[decentralized applications] - Crypto Academy S5 - Homework Post for Task 8

What are dApps? Explain the working system of dApps? What are the differences between dApps and other applications? Explain the advantages and disadvantages of dApps? How can dApps developers promote their apps? What should we pay attention to when using dApps? How do we find the information of a DApp that we want to know? Provide the steps (Screenshot required).

_{designed by me in photoshop}

Good day professor and my fellow steemians, I'm highly pleasured to be a part of this great and expository lesson on everything concerning Dapps.
Below is my assignment done to show my knowledge of the lesson.

What are Dapps?

On June 5,2021, operations in an app known as Twitter was banned in Nigeria and everyone in the state was unable to access unless with the use of an external VPN. I likened this to a recent situation too where an app called

source

Facebook got shutdown for hours, taking down business and other important works done on the app. All these were possible since there was a central point of operation and the apps in question were centralized apps. These failures we see being up needs for decentralized apps.

source

We can define Decentralized apps (Dapps) simply to be computer application softwares, that work on decentralized systems while using peer-to-peer and open source systems and working with smart contracts.
These Dapps are stored and initiated on blockchains systems like Bitcoin or Etherum and are used in Defi, a place for performing financial transactions in Dapps.

This app is so decentralized, to the extent that, if a messaging app is created on a blockchain, published messages by users can't be taken away even by the app developers and inventors

What is the working system of Dapps?
Dapps have their smart contracts work and develop on peer to peer networks (decentralized networks) while they utilize blockchains for keeping and securing of data and in times of app logic, they make use of smart contracts. These smart contract represent a pattern of regulations present in a blockchain and leading all users on how to run in the blockchain.

The Dapps on their own remain permanent once they are deployed on a network since they are controlled by smart contracts and not from a particular source

Differences between Dapps and other apps :

• Decentralized apps work with smart contracts and in this way, doesn't require intermediaries to connect users with the application unlike other apps that require intermediaries for connection with users

• Decentralized apps too have the ability to store value ie they have the capacity to store crypto assets and give back when the agreement reached has been met unlike other apps which may not be able to do so

• Security, so to say is another basic difference between the two apps since Dapps make use of public backends which detect malicious activities and stop them but in normal centralized apps, such features are not seen

• In responding to transactions, Dapps are renowned to be slower than normal /regular apps...eg Eth network that works on only 15 transactions every second and there is no sure bet of people's transactions, being included immediately since they are sent in blocks

• Dapps are relatively very hard to remove once they are installed on the network including its content unless there are varse and large number of users who no longer agree with it unlike normal apps that could be shut down from the network, whenever and how ever

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dapps include :

Advantages of Dapps :

• One of the major advantages of Dapps could be seen as resistance to censorship which implies that Dapps don't have a particular source but operates on a p2p network hereby eliminating failure of the apps from a particular source

• Security of user data : The nature of Dapps that makes user data to be duplicated and stored in other nodes on the network which makes even a hacked node on the network not to be a stoppage to accessing data on the network

• Data indelibility :When data is stored /recorded on the network, it remains permanent and can't be removed by anyone and so in this way, important data, is guaranteed not to be lost

Disadvantages of Dapps include :

• Complexity and Difficulty in maintenance :
  The p2p network and other nodes on the network where activities are done sometimes gets the need for upgrade and maintenance which makes these Dapps complex and difficult to maintain

• Requirement of heavy user knowledge and efficiency :On Dapps, requirements to use the apps are usually private keys /public ones which could be ambiguous for users most especially new ones who have already been used to centralized apps that demand less login processes

• Sometimes too, these Dapps due to their complex functions, function slowly and might slow down important activities like transactions which could be terrible on the side of users

How Dapps developers can promote their apps :

I will briefly explain what I'll do if I was a Dapp developer and how ill promote my app

• Firstly, I'll list my Dapp on websites and platforms meant for reviewing Dapps and checking their faults and strengths

• I'll afterwards start active promotion of the app using a good media influencer like in Nigeria, we have the likes of John obidi who charge less and could link up to international promoters too

• I'll map out a decentralized online media plan and intensify media promotions about it heavily
  according to my estimate for the app promotions

• I'll implore consultation of big names and consultants in the crypto field including attendance of online and physical conferences that would help boost my development of the app

• I could partner with bigger Dapp companies or even other cryptotoken Nfts who would help in developing the app's user base

Things to pay attention to while using Dapps :

There are certain things to watch out for while using Dapps and they include :

• Every Dapp must work and operate on a blockchain, this backing makes its decentralized and open source nature confirmed and trusted

• Like I said in the first point, it's nature must be open-sourced and a particular entity shouldn't hold majority of the app tokens

• The apps, should generate tokens for rewards to nodes that are contributing to the network

• To reduce scam risks, Dapps should not bring heavy profit returns always irrespective of market movement.
  It might be a red flag warning

Steps to finding out information about apps that we need to know:
This part just involves a simple conduction of analysis on a particular Dapp and it goes as follows :

• Firstly I'll through the Dapp radar go into the website for all Dapps as we can see tokens at the back ground including our great steem token..

source

• Then I tap on the menu bar at the top right where I'll see the tab for rankings and I click on it

source

• Presented on the background, is a list of ranking apps from 1 to the last and due to the fact that analysis has already been done on pancake I'll go for uniswap

source

• The details about the uniswap, is clearly shown including market cap, price, liquidity etc...

source

source

Thank you all for reading through my post, it was a very educative lecture and I am glad I partook in the homework post

Best regards
@sapwood
@dilchamo