[REPOST] - Decentralized Applications (dApps) - Crypto Academy S5 - Homework Post for Task 8

in SteemitCryptoAcademy2 years ago


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Hello guys,

Task 8 of the introductory courses opens us up to a new topic on decentralization, it focused on decentralized application (dApps). The meaning and the mode of operations of these applications and their types, After going through the class, I completed my assignment on the question given.

Question 1

What are dApps? Explain the working system of dApps? What are the differences between dApps and other applications? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of dApps? How can dApps developers promote their apps? What should we pay attention to when using dApps? How do we find the information of a DApp that we want to know? Provide the steps (Screenshot)


Solutions



Source


a)What are dApps?

dApps which stands for decentralized applications are open source digital application that runs on a blockchain, it mimics the decentralized platforms technology, that is, it runs on a peer to peer (P2P) network. Decentralized applications are applications that goes beyond the purview of an individual, it has no central authority or power or the interference of a third party, rather, the data is open to the public making it possible for users to manage their own data and also participate in the decision making and any changes made on the application.

Characteristics of dApps

  • dApps are built base on the blockchain technology and uses a P2P hence eliminating any middle controlling body.

  • dApps create and store their own tokens in order to give value to their various nodes in the ecosystem.

  • Tokens are rewarded to users who access them and miners equally get rewards for helping and contributing their quato to the platform.

b)Explain the working system of dApps?

dApps work using the blockchain technology, they store data on a blockchain where it is distributed among numerous databases or legders called nodes, these nodes are the transactions of users validated on the blockchain using smart contract, a smart contract is a computer code or algorithm that complete transactions between two users.

Unlike the traditional application we use everyday (centralized application) where both the front and back end modules communicate with each other through HTTP protocol, with dApps, the back end element runs on a blockchain technology where data is replicated among several nodes or ledgers, no node act as the central data storage or hosting node and data is validated after all the nodes in the system come to a consensus.

What are the differences between dApps and other applications?



Source

  • dApps run on the decentralized blockchain using the P2P network eliminating any central authority, whereas other applications don't operate on a blockchain hence has a central architecture that controls all the data.

  • The level of security in DApp is very strong as compare to other applications, because of the distribution of data among several nodes in the dApps, it is very difficult to hack the system, whereas hacking other applications is quite easy since it uses a single hosting nodes for all data in the system, attacking that node means attacking the whole system.

  • dApps have the ability to store value in the form of tokens, they generate their own tokens and rewards users who contribute to the growth of the ecosystem, whereas normal applications have to use a third party to carry out transactions. dApps eliminate all third parties because they can store value directly.

  • All dApps built on a blockchain are much compatible with each other than other applications. The integration or inter- compatibility of dApps are very high compare to normal applications.

  • When it comes to scalability, other applications are on the lead. dApps are very slow when it comes to processing a lot of transactions per time, an ethereum blockchain which host most of the dApps can only process 15 transactions per second.

  • dApps promote and ensure transparency and give full control to users to manage all the data stored on the blockchain. Every data recorded is permanently recorded on the blockchain, whereas other applications data are managed by the developers and they can decide to either delete or change the data in the future.


Explain the advantages and disadvantages of dApps?

Advantages


  • dApps operate on a decentralized blockchain meaning it has a decentralized data storage system making it practically impossible for the system to be hacked, as stated earlier, the back end modules of a DApp is built on a blockchain with its data distributed among several nodes with no central node server making it impossible for malicious attacks on a system through a single server. Hence the security of dApps are very high.

  • Another advantage is that dApps use smart contract, this makes contracts or transactions very fast, safe, less costly and secure. Third parties like banks or service providers which are facilitated by human beings turn to slow transactions process, but with dApps which operates using the P2P network link users directly to each other to transact there by eliminating any excessive fees and delays.

  • User privacy and data is secure in dApps. There is no the interference of a central authority who manages all the data on the platform and can decide on which data to delete and which one not to delete. censorships are eliminated completely, meaning there is no single user having full control over the activities that goes on on the platform.

