Last updated 2 months ago
Cardano developers face a steep learning curve. One must have spare time and be a self-learner. This can't continue to be the case.
Developer Report: Cardano is far behind Polkadot, Solana & Cosmos.
This is the total amount allocated to Cardano Developer Studio. 5 out of 5 milestones are completed.
1/5
Repository Setup and Initial Tooling
Cost: ₳ 17,174
Delivery: Month 1 - Apr 2024
2/5
Development Environment Setup
Cost: ₳ 17,173
Delivery: Month 2 - May 2024
3/5
CLI Toolkit Development
Cost: ₳ 21,467
Delivery: Month 3 - Jun 2024
4/5
Haskell Libraries and Example Contracts
Cost: ₳ 17,170
Delivery: Month 4 - Jul 2024
5/5
Deployment Automation
Cost: ₳ 12,883
Delivery: Month 5 - Aug 2024
NB: Monthly reporting was deprecated from January 2024 and replaced fully by the Milestones Program framework. Learn more here
All-in-one repository to quickly start developing, compiling, testing, and deploying.
Devs can choose the desired version, begin writing their code, and experience a streamlined development process.
No dependencies.
No license is needed.
Answer:
The Problem
As a Cardano developer, I had to face a steep learning curve by myself. Even though I felt accomplished after going through it, It was a big pain and time-consuming process. My personal situation, having spare time, and being a self-learner allowed me to go through all of that, but definitely if we expect to onboard more developers this can not continue to be the case.
To reinforce this diagnosis we can go and see some data from a Developer Report, that shows the Cardano ecosystem, is far behind Polkadot, Solana & Cosmos in the number of developers, those three are above 300 active developers, while Cardano has only 160. But that is a snapshot. If we analyze the developer growing metric, it's a lot worse. Cardano is one of the slowest with a 14% increase comparing 2022 with 2021.
Link to the report: https://www.developerreport.com/developer-report
The solution
Our proposal is to create an all-in-one repository that enables developers to quickly start developing, compiling, testing, and implementing their projects.
We will implement an automated multi-container workflow that includes all the necessary tools and configurations to achieve this. By utilizing Docker Compose, we can define and run these multi-container applications seamlessly. This approach relieves developers from the burden of individually installing and configuring each tool, allowing them to concentrate on building dApps and smart contracts.
With our solution, developers can simply choose the desired version, begin writing their code, and experience a streamlined development process.
Protofire aims to create and maintain the Developer Studio as a public repository, offering a comprehensive resource for developers entering the world of Cardano smart contracts. This repository will include a CLI toolkit that empowers developers to make the most of the available tools. Additionally, it will provide sample contracts and Haskell libraries with essential functions to facilitate both on-chain and off-chain development. To enhance accessibility and adaptability, the repository will offer up-to-date Dockerfiles that users can easily configure to suit their specific needs, such as selecting desired tools, services, and networks.
Solution Features
Developer Studio will provide documentation, tutorials, and links to official pages and documentation. This ensures that developers have easy access to essential information and references.
To achieve this, we will provide the following tools within the Developer Studio repository:
1- Dockerfiles and Docker Compose for tools and services: We will offer Dockerfiles and Docker Compose configurations to facilitate the setup and execution of various core services in Cardano. These services, including Cardano Node, Cardano Wallet and DbSync are essential for many developments and applications. Developers will have the flexibility to start containers individually or in combination. The only requirement is that the user has Docker installed on their computer.
2- Dockerfile and Docker Compose that sets up a development environment ready for writing, compiling, testing, and deploying smart contracts. It includes GHCup, Cabal, Nix, Plutus-Tx, and optionally Plutus-Apps. This uses the DevContainers offered by VS Code, the most widely used development environment for these projects today. Once the Docker is established within the DevContainer, VS Code seamlessly loads and runs the Docker for the user. This means that users can start writing and executing code within the mentioned Docker without any extra setup required.
Link: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/devcontainers/containers
3- Bash script-based CLI toolkit to manage and utilize all the included tools within the Studio: containers, services and utilities. Users will be able to choose, configure, and create the aforementioned containers through interactive menus. The toolkit will also feature menus to interact with various services, such as querying the Cardano Node, creating basic transactions, signing and sending raw transactions, managing wallets in the Wallet Server and more.
