Are you a beginner web3 developer or an expert? Here is a list of web3 development tools that would improve your building of decentralized applications.
Developing decentralized applications is easier and more secure with Web3 development. This article will introduce you to the tools that can transform you from a web3 newbie into an expert. Grab a coffee, relax and enjoy. Are you a beginner web3 developer or an expert? Irrespective of your answer, this article is for you whether your answer to those above is a Yes or a No.
What is Web3
Web3 is a revolutionary new technology that allows anyone to build decentralized applications onto the blockchain. Oops! What is blockchain? Blockchain is the technology that powers cryptocurrencies like the popular Bitcoin or Ethereum. Now that you know what Blockchain is let’s continue. When building on the blockchain, some tools will help you as a developer. In this article, we'll look at some of the popular tools, including wallets, programming languages, storage tools, blockchains, code editors, libraries, faucets, testing tools, APIs, etc. You should know what tools you need to build your next decentralized application by the end of this article.
Learn web3
To be able to use web3 development tools you need to actually learn about web3. Here are a few web3 learning resources
Development Tools
Development Tools are tools that help in smart contract development. They include programming languages, frameworks, IDEs, and Ethereum clients.
Programming Languages
- Solidity: Solidity is a backend programming language used for building smart contracts. It can be used to build on the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Environment), which can be used on smart contracts platforms(blockchain) like Ethereum, Avalanche, Moonbeam, Polygon, BSC, etc. It is also heavily based on the well-known programming language JavaScript, making it approachable for developers hoping to learn new code.
- Rust: Rust is not crypto-specific, making it accessible to the existing pool of developers. It is used by popular protocols such as NEAR, Compound, and Solana. Like Solidity, Rust can be used to write smart contracts but is also popular in the gaming community.
- Vyper: Vyper is a contract-oriented, Pythonic programming language that targets the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It is based on the principles of security, simplicity, and Auditability. If you are a python lover who wants to write smart contracts, then Vyper is for you.
Frameworks
A framework is a structure that enables you to build software applications on it.
- Brownie: Brownie is a framework that builds applications for the Ethereum Virtual Machine, and it is python based, meaning it supports the programming language Vyper(a python smart contract language). It also supports solidity.
- Hardhat: Hardhat is a framework for building smart contracts that offer a development environment. This development environment lets users compile, run tests, check the smart contract for mistakes and bugs, and deploys decentralized applications.
- Truffle: Truffle is a framework for buildings decentralized applications in the Blockchain. It offers compilation, deployment, and testing. If you are new to decentralized application development, the truffle is for you because of its beginner-friendly setup.
- Embark: Embark is a framework to help developers quickly build and deploy serverless, decentralized applications. Embark is a tool to automatically deploy smart contracts to the Ethereum Virtual Machine and make them easily accessible with traditional Javascript code.
- Apeworx: Ape is a Python-based development and testing framework for smart contracts targeting the Ethereum Virtual Machine. It branched out from the brownie community to make a more modular finance-focused framework than its brownie ancestor. Apeworx works with all the same setup and syntax as Brownie, with several fun improvements to the quality of life.
- Foundry: Foundry is a portable, fast, modular toolkit for Ethereum application development. It is the fastest & most flexible Ethereum development environment which works out of the box without configuration or third-party libraries.
Integrated Development Environments(IDEs)
An integrated development environment is software for building applications. An IDE can be used as a text editor, debugger, and compiler. Here is a list of a few that support web3 development.
- Remix: Remix is an open-source Ethereum IDE you can write, compile and debug Solidity code. It has many features like buttons to interact with a deployed smart contract. It’s easy to choose solidity versions, compile, run solidity tests, etc. And if you want javascript, it has javascript scripts available!
- Visual Studio Code: Visual Studio Code is a code editor redefined and optimized for building and debugging modern web and cloud applications. It offers an extension that adds support for Solidity.
- Replit: Replit is a coding platform that lets you write code and host apps. It has over 50 accepted programming languages, including solidity(a smart contract language).
Oracles
Oracles are third-party or decentralized data feed services. A good example is:
- Chainlink: Chainlink is an open source oracle network for powering smart contracts by enabling blockchains to securely access off-chain data.
Testing Tools
Block Explorers
A cryptocurrency block explorer is an online blockchain browser that can show the details of all transactions that have ever happened on a blockchain network. Few block explorers are listed below:
- Etherscan: Etherscan is a blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network. The website allows you to search through transactions, blocks, wallet addresses, smart contracts, and other on-chain data. Using Etherscan can help you understand how you interact with the blockchain, different wallets, and DApps.
