Testnet && Mainnet – Know the Difference

Temitope Dickson Olajide — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 00:35:41 +0000

You would not want to risk deploying software with bad functionalities that would be figured out after production. It would be embarrassing if after deploying to production users discovered lapses in your development. Same is with the blockchain network. It is even more serious because of its intricacies and sensitivities.

In the blockchain’s sphere, we have the testnet (test network) and mainnet (main network). The actual production chain of any cryptocurrency is known as Mainnet. While an alternative blockchain network that is used for the purpose of testing is the testnet. Why is the need for testnet?

Testnet

This is an alternative to the actual blockchain network where final activities would be done. It is very important to have testnet because it is pretty easy for developers and engineers to make a design, modify, as well as test the functionality of the embarked project. Such testing helps them to keep track of the expected performance of the network before exposing the actual network to the public.

If you are just learning about how cryptocurrency works, it is very much advisable that you take an advantage of the testnet of available cryptocurrencies. This will help you to send and receive coins, thereby learning how transaction works. Developers and testers also would be able to see how feasible it is transacting on the network. All can test this without having to lose a dime that would ordinarily be incurred for transacting on the mainnet.

Without the testnet, developers would have to spend lots of time deploying and redeploying at production level. This, aside consuming time and resources could be frustrating. It is worthy of note that in the advent that a problem ensued after such deployment, users could lose their money because it would have affected the assets of the users. This will not tell well on the developers and the overall reputation of such project. Examples of testnet are Avalanche Testnet, PulsChain testnet, Binance Smart Chain testnet etc.

PulseChain Testnet

Avalanche Testnet

Mainnet

For a starter to get or own certain percent of a coin, there is need for such starter to mine the coin or trade the coin. Therefore, the main, as the name implies, blockchain that serves the functionality of handling the real and actual transaction is called the mainnet. It handles the actual transmission and reception of transaction using coins with real value on the economic space. The transactions that take place here are recorded on a distributed ledger. Why the need for mainnet?

Mainnet stands to indicate the progress of a project. Users and potential investors who already experimented with the testnet could have been yearning for the actual deployment. If such deployment never surfaced then it could be assumed that the project lacks credibility. Examples of mainnet are Bitcoin mainnet, Ethereum mainnet, Binance Smart Chain mainnet etc.

Bitcoin mainnet

Ethereum mainnet

In summary, while mainnet is the actual and final production phase of a crypto project, testnet is like a platform where the engagements of the public is needed for the test of quality, compatibility, and feasibility of certain cryptocurrency. Since the tokens that will be used for testing are ‘worthless’, testers have little to no transaction cost to bear unlike on the mainnet. The mainnet is the actiual production level of the cryptocurrency project.

Becoming a Blockchain Developer

Temitope Dickson Olajide — Sat, 28 May 2022 13:44:14 +0000

The emergence of cryptocurrency in recent years has made some software developers to turn attention to the technical aspect of it. You cannot talk about developing a cryptocurrency without talking about the entire field that mothers it - BLOCKCHAIN. Hence, you can only become a cryptocurrency developer if and only if you are a blockchain developer.

This article will help you to make right decision down the lane. You would learn 4 steps that will not only help you to kickstart your journey on this path but will also make you ride on with successes.

Understand why you want to be a Blockchain Developer

Yes, you want to become a blockchain developer. It could be because of the pay or skill gap but you should have a driving focus that will always inspire you to continue. You should have a goal at heart for wanting to dive into this seemingly new phase. For example, aside creating tokens, coins, NFTs, etc. there are other intricate aspect of blockchain that are quite interesting. Have you started thinking of areas like deployment, solution architecture, project management, UX design, quality engineering, security, maintenance, legal consultancy and policies, analyses, etc.?
Your choice here determines what you are to start channeling your energy into from the beginning. In fact, you may come to realize that you already have some skills that are needed on the space and you only need to familiarize yourself with the technology and terms in the blockchain space. This is why the next step is important.

Take Blockchain Development Courses

Once you are sure of what you are coming to do on the space, the next thing is to start the journey through learning. It is through that there might be limited physical classes that teach programming and the technicalities of blockchain, you can still get handful resources online that would help scale through whatever hurdle-like steps on your way.
AS a developer, you will agree to the fact that skills such as Agile Scrum, HTML, .NET, MVC, REST, VS, JS, NodeJS, Microsoft SQL, Neural-networks, JQuery, AJAX, C# SQL, C, XML, C++, SOAP, REST, FTP, Regression, Solidity, Golang, are technological skills that are needed on the blockchain journey.

Over the next few months if you are interested in Ethereum blockchain, try to go as deep as possible with the Ethereum EVM, Solidity and also understand how the major DeFi protocols work. Learn Data Structures and Algorithms.
Take a list of some few resources in this regard:

Solidity -here
Learn Ethereum : here and here
DeFi Roadmap - here
DeFi Protocol - E.g. Aave
Smart Contracts Development - E.g. OpenZeppelin contracts

While the list is not exhaustive, you can plan your path and search online for available resources like articles, YouTube videos, etc.

Join communities, and build.

You can only show what you have learnt when you build. That is why this step is quite important.

One interesting way to build is by participating in hackathons. An example of this is the Ethereum hackathons. You will also be building when you contribute to projects. For example, you may want to contribute to Gitcoin projects. Make wise use of collaboration platforms like Discord, GitHub, Medium, Telegram, etc.

Start something like applying for jobs, grant, freelancing, interning, volunteering, etc.

To gather sufficient experiences, you must work on real life jobs. Since you are just starting, the fulltime role might not be available at the go but interning or volunteering with organizations that have the same goal as yours will go a long way to help you.
You will find some of the following reports interesting:

The most emerging job of 2020 according to the LinkedIn Job Report 2020 is blockchain developer with an increase of 33x.
Average annual salary of a blockchain developer in Switzerland is around USD 180,000. Source

In the year 2019, there were some 1135 jobs, from companies and startups totaling 472, posted on Cryptocurrency
Jobs.Source
Blockchain-related companies are more open to remote positions with 37% of people working remotely while at others that number is around 15%. Source

DEV Community: Temitope Dickson Olajide