Additionally, the toolkit will offer menus for performing essential tasks in the Cardano development process. This includes utilities to convert and derive addresses, view wallet balances, inspect UTXOs of addresses, calculate hash values of datums and redeemers, and more.
Menus will also be provided to interact with example contracts included as part of this solution, including minting contracts. Users will be able to create and utilize different pre-existing minting policies or add their own policies. These policies can be wallet-dependent or limited to one-time use (e.g., for creating NFTs). Users will be able to mint their tokens directly from this toolkit, add metadata to minting transactions and create metadata files in the required format for presentation to the Cardano Foundation. The suite empowers developers to create and deploy their own FT and NFTs needed for running and testing their applications.
Wallets can be exported for users to add them to their preferred wallet applications, such as Eternl, Nami, and others.
The toolkit will offer menus to download and select specific versions of Plutus Apps, along with commands to initiate the specific nix-shell for each of them. Additionally, there will be menus to facilitate running the documentation server (Haddock) for each of the downloaded Plutus Apps.
Menus will be available to start Chain Index, Playground Server, and Playground Client for the example contracts in the suite.
Other utility menus included:
4- Haskell libraries that encompass both off-chain and on-chain functions. These libraries serve as valuable resources for developers, enabling them to efficiently develop and interact with Cardano smart contracts. Includes functions to evaluate scripts that allows developers to assess the resource consumption of their contracts and getinsights into the performance and efficiency of the contracts, helping developers optimize their code and ensure optimal resource utilization.
These libraries equip developers with the necessary libraries, tools, and evaluation capabilities to enhance their development experience, simplify contract deployment, and optimize the efficiency of Cardano smart contracts.
5- Suite of example smart contracts and customizable minting policies: These examples, designed to inspire and empower developers, serve as invaluable references, providing developers with a solid foundation and inspiration to create their own smart contracts.
Moreover, the suite includes comprehensive testing files and a user-friendly CLI interface, enabling developers to easily execute PAB Simulator, Trace Emulator, and Plutus-Simple-Model. These tools facilitate thorough testing and interactive experimentation in simulated newtwork, ensuring the reliability and effectiveness of the contracts.
With these example contracts and customizable minting policies, developers have the resources they need to explore and experiment with different contract functionalities.
6- Automatization of building production image: To facilitate the deployment of the production environment, we offer a set of actions and scripts that automate the process. These actions and scripts enable the generation of a production-ready image that is portable and can be easily uploaded to Docker Hub.
With every new release on GitHub, the automation scripts automatically build and upload the image to Docker Hub. This ensures that the latest version is readily available for deployment.
The generated image is designed to be easily deployable on hosting services like Demeter. You can effortlessly mount the image on the hosting service, allowing for seamless deployment and scaling of your application.
With these actions and scripts, developers can efficiently generate a production environment, create a portable image, automate the release process, and deploy their applications on hosting services with ease.
Cardano Developer Studio brings significant value to the Cardano ecosystem:
While it is challenging to quantify the exact impact our project will have, we anticipate the following outcomes within a reasonable timeframe:
We plan to promote Cardano Developer Studio with the following actions:
Overall, our project aims to contribute to the evolution of the Cardano developer ecosystem by providing essential tools, resources, and support structures that enhance developer productivity, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. This, in turn, can attract more developers, increase the number of open-source projects, and strengthen the overall Cardano ecosystem.
Protofire has a strong track record and demonstrated capabilities that make us well-suited to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability. Here are some reasons why:
In summary, Protofire possesses the necessary capabilities, expertise, and processes to deliver this project with high levels of trust and accountability. Our experience in decentralized infrastructure, developer adoption, and financial management, combined with a transparent and communicative approach, make us well-suited to effectively manage funds and ensure the successful delivery of the project.
