The Best Blockchain Developer Tools

By ameliatomasicchio

o Blockchain for Business

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As I recently write on this article, you should bet on bitcoin if you want to
find a high paying job because being a blockchain developer might be your
game changer. Blockchain developers are a real unicorn right now because a
lot of companies and startups are looking for this expertise, but only a few
people in the world work in this field.
That said, I want to show you the best blockchain developertools you should
consider if you have already started to work in this environment or if you are
a newbie.People in the community argue that the blockchain will disrupt any
industry, just like what happened with the Internet back in the ‘90s. But, how
can it be used to build the so-called dapps (decentralized applications)?
The blockchain is not only a network for transactions and store of value, but
it can also execute programs. Some blockchains are able to contain programs,
called smart contracts, as in the case of the Ethereum chain.A smart contract
can be defined as a promise that signing parties agree on specific terms
written on the contract itself. For example, if you want to rent an apartment,
the loaner might ask you to pay a deposit before you move.

Instead of relying on notaries and banks, you can both write and sign a smart
contract setting out the terms of the let and the related deposit. In the event
that some of the terms aren’t respected, the money would be returned to the
legitimate owner without the need for any intervention by lawyers.

In fact, smart contracts allow you to avoid any intervention by banks,

lawyers, and any court. Just write a program that defines how much money
should be transferred in response in order to meet specific conditions.

The Best Blockchain Developer Tools List

Decentralized and public blockchains

The blockchains can potentially eliminate all the intermediaries needed in

order to build trust.

To do so, of course, you don’t have to build your own blockchain, but you
will be able to use already existing networks such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or
Hyperledger. Bitcoinand Ethereum are both decentralized, open source and
public chains, while Hyperledger is a private one- but also open source –
created by the Linux Foundation. Of course, they are different enough, and
we have to say that Bitcoin is not a good choice to build dapps on because it
was designed for peer-to-peer transactions and not for this task.

That said, let’s take a look at the most useful tools for a blockchain
developers, both for bitcoin and ethereum.

Blockchain Testnet
If you are blockchain developer, whether you want to create a new dapp
using Ethereum or another chain, you should use the related testnet or a
system that works as a substitute for the real blockchain that you will want to
use for the real dapp.

BaaS: blockchain as a service by Microsoft

Microsoft Azure created the so-called BaaS, or Blockchain as a service, a

useful tool for developers to build dapps in a safe and cheaper environment
that supports several chains, including MultiChain, Eris, Storj, and
Augur. BaaS was created with the main goal of enabling the backend the
capabilities needed by blockchain solutions, so you can launch the blockchain
with just a few clicks, rather than setting up your own on Azure.

Mist
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For Ethereum developer, you can use Mist not only to store Ether or send
transactions but also to deploy smart contracts. You can use the native Mist
application in order to develop your dapps on the Ethereum blockchain or on
its testnet. You just have to get Mist and start working on the browser. Of
course, to execute your own smart contract you will need to spend some
Ether, as the fuel to run it on the Ethereum network. Ether, in fact, is like the
electricity that keeps Ethereum alive.
Coinbase’s API

Coinbase’s APIs allow blockchain developers to easily build new bitcoin

apps and integrate bitcoin into already existing applications. This system
enables a wide range of capabilities from gathering read-only data to building
something really new. Also, Coinbase’s APIs provides a system to create
bitcoin wallets and addresses, buy, sell, send and receive bitcoins worldwide,
and they offer several client libraries and mobile SDKs that are quite useful
for a developer.

Tierion

It enables to create a verifiable database of any data or process on the bitcoin

blockchain by offering developer tools & API to add data to the distributed
ledger. Tierior has also developed an open standard called ChainPoint for
recording data and generating receipts that contain all the info needed to
verify the data without relying on any intermediaries.

Embark

It is a developer framework for Ethereum dapps, so this means that it allows

you to easily develop and deploy dapps, or a serverless html5 application that
uses decentralized technologies. Embark enables you to create new smart
contracts and make them available in the JS code. Also, it watches for
changes, and if you update the contract, Embark will automatically modify
the contracts and its related dapp.

Ether Scripter

This is a tool that helps you writing the script (or code) of your smart
contract. It is an user-friendly platform created back in 2014. At the moment,
it can only be used with the Serpent programming language.
Solc

Solc is the Solidity Compiler (Solidity is the programming language to write

code on the Ethereum chain). A good number of Ethereum nodes natively
includes a solc implementation, but it is also packaged as a standalone
module for an offline compiling. So, you can decide to use
web3.eth.compile.solidity to compile your Solidity files using your node, or
you can start using a solc.compile that doesn’t rely on any external node.