  • Because it runs on a decentralized blockchain, it is an open source to public, meaning everyone has equal rights to be a user and it's not restricted to any particular group of people.

Disadvantages

  • dApps unlike normal applications are some how complex to use and uneasy to access some DApps causing poor utility by people. The platform of dApps still face the problem of low patronage due to how complex most people fine the system to operate compare to normal applications and how inaccessible are some dApps due to a lot of new concepts yet to be familiarized with.

  • Another disadvantage of dApps is that, it is prone to hacking, because it is an open source smart contract, hackers will try to look for loopholes in the system inorder to hack the system, this makes it susceptible to hacking.

  • Building dApps are very complex because of the usage of complex consensus algorithm, and from scratch, it has to be build to scale since any integration of changes or updates to scale it in future is practically impossible.


How can dApps developers promote their apps?

  • A dApp project is likely to be successful if it has a huge number of user base, a newly built dApp can gain attention and increase its user base by freely distributing tokens to the addresses of several wallets in the form of airdrop. Airdrop are usually free and its primary motive is to draw attention to the token in an attempt to increase the number of user base.

  • Another way developers can promote their dApps is through initial coin offering (ICO), this is like fundraising to support the project. The tokens of the project are offered during the launch of the project at a very cheaper price, investors buy to lock with the hope that the price of the token will increase the future.

  • Another way for developers to promote their dApps projects is through running ads on social media, publicity through advertising tell people about the project, social media like YouTube, twitter, whatsup, instagram though are centralized, have a huge fun base and going through such channel to advertise your dApp will expose most people to the futuristic social media.

  • dApp hub and dapp Packers built on the ethereum blockchain is also a good way to promote dApps, they provide tools in such a way that makes it easy to understand the algorithm of smart contract in dApps.

What should we pay attention to when using dApps?

dApps are decentralized and therefore are presume to be very secure when it comes to data manipulations and interferences, but not withstanding, one have to be cautious as to the kind of dApp they want to use. Some of the features to double check before jumping in to using a dApp are;

  • The scalability of that dApp, the of transaction process per second. This is very important since some DApps have a very low processing rate, this can delay a transaction time if there are numerous transactions happening Simultaneously causing a lot of faustration to users.

  • Also, one can also check the transactions fee of the dApp before using it, the transactions fee varies from one dApp to the other and is very important you look for a dApp with a low transactions fee.

  • Another thing to look out for before using a dApp is how legitimate it is, with the increasing of dApps, along side the increase of scammers who try to extort money from innocent people through this technology, though it is difficult at times to verify the legitimacy of decentralized blockchain, we have to try to know who and how it's built

How do we find the information of a DApp that we want to know? Provide the steps.

Step 1: You first of all search or visit the website https://dappradar.com, from the home page, select on the three horizontal strokes at the top right corner to the screen.

Step 2: after that, I will select on the Rank tab to view the most currently performing dApps. At the time of writing this post, the top four ranked dApps were ;

  • Pancakeswap which is a Defi dApp and part of BSC.

  • Splinterlands which is a game dApp and part of Hive and WAX.

  • Alien worlds which is a game dApp and part of WAX and BSC.

  • Axie Infinity which is a game dApp and part of RONIN and ETH.

Step 3: To know more details about a dApp I will click on the dApp directly from the ranking view to access more information about it. Let me explore more on Farmers World which is currently ranked at number 5 and is a gaming dApp and part of WAX. After clicking on the selected dApp, a page will open showing all the statistics in details of the dApp. We have the farmers world statistics and the NFT collection statistics, These include the volume, transactions, number of users, a graph showing the level of activities on the dApp, number of traders, sales, average price, market cap and floor price.


Source of screenshots

With all these information, you can make a very inform decision about the dApp.

Conclusion

Decentralized applications though still have low patronage and are less popular compare to the normal applications, they are increasing in number everyday, and seems to be the future of social media blogging, they create much opportunities to users compare to the other applications. They are also self sustainable, and very secure. Thank you so much professor @wahyunahrul for this wonderful class.

Cc:
@steemcurator02
@dilchamo

Thank you

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