To validate the feasibility of our approach, we will employ some of the following strategies:
Milestone 1: Repository Setup and Initial Tooling
Tasks:
Validation Criteria:
Timeline: 4 weeks
Deliverables & Outputs:
Intended Outcomes:
Measures for Progress:
Milestone 2: Development Environment Setup
Tasks:
Validation Criteria:
Timeline: 4 weeks
Deliverables & Outputs:
Intended Outcomes:
Measures for Progress:
Milestone 3: CLI Toolkit Development
Tasks:
Timeline: 4 weeks
Deliverables & Outputs:
Intended Outcomes:
Measures for Progress:
Milestone 4: Haskell Libraries and Example Contracts
Tasks:
Timeline: 4 weeks
Deliverables & Outputs:
Intended Outcomes:
Measures for Progress:
Final Milestone: Deployment Automation
Tasks:
Validation Criteria:
Timeline: 4 weeks
Deliverables & Outputs:
Intended Outcomes:
Measures for Progress:
Protofire Experience
Protofire stands at the forefront of the Web3 revolution, offering a comprehensive range of services to empower and catalyze the growth of decentralized technologies. With our deep-rooted expertise and vast experience, we have established ourselves as a trusted partner for clients seeking to harness the full potential of blockchain and Web3 applications. From smart contract development and decentralized app creation to developer tools, integrations, DevOps, wallets, and TVL solutions, our team of blockchain mavericks has collaborated with prominent projects and platforms, such as Gnosis Safe Wallet, Chainlink, The Graph, Filecoin, MakerDAO, Fuse, CowSwap, and many others. We are committed to bringing your visionary ideas to life, combining technical prowess with effective project management to drive the success of your Web3 endeavors
Diego Torres Project Management
https://www.linkedin.com/in/diego-torres-borda-94b70912/
In 2018, I stumbled upon Bitcoin's White Paper, and it was love at first sight. Since then, I've immersed myself in the world of blockchain and studied numerous other protocols, from Ethereum to third-generation blockchains. To me, a decentralized protocol is more than just a buzzword - it's a community-driven decision-making organization with open and public records, enforced by consensus protocols that ensure permissionless access and censorship resistance.
Web3 Experience
Protofire FCTO: Business Development. Education. Team Leadership.
The Graph: Indexing Operation Leadership. Subgraph development. Hosted services to third parties.
Polkadot Ecosystem: Contract Wizard & Multisg development. Infrastructure as a service to Parachains.
Cardano Ecosystem: RastDAO Founder, Core team at Mayz & Cardano Ambassador.
Manuel Padilla Lead Software Engineer & Blockchain Specialist
https://www.linkedin.com/in/manuel-ale-padilla/
Manuel Padilla is a versatile and highly motivated software engineer with a Bachelor's degree in Technology from the National Technological University. Having a plethora of programming languages under their belt, including but not limited to SQL, Basic, C, C++, VB, .NET, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and Haskell, Manuel Padilla brings over 13 years of experience in web development and software engineering.
Web3 Experience:
dApps:
GitHub: https://github.com/manupadillaph/
Camila Mancusi QA Engineer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/camilamancusi/
Camila wants to participate improving the user experience and usability in the web3 applications to make this world more friendly and accesible to everyone. She wants to be involved in making possible that using web3 functionalities is as simple and usual as those focused on web2
Web3 Experience
Luis Lopez Full Stack Developer
https://www.linkedin.com/in/luigibyte/
Luis likes the entire Blockchain ecosystem, and He is currently creating an minting Dapp for BadgerDAO. Expert knowledge in NodeJS, Web3JS, SM, Solidity. Has experience with Smart Contracts. Polkadot, Polygon, Chainlink, Lens
Web3 Experience:
Braian Leiva DevOps
https://www.linkedin.com/in/braian-leiva/
Fan of blockchain and decentralized system. Infrastructure automation lover.
Experience:
Milestone 1: Repository Setup and Initial Tooling
Project Manager:
Coordinate with DevOps team for repository setup and Docker configurations.
Liaise with QA team for quality standards.
Cost: 30h * 67 ADA/h = 2,000 ADA
DevOps Engineer:
Set up Github repository.
Develop Dockerfiles.
Implement Docker Compose configurations.
Cost: 100h * 93 ADA/h = 9,333 ADA
Full Stack/Cardano Developer:
Assist and guide DevOps team in creating Dockerfiles.
