In the last decade, blockchain technology has been gaining a lot of attention in the mainstream and rightfully so. The best thing about this is that blockchain technology is no longer the play toy of early adopters, open source developers, and Wall Street behemoths. Thanks to the rise of several popular projects, the technology is now being made more accessible to the masses.
For those looking to create their own blockchain using some of the more powerful existing frameworks, Substrate is one of the most popular. With support for multiple programming languages and built-in features, it’s one of the easiest ways to start building a blockchain. Substrate allows developers to quickly prototype and launch their own custom blockchain, and this tutorial will provide guidance on how to construct your first blockchain on Substrate.
What is Substrate?
Substrate is an open source blockchain development platform created by the software company Parity Technologies. It is written in the Rust programming language and built from the ground up to be a modular and extensible framework. Substrate is used by both individuals and organizations to develop their own blockchain applications, protocols, and networks.
Substrate is a lightweight codebase that can be used to easily create both public and private blockchains. It is made up of components called pallets, which are modules that handle a variety of functions such as block construction, consensus, and maintaining a database of transactions. Substrate’s modular architecture allows developers to swap out pallets and adjust core functions to suit their needs.
Substrate also offers developers a separate development environment called Polkadot which is a blockchain infrastructure designed to hybridize and customize their blockchains. Substrate supports both virtual machines, allowing developers to write code and test their projects faster, as well as calling on Polkadot when they need some customization.
Benefits of Building a Blockchain on Substrate
There are several advantages of building a blockchain on substrate, including:
-
Performance: Substrate focuses on increasing the speed and efficiency of development. With the addition of Polkadot, it also increases performance in terms of transactions speeds and scalability when compared to other blockchain infrastructures.
-
Security: Substrate is extremely secure and makes use of advanced cryptography and mechanisms to protect the network from malicious actors.
-
Interoperability: Substrate was built from the ground up to be interoperable with existing blockchain frameworks, which makes it easier for developers to deploy existing projects on the platform.
-
Governance: The platform also includes a governance system that enables developers to manage their own blockchain with ease.
How to Build Your First Blockchain on Substrate
Building a blockchain on Substrate is fairly straightforward and can be completed in just a few steps. This tutorial will walk you through how to build a simple blockchain on Substrate.
Step 1: Install Substrate
The first step to creating a blockchain on Substrate is to install the necessary software. To install Substrate, visit the Substrate website and follow the instructions provided there.
Step 2: Run Substrate
Once you have installed Substrate, you will be able to run the platform. You can run Substrate with either a browser or a command line interface.
To run Substrate with the command line interface, you can do so from the terminal by using the command “substrate”.
Step 3: Create the Network
Now that you have Substrate running, you can begin to create your network. Substrate offers an easy way to create networks, simply by using the “create-network” command in the terminal.
This command will take you through the steps necessary to set up a new blockchain, including setting the number of validators and the types of consensus mechanisms to use. Once these parameters are set, Substrate will begin to build your blockchain.
Step 4: Deploy Application
Once your blockchain is set up, you can begin to deploy the code to your network. This can be done with the “deploy-app” command. Again, Substrate offers an easy way to deploy pre-written applications. Simply specify the application you want to deploy and Substrate will take care of the rest.
If you’d rather deploy a custom application, you can do this as well. Substrate gives access to an array of tools and libraries, allowing developers to flexibly build their own applications without the need to code from scratch.
Step 5: Monitor the Network
To monitor the health of the network, Substrate provides a variety of tools and resources. These include the Substrate UI, which can be accessed through either the command line or browser. This interface will give you a real-time view of the operations of your blockchain, including any errors or inconsistencies in the network.
Developing a blockchain on Substrate is a relatively straightforward process and can have many benefits for developers. Substrate is a quick and easy way to set up and deploy a custom blockchain, with features such as its interoperability with existing blockchain frameworks and its sophisticated governance system. At the same time, the codebase is lightweight enough to be used to build large-scale networks. In short, if you’re looking to create your own blockchain, then Substrate is your best bet.