- Etherchain: Etherchain is an Explorer for the Ethereum blockchain. It allows you to view your account balance, look up transactions and explore smart contracts.
- Polyscan: Polyscan is what's known as a "block explorer". Block explorers act as a search engine that lets users look up, confirm and validate transactions on the Polygon network.
- Snowtrace: SnowTrace allows you to explore and search the Avalanche C-Chain blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities taking place on Avalanche C-Chain.
- Explorer Solana: The Solana Explorer allows users to look up transactions and accounts on the various Solana clusters.
Test Faucets
This is a list of sites that give out fake crypto for testing smart contracts.
Ethereum Faucets
Other Test Faucet:
##Wallets Wallets that help you store cryptocurrency and NFTs digitally. You can use these when building a smart contract.
- Metamask: MetaMask is a cryptocurrency wallet that enables users to store Ethereum(Ether) and other ERC-20 tokens. The wallet can also be used to interact with decentralized applications. It is effortless to use, but once your private keys are exposed, Your assets will be at risk of being lost.
- Trezor: Trezor is the first cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet used to store cryptocurrencies, approve transactions, and help you manage any kind of digital identity. Trezor gives you a 100% guarantee for your assets and protects all the crypto entities from possible online and offline security risks. It is considered a very secure wallet but hard to use.
- Ledger: Ledger is similar to Trezor. It is also a very secure hardware wallet
- Gnosis safe: Gnosis Safe is a smart contract wallet running on Ethereum that requires a minimum number of people to approve a transaction before it can occur. It is a massive tool for smart contract developers, especially those handling a lot of money and want to make sure their assets are safe. Gnosis Safes are commonly used to manage pooled DAO funds.
- Argent: Argent is the most simple and secure smart wallet for crypto. It does everything you'd expect from a bank (and more). Without the bank.
Storage Tools
- IPFS: The Interplanetary File System (IPFS) is a distributed, peer-to-peer file-sharing network that is well-positioned to become the underpinning of a new, decentralized web. It can be used for decentralized storage.
- Filecoin: Filecoin is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform that aims to provide a peer-to-peer file storage system. In other words, it is a decentralized protocol that enables anyone to rent out spare storage space on their computer. Likewise, anyone can buy storage on the network.
- Arweave: Arweave is a software that seeks to permanently store files across a distributed computer network. Arweave is a new type of storage that backs data with sustainable and perpetual endowments, allowing users and developers to store data forever truly.
- Web3.storage: The idea behind Web3.Storage was also to help lower entry barriers for developers aiming to build applications on a decentralized platform, rather than forcing new developers to learn the complexity of running peer-to-peer infrastructure, Web3. Storage enables them to use a simple JavaScript library for developers to make data available over IFPS and persist data on Filecoin.
Blockchains
Ethereum Virtual Machine(EVM)
The EVM is essentially what powers the entire Ethereum ecosystem – a blockchain-based software platform. It enables developers to create decentralized applications (dApps) on top of it. Here is a list of blockchains that are compatible with it. Blockchain platforms make it easy for Ethereum developers to migrate smart contracts to an EVM-compatible chain without writing the code from scratch again.
- Ethereum: Ethereum is the community-run technology powering the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of decentralized applications. Ethereum is the second most popular blockchain. Nevertheless, Ethereum took things to another level by introducing smart contracts. This feature attracted countless projects that started to build applications on top of the Ethereum chain.
- Polygon: Polygon is a decentralized Ethereum scaling platform that enables developers to build scalable, user-friendly dApps with low transaction fees without sacrificing security. Polygon is here to solve the problem of high gas fees on Ethereum. The main aim of the polygon blockchain is to help Ethereum expand in size, security, efficiency, and usefulness and seeks to spur developers to bring enticing products to market all the quicker.
- Arbitrum: Abritrum is cheap and quick to use and relays all transaction information back to the main Ethereum blockchain. Arbitrum also supports the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), meaning that Ethereum Defi developers can integrate their decentralized applications (dapps) with Arbitrum without making any modifications.
- Avalanche: Avalanche is a fast smart contracts platform in the blockchain industry, as measured by time-to-finality, and has the most validators securing its activity of any proof-of-stake protocol.
