Crypto Blockchain & Decentralized Applications (dApps)

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In this article, we dive into the nitty-gritty of what decentralized applications are. It is also necessary to understand the relationship between blockchain and decentralized applications, what has happened in recent years, the differences between Decentralized Applications (dApps) & Traditional Applications (webapps) and why they are considered the evolution of traditional applications.

Blockchain protocols have been growing rapidly since the advent of Bitcoin about 10 years ago. The protocols from then until today are constantly evolving and improving in order to unlock new functions and use cases. In recent years, a growing decentralized application industry, known as dApps, has emerged in the forefront, which is based entirely on blockchain, and has the ability to do everything from financing to web browsing, document collection and much more.

‘All dApps are based on blockchain technology and the majority of dApps are built with Ethereum Blockchain protocol until the present day.’

What is a dApp?​

Decentralized applications (dApps) are digital applications that exist and run on the top of the blockchain networks. Also, dApps can run on a Peer-to-Peer network of computers instead of a single computer. DApps have the possibility to appear similar to web applications in terms of user experience (UX). It is important to mention that decentralized apps eschew centralized servers to transact in a distributed network.

Benefits & Points of Consideration of dApps

dApps Features
Also, it is important to mention that dApps has three main advantages! First of all, dApps are Fault-Tolerant, this is because no node controls the data transaction or data registrations in this decentralized P2P network. Then, one other Advantage of Using DApps is that Prevents Internet Censorship. There is no central control authority that has a DApps network, it controls and prevents the violation of Internet censorship. So it is practically impossible to handle datasets in favour of one person. Finally, dApps Increased Trust on the System. DApps are not owned by a single entity, so users have more trust that their data will not be stolen or manipulated.

Web Apps vs DApps​

One web app, such as Trello, Twitter or Uber, operates on a centralized computer system owned and operated by an organization that has full control over its operation. Traditional web applications depend on the frontend and backend. The backend is controlled by a single organization, regardless of how many users there are (frontend). More specifically, web apps have devices and servers. Devices and servers communicate via messages through HTTP protocol.
For example, when you open Medium on your web browser, the feed on display, is the frontend and it is drawn data held on the company’s web server, which is the backend.

In case that the internet channels have tremendous amounts of data, due to the massive & centralized traditional servers, blockchain represents, not only one machine but hundreds, thousands of machines that share the transactional burden on a distributed network.

It is important to mention that at the frontend dApps & web apps use the same technology to deliver a page on the internet. The difference is in the backend. More specifically dApps runs the process by communicating with the respective blockchain networks through a “wallet”, which serves as a bridge to the blockchain ecosystem.

What do we mean with ‘wallets’?​

So, it is easier than you think. ‘Wallets’ manage your blockchain address. However, the encrypted keys, which we have mentioned in our previous article, are necessary in order to perform the identification and authentication (verification). As we mentioned above, web apps using the HTTP protocol to communicate, dApps instead of that, trigger smart contracts that interact with the blockchain and execute transactions. Therefore, a dApp is a frontend user that communicates with smart contracts, which transact through the blockchain. Blockchain validates and confirms the dApp data, through the distributed network of nodes. One well-designed decentralized application differs from a web application mainly in a technical partition, more specifically in that it has no servers, HTTP and potential censorship.

A dApp to be considered a dApp must meet certain criteria. But what are they? First of all, it is obvious that the dApp architecture differs from conventional platforms, this is because a dApp is completely open-source, none of the network participants in it owns the majority, so any changes to be made must be agreed upon. It is also necessary to create digital data that acts as proof of value. In addition, its assets should be distributed as rewards to the network. Finally, which is very important, the data must be stored in a decentralized blockchain.

For the average user, a dApp may look like any other cloud web application, but as mentioned above it is technically completely different.

Future Outlook​

Ethereum has been a major driver of the dApp ecosystem due to smart contracts, user base and network. DApps will be able to develop user interfaces, which will resemble conventional web apps, but at the same time will have access to the new possibilities provided by blockchain technology. So, as it is already known, blockchain dApps can be applied from online purchases and transactions to social media networks.
To conclude, it is important to mention and make it clear that due to blockchain technology, applications have evolved into dApps, which are the evolution of traditional applications.

DApps will completely replace the old traditional applications creating a better future.

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