Rust library for easy off-chain transaction building

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

SIDAN Lab

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

Entity (Incorporated)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

3

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

No

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

Implement a cardano-cli like wrapper on cardano-serialization-lib (equivalent on MeshJS’s lower level APIs), supporting serious DApps’ backend on rust codebase.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

Yes

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

Cardano-serialization-lib. It is an open source off-chain transaction building library where the proposed APIs would be built on top of it.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

Yes

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

The whole development process would be on an open source Github repo with Apache-2.0 license.

[METADATA] SDG rating

SDG 9 focuses on promoting sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation, and building resilient infrastructure. The project you described aims to develop a cardano-cli-like wrapper on the cardano-serialization-lib in Rust, which will provide libraries for easy off-chain transaction building in Rust for efficient Cardano application backends. By developing this wrapper, the project contributes to the advancement of industry and innovation by enhancing the capabilities and accessibility of Cardano's infrastructure for developers.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

To implement the same APIs as the Mesh’s lower level APIs, but on natively Rust library of the cardano-serialization-lib. The planned API documentation could be referred to https://meshjs.dev/apis/transaction/builder.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

Any Cardano Dapp which would have a backend on Rust could use it to integrate with all logics seamlessly.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

The engineers involved implemented the same APIs on Mesh (https://github.com/MeshJS/mesh/pull/168). Thus, it also proves the feasibility of the proposed solution as the implementation on Typescript with the exact dependency (cardano-serialization-lib) has already been implemented in Mesh.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Planning (2 weeks)

• List out all the APIs needed
• Have a detailed breakdown of tasks for all the activities covered:
• Package delivery
• Documentation
• Community education
• Budget: 5,000 ADA

Package development (6 weeks)

• Develop all the serialization logic a s planned
• Budget: 15,000 ADA

Prepare documentation (2 weeks)

• Produce the documentation content
• Host the documentation online with public access
• Budget: 5,000 ADA

Prepare education material (2 weeks)

• Produce content for examples
• Simple transaction (sending ADA and value)
• Easy smart contract example (unlocking value from single validator / minting single policy)
• Complex smart contract transaction example (multiple unlocking with multiple minting, with signer & time check)
• Budget: 5,000 ADA

Deliver education sessions to community (1 weeks)

• Deliver education sessions to community such as at Gimbalabs live coding session
• Retain the recording for future users’ reference
• Budget: 2,500 ADA

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

The engineers involved in this project delivers the same APIs in Mesh in this pull request: https://github.com/MeshJS/mesh/pull/168

• Hinson Wong - Cardano engineer
• Tsz Wai Wu - Cardano engineer

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Planning     = $50 * 40 hours = $2,000 (5,000 ADA)

Development  = $50 * 120 hours = $6,000 (15,000 ADA)

Documentation = $50 * 40 hours = $2,000 (5,000 ADA)

Education    = $50 * 60 hours = $3,000 (7,500 ADA)

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

1. Packages such as Mesh & Lucid have proven this layer of logic abstraction useful for Cardano Dapp development. It also lowers the entrance barriers for seasoned non-Cardano-native software engineers in Cardano development.
2. With such abstraction logic, it could save tens of thousands in development cost for a single production grade Dapp off-chain. Thus, value for money is justified when there are a few projects building on the package.
3. There are a bunch of Cardano infrastructure tools built on Rust. The package proposed would be able to natively integrate with production grade Dapps.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.

I Accept