- Cronos: Cronos is an open-source blockchain platform that supports rapid porting of apps & smart contracts from Ethereum and other EVM-compatible chains. Cronos can process more transactions per minute than Ethereum, making it faster, cheaper, and greener to execute smart contracts.
- Optimism: Optimism is a low-cost and lightning-fast Ethereum L2 blockchain. That is open source, permissionless, secure, and decentralized.
Non-EVM
These are Blockchain platforms that are not built on Ethereum. They can be referred to as an alternative to Ethereum. Non-EVM blockchain platforms have similar features just as Ethereum.
- NEAR: The Near protocol is software that aims to encourage a network of computers to operate a platform for developers to build and launch decentralized applications. Near serves as the base layer on which applications are built. It is operated and maintained by a distributed network of computers.
- Flow: Flow is a high-performance blockchain specifically for creating NFTs, massive crypto games, and apps. Flow is built to efficiently scale for billions of people interacting with NFTs like in-game items. Flow is built for speed, scaling, and developer-friendliness. Flow aims to become the default platform for NFT creators, gaming apps, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
- Solana: Solana is a public, open-source blockchain that supports smart contracts, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and various decentralized applications (dApps) like any other blockchain network. To distinguish itself from others, Solana hopes to offer better settlement speeds and a higher capacity for transactions.
Libraries
ERCs
In the Ethereum blockchain platform, ‘Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) is a document that smart contract programmers use to write smart contracts. ERC libraries help you create ERC tokens(like NFTs and Coins). These libraries may include:
- Open Zeppelin: Open Zeppelin is a contact library for smart contract development.
- ERC20 - Original token contract for fungible assets like cryptocurrencies.
- ERC721 - For NFTs(Non-Fungible tokens)
- ERC725 — Proxy contract for key management and execution to establish a Blockchain identity.
- ERC165 – The Pillar Of Support For ERC 721
- ERC223 – Solves the ‘Token Loss’ Issues of the ERC20
- ERC1155 – The Most Advanced Non-Fungible Token
- ERC827 – Enables Token Transfer for A 3rd Party to Spend It
- ERC621 – Can Modify the Total Token Supply
- ERC777 – Reduces Friction in Crypto Transactions
- ERC884 – Tokenizes Stock
- ERC865 – Helps the Beginners in the Crypto World
Frontend Tools
These are frontend libraries that help you interact with your smart contract(backend). Some of the libraries may include:
- Ethers.js: Ethers.js is a JavaScript library that allows developers to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. The library includes utility functions in JavaScript and TypeScript and has all the capabilities of an Ethereum wallet.
- Web3.js: web3.js is a collection of libraries that allow you to interact with a local or remote Ethereum node using HTTP, IPC, or WebSocket.
API and SDK Tools
Application programming interface (API) is a set of protocols and tools for building application software. A software development kit (SDK) is a set of software development tools that allows the creation of applications for a particular software package, software framework, hardware platform, or computer system. These tools offer APIs and SDKs for your decentralized applications.
- Alchemy: Alchemy is a well-known blockchain node provider and API provider. Alchemy offers access to highly scalable, consistent, and reliable nodes. Alchemy also has developer tools used for prototyping, debugging, and testing.
- Moralis: Moralis is a service that aggregates different tools and brings them together. The Moralis API enables developers to access the platform and manage blockchain data, including NFT (non-fungible tokens) data.
- The Graph: The Graph is an indexing protocol for querying networks like Ethereum and IPFS. In other words, the graph is open-source software that can be used to collect, process, and store data from various Blockchain applications to make easy information retrieval.
- QuickNode: QuickNode is a web3 platform that allows developers to deploy decentralized applications on 12 different Blockchains. Quicknode enables blockchain ecosystems to scale by providing robust core infrastructure, API, and developer tools.
- Infura: Infura is a scalable back-end infrastructure for building decentralized applications on the Ethereum Blockchain. Infura offers services and tools for Blockchain developers. Using the Infura Ethereum API, builders can connect applications in just a few seconds using a single line of code.
Help and support
If you ever get stuck during development, maybe you have a hard time debugging; here are some tools that help you reach out to other developers and ask for help.
Conclusion
So far, we have learned a few tools that would enhance the development of decentralized applications. Now we know what smart contract language, library, API, research tool, a Blockchain platform, and testing tool to use for your next decentralized application. If you are looking to start your web3 career, you can read this Roadmap