Cosmos SDK: Redefining Blockchain Capabilities with Cosmos and SDK Tools

In the vast universe of blockchain technology, many stars shine, but one constellation tends to stand out more than the rest – the Cosmos SDK. There is a new dawn of application development, and the Cosmos SDK is leading the charge. 

With Cosmos SDK, blockchain applications can scale, be flexible, and be interconnected in a whole new way. We’ll explore how this innovative technology is revolutionizing blockchain development and making dApp development easier and more accessible.

What Role Does Cosmos Play Inside the Ecosystem of Blockchain?

Before we dive into the transformative role of Cosmos inside the blockchain landscape, let’s take a moment to reflect on the challenges faced by traditional platforms. 

Specifically, let’s look at Ethereum – a platform recognized for its innovations yet grappling with some crucial limitations.

The Scalability Challenge

One of the foremost limitations is scalability. Imagine trying to execute decentralized apps (dApps) at a modest speed of 15 tps. Sounds like a tall order, right? This issue arises due to Ethereum’s proof-of-work mechanism. 

The kicker? All dApps on Ethereum are vying for the same pool of resources from one blockchain. This bottleneck creates a significant hindrance to swift, seamless operations.

Webisoft is your partner in navigating the world of Web3 dApps development. We’re not just coders, we’re solution creators, experienced in working with advanced platforms such as Ethereum, BSC, Polygon, and Solana. 

Overcoming challenges such as scalability? That’s our bread and butter! You focus on the big picture of your project, and leave the heavy lifting to us at Webisoft

Sovereignty Setbacks

Let’s move on to sovereignty – another area where traditional platforms, including Ethereum, come up short. Each dApp shares the same ecosystem, creating a twin governance structure that limits each app’s self-rule. Suppose a bug creeps into your dApp. 

To squash it, you’ll need to navigate the complex governance structure of the Ethereum system, which can be time-consuming and arduous. Want to introduce a cool, new function in your dApp? You’ll still need the Ethereum platform’s blessing.

Usability Quandaries

Lastly, let’s consider usability. Think about how frustrating it is to be stuck using a one-size-fits-all solution. Ethereum’s Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a classic example. As a sandbox designed to accommodate all possible use- cases, it offers limited flexibility to developers. 

Consequently, they must make tough trade-offs in their app’s effectiveness and design. Additionally, they are stuck with a limited set of programming languages.

While these limitations aren’t unique to Ethereum, they’re common among blockchains offering one platform for all purposes. But what if there was a way around these obstacles?

A Look into Cosmos Blockchain

Do you ever wonder how different blockchains can connect, communicate, and engage with one another? This concept might sound like a scene straight from a sci-fi movie, but it’s what Cosmos Blockchain is making a reality. 

The system seeks to create a world of interconnected blockchains, where each blockchain can freely and seamlessly interact with its

High-Speed Processing, Sovereignty, and Interconnectivity

Imagine a place where blockchains not only maintain their independence but can also swiftly process transactions and communicate with each other. This is exactly what Cosmos brings to the table. 

The breadth of applications that benefit from this technological marvel is vast, making Cosmos an ideal partner for many scenarios.

To transform this vision into reality, Cosmos has a toolbox full of freely available magic. From the Cosmos SDK to Tendermint and IBC, these powerful instruments allow individuals to craft secure, personalized, and highly scalable blockchain applications. 

Now, let’s take a closer look at these tools and discover the recipe to build your own app on the Cosmos Blockchain.

Navigating Through the Cosmos Development Toolkit

Ever wondered what goes into building the incredible Cosmos? Let’s dive in!

The Enigma of Tendermint Core

Picture this — a tech gadget akin to a Swiss Army knife that’s got everything from a database and a web server to APIs for blockchain apps in any coding language. That’s Tendermint Core for you!

Serving as the pulse of the Cosmos ecosystem, it’s powered by the trusty Tendermint BFT consensus algorithm. But that’s not all! It’s also the cosy home where the inter-blockchain communication protocol (IBC) dwells.

IBC Protocol: The Cryptic Linguist

So, what’s this IBC protocol all about? Imagine having a reliable translator on hand, ensuring all the network layers, consensus layer, the hub, and any other linked blockchains understand each other perfectly.

But, IBC doesn’t stop there. It enables modules (processes executing on different machines) to ‘gossip’ among each other. With IBC, moving tokens between chains, executing smart contracts across chains, or operating decentralized oracles becomes a breeze. 

In a nutshell, IBC is your passport to blockchain interoperability, handling everything from data transfers to ensuring reliability and authenticity.

ABCI Layer: The Language Connoisseur

Enter the ABCI layer, the language expert of our toolkit. Using this gatekeeper, developers can create dApps on a blockchain using any programming language.

Consider ABCI as a trusty liaison. It builds a solid bridge between Cosmos SDK and Tendermint Core, ensuring their collaboration is as smooth as butter.

Touring the Cosmos SDK Galaxy

Last but not least, let’s step into the Cosmos SDK — the layer of application of our network. It lays out a comprehensive blockchain blueprint for developers keen to innovate within the Cosmos ecosystem.

