Tech leaders are saying Web3 is the future of the internet, but you can’t go from zero to Web3 in an instant. Before jumping on the blockchain bandwagon—and take advantage of the seriously rewarding...
Do you want to contribute to the emerging internet trend, Web3? Tech leaders are saying Web3 is the future of the internet, but you can’t go from zero to Web3 in an instant. Before jumping on the blockchain bandwagon—and take advantage of the seriously rewarding Web3 jobs available—you need to learn the fundamentals first.
To become a successful Web3 developer, you’ll need a deep understanding of blockchain protocols and functions. Even before that, you must become proficient in Web2 programming, which form the foundations of more advanced skills and also enable you to quickly adapt to new tech changes.
Why? Many languages used in Web3 programming are influenced by popular Web2 languages. For instance, Solidity, a high-level programming language designed for work with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, is similar to the entry-level programming language JavaScript.
Ready to make the first steps on your path to Web3? Read on to learn about the five skills you need first, and why they’re necessary for blockchain development—and your future Web3 career.
Have you ever seen a code starting and ending with curly brackets—the symbols that look like this: { }? The brackets, which are also called braces, are necessary to separate code blocks. Without brackets, programmers would have to spend ages trying to find the necessary piece of code.
It can help to think of brackets like paragraph breaks, or even periods. When you write a letter or an essay, punctuation and paragraph breaks help the writer organize their thoughts and the reader understand the meaning. Brackets are similar in that they separate loops and statements, making it easy for another programmer to understand the code—and fix any errors. Without brackets, you’d have to hunt through lines upon lines of code searching for a single error, without any structure!
That’s how the first curly bracket language, C, came into play. Many modern curly bracket languages are based on C.
In Web3, curly bracket languages like Vyper and Solidity are actively used for blockchain smart contract programming. But to work effectively with these tools, you’ll have to first learn the fundamentals of C++ and JavaScript, which influenced modern Web3 curly bracket languages.
JavaScript is primarily used in Web3 for off-chain development, favored by programmers for its ability to make pages dynamic, functional, and user-friendly. It isn’t the only Web2 language actively used in Web3, though. C++ was used for the first implementation of Bitcoin’s “bitcoin-qt” client. Ripple, Litecoin, and Monero also utilize C++.
Many blockchains use concepts from different languages, so some familiarity with Web2 languages is helpful.
JavaScript supersets share the language’s syntax but expand its features to allow for more complex applications. That’s why it’s natural for Web3 developers to use them in combination with the base language.
The most common JavaScript Superset is React, an open-source front-end library focused on creating user interfaces.
React allows for efficient dynamic app programming, thanks to reusable components that speed up development. React also benefits from the support of numerous plugins that add new functions to a program. Dynamic applications are crucial for Web3 development, providing users with real-time updates.
Further, React Native combines the React framework with native components to create cross-platform Web3 mobile applications with regular JavaScript code, like crypto payment apps and wallets.
Software testing lays at the core of user experience. Computers aren’t “smart”; they only do what the code says, even if it leads to undesired outcomes. Web2 developers typically automate testing, letting tests run in the background as new changes are implemented.
However, Web3 uses something called “smart contracts,” which are pieces of code deployed on the blockchain. Smart contracts cannot be changed after deployment without significant structure change, so developers must get every detail right before an application’s launch. In Web2, on the other hand, any developer with the right permission can edit the code anytime.
Web3 developers make sure everything is just right before deployment by running off-chain tests, simulating the blockchain. However, the Web3 software testing niche is still evolving because a simulation cannot precisely predict how smart contracts will interact with other contracts and take live inputs.
When you file your taxes, you want everything to be done according to the rules, right? That’s because any wrongdoing could result in an audit, when an IRS employee combs through your tax documents and finances. In tech, auditing is similar. It involves carefully going through the software development process, ensuring it complies with standards, rules, and laws.
The need for auditing has grown exponentially as DeFi (decentralized finance) grows. Auditing is critical to ensure the security of user assets. Smart contract security audits aim to highlight flaws and vulnerabilities in the code and fix them before the software’s deployment.
Web3 auditing is also necessary for authentication security because most dApps (decentralized applications) don’t authenticate API responses. As a result, users can’t know whether responses originate from the intended application, or the data was tampered with.
Web3 is a newly emerging, rapidly developing internet generation with many ambiguities. Current Web3 developers are industry pioneers who constantly deal with problems that don’t yet have widely accepted solutions. They must not only deal with existing issues but predict potential problems and come up with an action plan for resolving them.
For example, there is usually a trade-off between decentralization, security, and user convenience in Web3 applications. Developers must find a solution to combining user-friendliness with performance and security. The problems Web3 developers face require imagination and mental mapping—in other words, problem-solving.
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