The journey from web2 to web3 for developers represents my journey from a web developers which was intrigued by the new Era. This articles presents the adventure of joining the web3 area with all the challanges faced. I remember the first days as programmer, the excitment was very strong, but the challanges were overwhelming. This is literally how I feel about this journey from web2 to web3.
I started this article as a self tutorial in the first place. At the moment of this line, I know only the term “web3” and nothing more. I would like to know more because everywhere on my Twitter is mentioned that the #web3 is similar to the www early stage and back then I was too young, and now the time is perfect.
2. What should you know to start learning web3?
While I started this #buildinpublic adventure and sharing the process of writing the article, I got the question “Should I learn programming before web3?”. The first time when I got this question I got stuck, what should I reply? Is like something new, but actually is like building a new architecture for a house with the same tools.
The web3 is something new, but there is actually the same concept of writing code behind. You should build using clean code. Either you use Javascript, Golang, PHP or Python to write code (these beeing tools from previous example), still use code to produce the result dapp.
Should you start learning classic programming? Probably helps you a lot to have a solid background in programming, but literally you can learn it on the way.
3. What is DeFi?
Definition
Short for decentralized finance, DeFi is an umbrella term for peer-to-peer financial services on public blockchains, primarily Ethereum. DeFi (or “decentralized finance”) is an umbrella term for financial services on public blockchains, primarily Ethereum. With DeFi, you can do most of the things that banks support — earn interest, borrow, lend, buy insurance, trade derivatives, trade assets, and more — but it’s faster and doesn’t require paperwork or a third party.
3.1. What are the benefits of DeFI?
- Open: You don’t need to apply for anything or “open” an account. You just get access by creating a wallet.
- Pseudonymous: You don’t need to provide your name, email address, or any personal information.
- Flexible: You can move your assets anywhere at any time, without asking for permission, waiting for long transfers to finish, and paying expensive fees.
- Fast: Interest Rates and rewards often update rapidly (as quickly as every 15 seconds), and can be significantly higher than traditional Wall Street.
- Transparent: Everyone involved can see the full set of transactions (private corporations rarely grant that kind of transparency)
These notes are according to What is DeFi from Coinbase.
3.2. How to make money with DeFi
4. What is Blockchain?
Definition
A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together using cryptography. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree). The timestamp proves that the transaction data existed when the block was published in order to get into its hash. As blocks each contain information about the block previous to it, they form a chain, with each additional block reinforcing the ones before it. Therefore, blockchains are resistant to modification of their data because once recorded, the data in any given block cannot be altered retroactively without altering all subsequent blocks.
Source: Blockchain Wikipedia
4.1. What mining means?
Blockchain is a software protocol. For example, we have an SMTP protocol to send emails. Either you with a Gmail and me with yahoo could send emails to each other only by knowing the address. I don’t know how yahoo or Gmail processes my text and sends it to the destination. Blockchain is something similar, it helps to handle transactions between parties, by only knowing an address. If I know your address, I can send money to you. In the same way, you only need to know my address in order to send me money. You heard about Bitcoin right?! Bitcoin is a token, but more exactly is a blockchain app.
As a web3 dev, first, you need some basics in the blockchain. What is blockchain, how it works, and what is used?
Would you like to master this subject? Because what I found very useful is in this free course Blockchain 101 from Udemy.
The really best resources when we talk about learning programming are from Freecodecamp. They created a full course Solidity, Blockchain, and Smart Contract Course – Beginner to Expert Python Tutorial, on Youtube. And here we are:
Another course about blockchain development is presented by web3 university. You can find more resources in courses there.
4.2. What are wallets?
Crypto wallets store your private keys, keeping your crypto safe and accessible. They also allow you to send, receive, and spend cryptocurrencies.
Your holdings live on the blockchain, but can only be accessed using a private key. Your keys prove your ownership of your digital money and allow you to make transactions. If you lose your private keys, you lose access to your money.
4.3. How crypto transfer works?
WIP
5. What is web 3?
There are differences between web2 and web3, but decentralization its the maine one. In web3, developers don’t usually build and deploy applications that run on a single server or that store their data in a single database (usually hosted on and managed by a single cloud provider).
Are you prefering a video tutorial instead of this long article? (now you probably are asking yourself how is this question added here, after a long long text. yeah someone has to read my article, right?!). Do you know that some people are already sharing their knowledge recording video tutorials for free on youtube?! One of these persons is Nader Dabit. Go there and learn more about building web3 dapps.
5.1. Smart Contracts?
What are Smart contracts? Is like a real contract where you define all the rules and if all the rules are accomplished then the rules of contract are applied.
5.2. What is Solidity
Ethereum contracts are written in a programming language called “Solidity”.
5.3. What are dapps (decentralized applications)
Dapps are decentralized apps. They are like normal apps, and offer similar functions, but the key difference is they are run on a peer-to-peer network, such as a blockchain.
5.4. What are NFTs (non-fungible token)
NFT stands for non-fungible token. Simply put, it is a digital token that exists on the blockchain to record proof of ownership for the person holding it. Each token is completely unique because it has its own unique metadata which can never be replicated or replaced for another.
Resources
Other good resources that inspired me and helped me to write this article can be found below:
