DEV Community: Akshaya Chanchala

Understanding Web3

Akshaya Chanchala — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 14:14:02 +0000

In this article I talk about :
• Different versions of the Web.
• Issues with Web 2.0
• What is Web3 and how is it different from others?
• Problems that Web3 solves.

What is Web 1.0?

The first inception of Berners-Lee's creation, now known as 'Web 1.0', occurred roughly between 1990 to 2004. Web 1.0 was mainly static websites owned by companies, and there was close to zero interaction between users - individuals rarely produced content - leading to it being known as the read-only web.

What is Web 2.0?

The Web 2.0 period began in 2004 with the emergence of social media platforms. Instead of a read-only, the web evolved to be read-write. Instead of companies providing content to users, they also began to provide platforms to share user-generated content and engage in user-to-user interactions. As more people came online, a handful of top companies began to control a disproportionate amount of the traffic and value generated on the web. While users could create content, they didn't own it or benefit from its monetization.

Web 1.0	Web 2.0
Read-Only	Read-Write
No Interaction with Consumers	Possible Interaction with Consumers
Static in Nature	Dynamic in Nature

Themes of Centralization and Decentralization

In a Centralized form of environment, data is stored at a single location, meaning, there exists some sort of authority that has access to such type of data. This authority has significant rights and powers to access and modify data. Web 2.0 is Centralized.

In a Decentralized form of environment, data is distributed across the network.
It can be thought of as a firm structure in which multiple levels of the organization make choices. No authority exists in such type of environment. Web 3.0 is Decentralized.

Issues with Web 2.0

Being Centralized in nature, the user does not have control over the data or how it is stored. Companies often track user data and save their information without user permission.
Since it is stored at a single location, data is not safe. Data stored at a single location is a gold mine for hackers and data is more prone to vulnerability.
Because you don't have any control over your data, you are often forced to trust and believe that your data is in safe hands, which could be a myth.

How did Web3 come into the picture?

Computer Scientist, Gavin Wood coined the term "Web 3.0" in 2014 while describing his vision for the future of the internet. He goes on to describe it as :

A truly decentralized and a more democratic version of the current internet.

What is Web3?

Web3 is the next gradual step from the kind of network that exists right now. Web3 moves from the idea of centralization to decentralization, where no single authority has complete control over user data. Data breach in Web3 is less likely because of the way data is distributed over the network and is not present at a single storage place.

How does Web3 deal with the drawbacks of Web 2.0?

‘Open’ as it would be open-sourced software built by an open and accessible community of developers and executed in full view of the world.
‘Trustless’ in that the network itself allows participants to interact publicly or privately without a trusted third party.
‘Permissionless’ in that anyone, both users and suppliers, can participate without authorisation from a governing body.

Benefits of Web3

Decentralization – Rather than trusting a single authority, using Web3 we are trying to establish a network where every activity is displayed to the whole world.
Data Ownership – With web3, users are the owners of the system and not its product.
Immutability – The ledger can be a permanent, transparent, and unalterable history of all transactions made.

Blockchain and Web3

Blockchain is a key technology behind Web3. It can be described as the brains that are behind the existence of peer-to-peer networks and digital forms of currencies, especially Cryptocurrency.

In formal terms, a Blockchain is a distributed and permanent database that is shared among multiple nodes in a computer network. They record data in such a way that it makes it almost impossible to modify or hack the system.

Summary

Web1: Read 📖

Web2: Read-Write 📖 🖊️

Web3: Read-Write-Own 📖 🖊️ 🔑

Conclusion

As far as Web2 is concerned, I believe that it will remain relevant in the present, as well as the future, but I also believe that more and more companies will consider switching to Web3 form of network in the future. There are several arguments offered by Web3 that are relevant to the time and should be discussed by people to gain a better understanding of them. I believe that Web3 will play an important role in the future.

Understanding Github - I

Akshaya Chanchala — Sat, 23 Apr 2022 08:40:24 +0000

Version Control

Version Control or Source Control is the practice of tracking and managing changes made in the software code. Version Control Systems are software tools which allow you to track and manage all the changes that are made to the source code during the development of a project. It keeps track of changes made in the source code and allows you to roll back to the previous version whenever necessary.

Need of Version Control Systems

Version Control Systems are necessary as they help you keep track of your code, and access it whenever necessary. If the code is stored locally, the source code is lost whenever the system crashes.
Distributed Version Control Systems checks out the latest version where each collaborator will have an exact copy (mirroring) of the main repository(including its entire history) on their local machines. Here each user has their own repository (like on Github) and a working copy (on the local machine).

Git vs Github

Git : Git is a version control software tool that is used to track changes of the source code.
Github : Github is a web-cloud based platform that hosts your source code.

Note that, it is possible for Git to exist without Github, but vice versa is not possible.

Github Workflow

A Git project consists of three main parts

Repository
- Consider Github to be a bookshelf, each book on the shelf can be called a repository.
- A repository holds details and files related to a project.
- The repository also keeps track of all commits made during the development of projects.
- Commits can be said to be changes that are made to a single or set of files. Whenever you make a commit a unique ID or SHA or hash is created that allows you to keep track of specific changes that have been made. Commit messages are usually short texts that describe the changes made in the project briefly. A list of commits that have been made in a project can be obtained by using the command git log.
- Repositories have 2 scopes: public and private.
Working tree
- The files and folders that a developer adds to the Git repository residing outside the .git folder are known as the Git working tree.
Staging Area
- The staging area is where commits are prepared.
- The repository is compared with the working tree, the staging area marks the files before they are committed.

To sum up!

Working tree(locally existing files) → Staging area(where files are sent after changes are made) → repository(those files which are passed from the staging area onto the repository)

Types of files you find during development

Tracked Files : Tracked files are those files that are added and committed, these files are sent into the staging area so that they could be sent to the remote repository or in simple terms the place where your code is stored.
Untracked Files : Untracked files are those files that are present in your working directory but are not added to the staging area, hence are not queued to send to the remote repository.

States of Git Files

Three main states any file undergoes are :

Modified
Staged
Committed

→ When you create and modify a file in the working directory/tree, it will only be updated locally.

→ The file must then be sent to staging area if you want to include them in your next commit.

→ Once the files are committed with proper message, they are then pushed to the remote repository, where they will be stored safely.

Being aware of how Git and Github work is very important, especially when you're just starting out. If you're trying to share your code with the world or if you want to contribute to open source, knowing Github inside and out would be helpful.

Wireframes.

Akshaya Chanchala — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 19:02:28 +0000

The wireframe is a blueprint that helps you design the structure of the application or website that you are trying to build. They are also known as wires, mockups or mocks. Wireframes play a crucial role in building the software as they give you a brief idea about the design and positioning of the components in an application.

Advantages of Wireframes -

Helps you understand data flow.

It is beneficial to have wireframes of the software before starting development as they not only give you an idea about structuring the application but also help you understand the data flow.
Helps you communicate your idea in a better way.

It becomes easy for you to communicate your idea when you have a blueprint of what you want to design. While designing a wireframe you can adjust the position of the components which would otherwise be a tedious process after the code is written.
Makes adjusting components easier.

Wireframing saves a lot of time and adjustment work. Once the design is finalized, you can start working on the implementation of the software.

Things to remember while wireframing -

Keep it simple - A wireframe is just a layout of how your application should look, it should not have any technical content or technical details in it.
Simplified flow of application - The main goal of wireframing is to understand the data flow across the application, and to understand the hierarchy of components in it. Make sure that the flow of data is simple and understandable.
Mobile-first designing - Design software that is responsive on any type of device. So when you start wireframing, start designing for the smallest screens first.

Here are some of my go-to wireframing resources!

Paper and pencil
- You can get a rough sketch of how you want your website to look. You can get a basic representation of your webpage in no time.
https://balsamiq.com/
- Balsamiq is one of the most beginner-friendly websites to design your first wireframe. It has a great user interface which would help design your website quickly
- It has a 30-day free trial followed by a monthly subscription
Figma.com (Personal Favorite!)
- Figma provides beginner-friendly tools to design wireframes.
- It is easier to adjust colors and position of components, it gives you detailed instructions on how to get started.
- Figma designs are widely used in the Design community to share each other’s work.
- It has a free tier pricing feature that would help you design unlimited personal files.

Wireframing is one of the most important parts of the life cycle of a software application. A dedicated amount of time should be spent while designing a wireframe as it would ease the process of development.

Why is it important to know about JavaScript?

Akshaya Chanchala — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:33:45 +0000

JavaScript. The almighty! Almost everyone on the block of web development or even for someone who is exploring the tech world has heard about JavaScript. JavaScript is one of the languages that has stayed high in demand since the day it was born.

JavaScript is being used almost in every application that we use every day. There are over 1.8 Billion websites in the world and 95% of them use JavaScript.

The question is What makes JavaScript stand out from the rest? Here are a few factors stating the popularity and importance of JavaScript. Let’s begin!

JavaScript is the ONLY language that the browser understands.
Many scripting languages were created earlier to run in the web browsers, but due to JavaScript’s ease of use and cross-platform compatibility, it became the obvious choice of the browser vendors and the development community to use it for the development of the Web.
Easy to access and Learn.
To write basic code in JavaScript all you need is a browser. Since JavaScript is supported by every browser, therefore you can start to code right away.
For Instance, if you use Chrome, ctrl+shift+i opens the Console where you can enter your first line of JavaScript!
Adds Dynamic behavior to the Websites.
Almost every single interactive behavior that exists on the web page can be done using JavaScript. For Example :
Using the Hamburger Menu
Show or hide information with a click of a button
Carousel of images being displayed
Timer or a count-down on the website etc...
Javascript is used across the development stack.
JavaScript is the most important tool for Web Development. With the knowledge of JavaScript, you can develop both the Front End and Back End of the website.
The most popular stacks, MEAN and MERN, are completely dependent on JavaScript.
Community Support is Massive.
There is a lot of Community Support available for JavaScript, if you are a beginner there is a very little chance that you might encounter a problem that hasn’t occurred before.
There are a lot of really good resources available online for you to get started on your journey to learn more about JavaScript.

These are some of the reasons why I consider everyone should know about JavaScript. JavaScript is here to stay, so it is beneficial for everyone to know about it.