Decentralized Applications (dApps) - Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 - Homework Post for Task 8
Hello, dear steemians. I am very glad to participate in this homework task 8 which is about Decentralized Applications (dApps) by professor @wahyunahrul. Let's start.
Image designed in Canva | by @shemul21
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QUESTIONS
| (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 required). |
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💢What are dApps❓
Image Source The full meaning of dApps is Decentralized Applications that are developed on programmable blockchains. Dapps are running on a peer-to-peer network unliking a single server. In a P2P network, there is no need for middlemen. And there is also no central authority. DApps are open source and every user has full control over their assets & account.
Dapps use smart contracts that are executed on the blockchain network and all data and records are backed up on the network. Which is secured with an encryption token. So that dapps are more secure than centralized apps.
There are many centralized apps that are familiar to people. Some of those are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, Tiktok, etc. There is a central authority of these centralized applications and they have the power of controlling all the assets and information of every user. But in a dapps, there are no controlling units and the users have full freedom over their information.
The transaction process in a dapps is more preferable than a centralized app. Cause it uses the P2P transaction method that is very cheap as they do not have any costs. If you want to transact any amount to a person from another country, you have to pay a big amount as a transaction fee for it. But in a dapps, you can do the same transaction in a much cheaper way.
💢Explain the working system of dApps❓
Before explaining the dapps, we should know about the Smart Contract first. The smart contract is a logical program that runs on a blockchain. The smart contract has the ability to record and store all information made on the decentralized app & publish it to the users. So, all transactions made in this decentralized system are public for everyone to see. There is nothing to hide in dApps.
The dApps are operated on a peer-to-peer system that means there are no third parties or intermediaries involved or required to confirm any transactions. It requires a very small amount of transaction fees to perform any transaction on a blockchain network. And the transaction fees are paid in different tokens in dApp depending on the type of blockchain where it is operating on.
There is an example that is UNISWAP which is a decentralized app based on the Ethereum blockchain. The transactions are made on this dApp via smart contracts where no intermediaries are involved. The trading charge is very low for both fiat/crypto in uniswap. Because of decentralization and using smart contracts, the uniswap can offer these awesome advantages.
💢What are the differences between dApps and other applications❓
Image Source | DAPPS | OTHER APPLICATIONS |
|---|---|
| The dApps are built on the decentralized blockchain network | Others' are not built on blockchain & they are centralized |
| The dApps use smart contracts & peer-to-peer transactions | The apps do not use smart contracts & transactions are complicated |
| The users have full controlling power over their assets | The users have to depend on the authority who has the total controlling power |
| The dApps are more safer, faster, and easier because of the p2p system | It needs permission from the authority that is time-consuming |
| Low transaction fees and uses cryptocurrencies | High transaction fees and uses fiat currencies |
| No need for any intermediaries | It requires broker or intermediaries |
| Because of decentralization, the dapps are more secured | Apps are less secured than dapps because it has the central authority |
| The user interface is not so easy to operate so that maintenance costs are also low | The user interface is quite easy to operate and has to pay the huge maintenance cost |
💢Explain the advantages and disadvantages of dApps❓
| ADVANTAGES | DISADVANTAGES |
|---|---|
| The dApps are run on a decentralized system thereby its users have the ability to choose what to do with their assets | It is too much difficult to update any dapps because every peer in it has to update their nodes by themselves |
| Dapps are not under the control of any central authority or government so that there are no limitations of access | In DApps there is no central authority to perform the verification process of a user & it could be the reason for spamming |
| DApps is an open-source application so that its operations are fully transparent | Because of transparency, the users could not attempt any private transaction |
| DApps uses peer-to-peer transaction method so that nobody can hack any users assets and the transactions are very faster & easier | Wrong transactions are not refundable in dapps which is very hazardous for the users |
| The transactions made in a dApp do not require any mediator or third-party agent to confirm the process and it's highly secured | The dApps do not have a good user interface which is really difficult to understand for a new user |
💢How can dApps developers promote their apps❓
There are several ways for a dApps developer to promote their dApp. The promotional methods are dependent on the dApps functions, accessories, and the purposes. The developers can promote their apps through the following ways:
Social media platforms could be the best options for a developer to promote their dApps. There are many popular social media such as Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, etc where there is an option for advertising. By advertising on social media, a developer could promote hir/her dApp to a large audience.
TV, Radio, or Newspaper advertisements are also very effective promotional methods for a decentralized application. Offline workshops, billboards, posters, or seminars could be applied for the promotion but it is a lengthy process.
Rewarding method could be applied to promote a dApp. For this, a dApp developer has to arrange some easy contests and has to give some rewards to the winners. The winners will be very glad and they will share this rewarding opportunity with others. This is a successful promotional method that is applied to promote the STEEMIT.
There are many other options for dApps developers to promote their apps.
💢What should we pay attention to when using dApps❓
The dApps are decentralized. Everybody should think twice before using dApps because many of these dApps are fraudulent and disappear after a while stealing the user's investments. So, be careful to choose a dApp before investing in it.
Before using a dApp you should check the scalability of that. Because it determines the dApps' function when there are more users and its performance on entirely different hardware.
In a dApp like steemit you will get some private keys. By which you have to log in to your account both posting and wallet site. So make sure of the protection of your private keys. If you lost the keys, you have to forget the costly assets on your account.
While using dApps every user should be careful when making transactions. Because wrong transactions are not refundable on the decentralized platforms.
💢How do we find the information of a DApp that we want to know❓
To find the information of a DApp, there is a great website that is Dapprader. On the homepage of the Dapprader, you will get options to explore different categories of apps.
Screenshot taken from Dapprader | by @shemul21
- At first, select the category of a blockchain as I am selecting STEEM blockchain.
Screenshot taken from Dapprader | by @shemul21
- Then select your preferred dApp from all categories. As I am selecting the STEEMIT.
Screenshot taken from Dapprader | by @shemul21
- On this page, you will get all the information about the selected dApp as here is showing the details of STEEMIT.
Screenshot taken from Dapprader | by @shemul21
Here is showing the position of steemit in general is #41 and in social is #2 and in steem blockchain is #1. In Steemit statistics there are 4.89k users & 25.03k transactions are performed within the last 24 hours. You can check also for 7 days & 30 days' statistics.
There is also a HISTORICAL ACTIVITY graph which denotes Users, Volumes & Transactions of last 7 days. You can also check for the last 30 days or all-time stat from here.
💢CONCLUSION💢
I have explained all the questions given. I want the thank professor @wahyunahrul, for arranging this informative homework task about Decentralized Applications (dApps).
Thanks for reading my post. Please comment below your opinion.