Dapps on Cardano - A Unique Approach
In previous articles, we learned that DApps are just “Apps” that allow people to use blockchain Smart Contracts through a friendly user interface. We looked at the range of examples of DApps, from Gaming to DeFi, and more. Broadly, these definitions and examples apply to DApps as they exist on any blockchain network that supports Smart Contracts, including Ethereum, Algorand, Cardano, and numerous others. However, when you look under the hood, there are interesting differences in how different protocols handle Smart Contracts. As you might expect, Cardano has a novel and unique approach.
Other networks that support Smart Contract run the entire contract right on the blockchain. On Cardano, they are instead run in two parts. One part is run off the blockchain, by the party interested in the result of the contract. The other part, to validate the off-chain result, is stored and run on the blockchain. This means software engineers have to write two separate pieces of code: one to validate the work, another to do the actual work.
This plays out something like this:
- First, a…