Provide expertise and recommendations on tools, frameworks, and libraries.
Cost: 80h * 93 ADA/h = 7,467 ADA
QA:
Ensure Dockerfiles build without errors.
Validate Docker Compose configurations.
Cost: 10h * 67 ADA/h = 667 ADA
Total ADA for Milestone 1: 19,467 ADA
Milestone 2: Development Environment Setup
Project Manager:
Oversee DevOps and Developer teams for development environment setup.
Coordinate with QA for validation of Dockerfile and environment functionality.
Cost: 20h * 67 ADA/h = 1,333 ADA
DevOps Engineer:
Build Dockerfile for development environment.
Develop Docker Compose configurations.
Create VS Code DevContainer.
Cost: 100h * 93 ADA/h = 9,333 ADA
Full Stack/Cardano Developer:
Ensure Cardano blockchain development environment setup.
Explore browser-based development environments.
Cost: 60h * 93 ADA/h = 5,600 ADA
QA:
Validate Dockerfile and environment functionality.
Cost: 20h * 67 ADA/h = 1,333 ADA
Total ADA for Milestone 2: 17,600 ADA
Milestone 3: CLI Toolkit Development
Project Manager:
Guide Full Stack/Cardano Developer team in CLI toolkit design and development.
Ensure effective testing and feedback from QA.
Cost: 20h * 67 ADA/h = 1,333 ADA
Full Stack/Cardano Developer:
Design and develop bash script-based CLI toolkit.
Implement interactive menus and utility menus.
Cost: 120h * 93 ADA/h = 11,200 ADA
QA:
Test toolkit functionality and usability.
Cost: 10h * 67 ADA/h = 667 ADA
Total ADA for Milestone 3: 13,200 ADA
Milestone 4: Haskell Libraries and Example Contracts
Project Manager:
Oversee Full Stack/Cardano Developer team in Haskell libraries creation and example smart contracts development.
Coordinate with QA for verification and validation.
Cost: 20h * 67 ADA/h = 1,333 ADA
Full Stack/Cardano Developer:
Create Haskell libraries, implement functions, write examples, and develop example smart contracts.
Cost: 120h * 93 ADA/h = 11,200 ADA
QA:
Verify library functionality and validate example contracts.
Cost: 40h * 67 ADA/h = 2,667 ADA
Total ADA for Milestone 4: 15,200 ADA
Milestone 5: Deployment Automation
Project Manager:
Coordinate with DevOps team for deployment automation design and implementation.
Liaise with QA for validation of automation scripts and production image generation.
Cost: 20h * 67 ADA/h = 1,333 ADA
DevOps Engineer:
Design and implement automation actions and scripts.
Create production-ready images.
Automate build and upload process.
Cost: 90h * 93 ADA/h = 8,400 ADA
QA:
Validate execution of automation scripts and successful production image generation.
Cost: 40h * 67 ADA/h = 2,667 ADA
Total ADA for Milestone 5: 12,400 ADA
Additional Roles for All Milestones:
Marketing and Community:
Update community about project progress and milestones.
Cost: 60h * 67 ADA/h = 4,000 ADA
Document Specialist:
Document all work accurately and comprehensively.
Cost: 60h * 67 ADA/h = 4,000 ADA
Total ADA for Additional Roles: 8,000 ADA
We, at Protofire, are thrilled to submit our proposal for the Catalyst Grant Program, highlighting our strong determination to enter in Cardano ecosystem as +80 Engineer Company.
In this proposal, we will outline our approach, emphasizing the importance of quality, adherence to timelines and milestone-based projects, and our proven track record in diverse markets.
While profitability is undoubtedly a critical aspect of any project, we recognize that onboarding Cardano requires a long-term vision that extends beyond immediate financial gains. We understand that investing in this new technology may initially result in costs that surpass our break-even point.
However, we firmly believe that by strategically positioning ourselves within this ecosystem, we will eventually become a main character that can drive and produce great value for everyone.
So for Cardano, this proposal represents a world-class team working on an open-source tool for half the cost. It's definitely a good deal!