Cosmos SDK champions simplicity. It brings to the table all the common features you see in blockchains, like staking, governance, and tokens. Plus, it gives developers the green light to create their own plugins, adding any extra sparkle they want. It’s all about tailoring it to your needs!

What Makes Cosmos SDK Special?

At the heart of the Cosmos SDK, there’s a project template that offers a prebuilt source for a blockchain app. So instead of juggling myriad components such as blocks, daemons, consensus, and staking, developers can now focus exclusively on their application logic.

Once you’ve honed your code and compiled it, the Cosmos SDK leaps into action. It spins up a daemon, equipped with the REST API access, a command-line UI, and a toolset for running minimal clients, staking, or complete nodes. You can leave the network setup to the SDK. 

All a user needs to do is kick off the daemon and connect to a network, much like they would with the Cosmos Hub’s Gaia.

The ATOM wallet can handle payouts to delegates for those looking to implement staking into their blockchain. Cosmos ensures a smooth sail, managing all your transactions and exchanges.

Features that Make a Difference

Cosmos maintains the flexibility to push updates without triggering forking, much similarly to other blockchain implementations. It also comes with an inbuilt governance mechanism. The key differentiator? If you must update a private blockchain, you alone hold the power to cast a valid vote.

Cosmos leverages the Tendermint BFT consensus to eliminate conflicting evidence in high-load distributed networks.

Tools of the Trade: Cosmos Developer Kit

Before embarking on your blockchain app journey with Cosmos, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the Cosmos Developer Kit. Here’s what it entails:

• Golang, ideal for creating duplicate state systems.
• Ruby-on-Rails, a powerful framework for blockchain development.
• Tendermint, for dealing with Networking and Consensus.

Crafting a Blockchain App with Cosmos SDK

An all-in-one tool for creating blockchain apps and blockchains, Cosmos SDK is the Swiss army knife of blockchain development.

A Walkthrough with the Polling App

To better understand the process, let’s walk through the creation of a Polling app on Cosmos. The tutorial makes use of the Starport tool, an effective ally in blockchain development.

To install Starport into /usr/local/bin, you’ll need to run the following script:

curl https://get.starport.network/starport@v0.15.1! | bash

A Successful Starport Installation: What’s Next?

Alright! Now that you’ve successfully installed Starport, you should see a cheerful little message popping up, announcing:

‘Welcome aboard! Starport is now docked at /usr/local/bin/starport’

Even though you have the option to run Starport in an online IDE, for this tutorial, we’ve opted to keep things local with a desktop installation.

For our demo, imagine we’re going to construct a voting platform leveraging blockchain technology – a polling app. Users of this app will be able to log in, whip up their own polls, cast their ballots, and review the voting outcomes.

We’ll rely on Starport to lay down the groundwork for our blockchain application and its voting module.

When it’s time to carve out a fresh blockchain for our polling app, we’re going to christen it ‘voter.’ Here’s how you do it using the script below:

starport app github.com/username/voter

Say Hello to ‘voter’: Your New Blockchain Directory

With the previous command, we’ve successfully created a directory called ‘voter’ right in our home base. Think of the ‘voter’ directory as the command center of your blockchain app. 

It’s the go-to place for all the code and resources you have to design, develop, and launch your blockchain-driven app.

What’s Inside the ‘voter’ Directory?

Let’s take a sneak peek into the key files and folders housed within the ‘voter’ directory:

cmd: This little champ is the brains behind the ‘voterd’ daemon, which helps your app communicate with the outside world.

app: Acting like the glue that holds everything together, the ‘app’ folder links all the moving gears of your application.

x: Here’s where you’ll find your Cosmos SDK ‘voter’ component. It’s like the DNA of your app, determining its unique characteristics.

proto: Home to your protobuf types, it’s your app’s language translator.

vue: This folder takes care of the app’s visual appeal by managing the web UI.

Cosmos SDK components are the fundamental building blocks for your apps, enabling them to perform various functions and tasks.

Taking ‘voter’ for a Spin

Now that we’ve set up everything, it’s time to get the ‘voter’ app up and running. We’ll be launching the app directly from our ‘voter’ project using the command below:

cd voterstarport serve

Activating Your Blockchain App

You’ve just fired up your blockchain app with the execution of that command. Well done! But remember, our journey’s just begun.

Next Up: Incorporating a Poll Transaction

Currently, our ‘voter’ app is like an empty vessel. To make it functional, we have to infuse it with some types. Our goal here is to add types that will trigger the creation of files. 

These files, in turn, will implement functionalities to read, update, create, and delete for a different type of custom.

Voting apps typically revolve around two central entities: polls and votes.

Integrating the Poll Type

Envision a poll type as a ballot with a title and a list of choices. To add the poll type to our ‘voter’ app, execute the below command within the directory of ‘voter’ —

‘starport type poll title options’

And voila! We’ve just created a poll type. This command has sparked the creation of code that takes care of making new poll items.

Checking Out the Front-End: Creating Polls

Want to catch a glimpse of your front-end application designed for creating polls? Follow these steps:

• Launch the command ‘starport serve’
• Head over to http://localhost:8080/

It might take several moments for the app to assemble. If you find that your localhost:8080 is currently occupied, worry not! It is easy for your app to find a home on the next available port.

