an application on Telos, which was put together by The Teloscope team . Similarly, the Telos Foundation offers a GitHub profile with more detailed programming resources and the resources needed to set up the Telos programming environment.
Telos Dapps: proxibots, EOSPlaystation, Viitasphere, EDNA, Qubicles.
So far, the following dapps have been developed in Telos: Proxibots (first blockchain platform powered by bots). EOSPlaystation (social platform for gaming), Viitasphere (platform for buying/selling products and services), EDNA (securing DNA information) and Qubicles (network of contact centers).
Lastly, the most important resource of Telos is its community; This blockchain has a wide communication network with its community through a series of active Telegram channels, DApps development company where there are always available users willing to contribute with the other members of Telos.