The next step is to log in to the front-end. After you log in, you can tap into an existing wallet that’s been created using the app. 

The ‘voter’ app’s wallet is designed to handle multiple accounts. So, to avoid any confusion, we’ll have to assign it a unique name. For the purposes of this demo, we’re calling it ‘voter_wallet’.

Multiple Choices? No Problem!

If your poll requires multiple options, you must tweak the value string definitions in the proto buffer definitions. Here’s how you do it:

Open up the poll.proto file nestled inside the proto/voter directory.

To enable a repeating string passage, simply insert the term ‘repeated’ before ‘string options’.

message Poll {string creator = 1;uint64 id = 2;string title = 3;repeated string options = 4;}

In the proto/voter/tx.proto file, refresh the CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) types associated with the poll.

For the MsgCreatePoll and MsgUpdatePoll messages, add the term “repeated” directly prior to the string selections:

message MsgCreatePoll {string creator = 1;string title = 2;repeated string options = 3;}message MsgUpdatePoll {string creator = 1;uint64 id = 2;string title = 3;repeated string options = 4;}

Navigate to the message_poll. Go to x/voter/types/message_poll and save the file. Go to the poll response definition page.

In the NewMsgCreatePoll and NewMsgUpdatePoll functions, we will change the choices string with the options []string to save the choices as a list instead of a string:

// x/voter/types/message_poll.gofunc NewMsgCreatePoll(creator string, title string, options []string) *MsgCreatePoll {return &MsgCreatePoll{Creator: creator,Title: title,Options: options,}}// x/voter/types/message_poll.gofunc NewMsgUpdatePoll(creator string, id uint64, title string, options []string) *MsgUpdatePoll {return &MsgUpdatePoll{Id: id,Creator: creator,Title: title,Options: options,}}

The Journey of a POST Request: From Client to Blockchain

Imagine a client wanting to initiate an action or add something into a blockchain. It starts by creating an HTTP POST request. In this case, our ‘voter’ web application is the client.

The POST request’s destination is the handler at 

http://localhost:1317/voter/poll. This handler’s definition can be found tucked away in ‘x/voter/client/rest/txPoll.go’.

Behind the Scenes: The Handler’s Role

The handler gets to work, creating an anonymous exchange that contains a set of messages. Then, the client steps in, signing the transaction before forwarding it to 

http://localhost:1317/txs.

Next, the app takes over, sending each message within the transaction to a designated handler. This handler, in turn, activates the ‘CreatePoll’ function located in ‘x/voter/keeper/poll.go’. Data from the poll is stored in this function.

Keeper: The Custodian of Polls

The keeper is the gatekeeper that inserts the polls into the blockchain system. You can find it in the ‘poll.go’ file under ‘x/voter/keeper/poll.go’. It’s here that we’ll 6 the poll keeper for allowing a selection list.

// x/voter/keeper/poll.gofunc (k Keeper) AppendPoll(ctx sdk.Context,creator string,title string,options []string,) uint64 {// Create the pollcount := k.GetPollCount(ctx)var poll = types.Poll{Creator: creator,Id: count,Title: title,Options: options,}store := prefix.NewStore(ctx.KVStore(k.storeKey), types.KeyPrefix(types.PollKey))value := k.cdc.MustMarshalBinaryBare(&poll)store.Set(GetPollIDBytes(poll.Id), value)// Update poll countk.SetPollCount(ctx, count+1)return count}

In the txPoll, a REST gateway is generated. Go to x/voter/client/rest/txPoll and save the file.go. In the UpdatePollRequest, CreatePollRequest, and struct, replace the arguments string with the options []string.

type createPollRequest struct {BaseReq rest.BaseReq `json:”base_req”`Creator string `json:”creator”`Title string `json:”title”`Options []string `json:”options”`}type updatePollRequest struct {BaseReq rest.BaseReq `json:”base_req”`Creator string `json:”creator”`Title string `json:”title”`Options []string `json:”options”`}

The poll app’s end-user can further communicate with it via CLI (command line interface). The technical description of CLI may be found in x/voter/client/cli/txPoll.go.

We designed a distributed ledger app in our example app that enables customers to generate polls.

Final Words

As we’ve navigated through the Cosmos SDK universe, we’ve seen how it’s transforming the landscape of blockchain development. From its modular structure to the flexibility and scalability it offers, the Cosmos SDK is shaping a new era of decentralized application development. 

With it, developers can overcome common hurdles by enabling faster transaction speeds and ensuring seamless application logic development. Blockchain application creation has never been easier, more efficient, or more aligned with real-world needs thanks to this next-generation toolset. 

Embracing the Cosmos SDK could be the next big leap in your blockchain journey. The cosmos is waiting. Are you ready to explore?Ready to build the future of decentralized applications? Don’t wait, seize the opportunity with Webisoft – a pioneer in developing robust and scalable dApps on leading platforms like Polygon, BSC, Solana, and significant Ethereum. Harness the power of Web3 with us and transform your business.