Check out the latest developer resources at developer.algorand.org

The Algorand team are thrilled to announce the launch of the new Algorand Developer Portal. This is a place where developers can find all the resources they need to turn their ideas into full-scale applications.

It has a new, enhanced interface and there are three new types of content for developers: Tutorials, Solutions, and Articles. These new content libraries complement Algorand Developer Docs.

Tutorials

Tutorials are step-by-step guides for specific code patterns on Algorand, like creating an account or transferring an asset. Visit the Tutorials Hub to browse the full library or filter on your preferred programming language, level, or time to complete.

Quick links:

Browse all JavaScript Tutorials

Browse all Python Tutorials

Browse all Java Tutorials

Browse all Go Tutorials

Solutions

Solutions bring to life real use cases on Algorand with code samples and explanations. If you are a developer looking to browse through some of the use cases that are possible on Algorand and get access to sample code to get you started, check out the Solutions Hub.

You can ubmit your own content to the Developer Website through our Content Submission form.

Articles

Articles are blog-like posts that highlight new feature releases, interesting op-eds, and other developer-related news and events.

Documentation

Algorand technical docs have not changed, but are now accessible via the new homepage and side navigation.

The 250M Algo Grants program and the Developer Ambassador Rewards program

The Algorand Foundation has launched two major programs, namely the 250M Algo Grants program and the Developer Ambassador Rewards program. These two programs are in addition to the existing Development Awards Program which is directed at completed projects that help to grow the Algorand ecosystem.

The 250M Algo multi-year Grants Program aims to fund application development, tools and infrastructure, original research, education, and community engagement efforts. These will empower innovation and development and support the growth of a vibrant, diverse and thriving Algorand ecosystem. More details on this exciting program are available on the Algorand Foundation site.

The Developer Ambassador Rewards program (DevAms) was established to reward developers that are passionate about the Algorand community and want to help educate other developers by creating online content. This program will reward developers for creating tutorials, solutions and video content. If you have an interest in this opportunity read over the program’s details.

It is even permissible to submit to the DevAms program, a Tutorial or Solution based on work that you submitted to the Developer Awards program.

Source

Docs

Workspace Setup

It’s a getting started guide for developers looking to build applications on the Algorand blockchain. Start here to learn what it means to build an application on Algorand and how to get started quickly.

Building an application on Algorand means that your application, directly or indirectly, reads from or writes to the Algorand blockchain. Writing to the Algorand blockchain is synonymous with issuing a transaction that will later be confirmed within a block. Reading from the blockchain means reading back transactions that have been confirmed within prior blocks.

A program connects to the Algorand blockchain through an algod client. The algod client requires a valid algod REST endpoint IP address and algod token from an Algorand node that is connected to the network you plan to interact with.

Available tools

Algorand officially supports four SDKs for developing applications on Algorand: Javascript, Java, Python, and Go.

Learn more here

It reviews core terminology and guides developers on how to interpret these terms in different contexts.

Learn commands and syntax for specific developer tools.

How to run a Node

The Algorand network is comprised of two distinct types of nodes, relay nodes, and non-relay nodes. Relay nodes are primarily used for communication routing to a set of connected non-relay nodes. Relay nodes communicate with other relay nodes and route blocks to all connected non-relay nodes. Non-relay nodes only connect to relay nodes and can also participate in consensus. Non-relay nodes may connect to several relay nodes but never connect to another non-relay node.

In addition to the two node types, nodes can be configured to be archival and indexed. Archival nodes store the entire ledger and if the indexer is turned on, the search range via the API REST endpoint is increased.

Both node types use the same install procedure. To setup a node for a specific type, requires a few configuration parameter changes as described below. The default install will set the node up as a non-relay node in non-archival and non-indexed mode.

Please, read the full article to learn about additional configuration options.

Register accounts to participate in Algorand consensus.

Browse existing projects built on Algorand.

Learn more about how Algorand consensus works.

The Algorand blockchain uses a decentralized Byzantine Agreement protocol that leverages pure proof of stake (Pure POS). This means that it can tolerate malicious users, achieving consensus without a central authority, as long as a supermajority of the stake is in non-malicious hands. This protocol is very fast and requires minimal computational power per node, giving it the ability to finalize transactions efficiently.

More details about the protocol can be found here

Solutions

Decentralized Two-Factor Authentication With Algorand Standard Assets

Algorand blockchain technology can significantly reduce costs, settlement time, and fraud. With Algorand, transaction fees are less than $0.001/transaction, are settled immediately (~5 seconds), and are stored permanently on the blockchain. Algorand’s support for assets enables the use of local currencies for exchange. All of these factors will improve customer satisfaction.

In this solutions article, you can learn how to use Algorand’s blockchain to create an alternative payment solution for processing retail transactions. The solution demonstrates a point-of-sale application and a signing wallet. There is also the Transaction Gateway, a framework designed to help streamline application development using the Algorand blockchain.

Voice assistants are everywhere these days adding a whole new dimension to applications for users to interact with. The Voice User Interface (VUI), analogous and complementary to the ubiquitous Graphical User Interface (GUI) which has dominated much of our online and mobile experiences to date, can provide an even more comprehensive and enriching experience for end users of any application. This includes, of course, blockchain-based applications.

As a former Alexa employee, who has seen the power of a well-designed voice experience and how that can enhance overall experiences for customers, building a prototype of an Alexa skill that interacts with the Algorand blockchain was a no-brainer and is the sample code that is provided here. It is the hope that this example demonstrates how simple it is to use the Algorand SDK within an Alexa skill and that, in turn, encourages others to create more magical voice-activated experiences that render blockchain-based applications more exciting and accessible to end users.

Articles

Algorand Atomic Transfers

Atomic Transfers are irreducible batch transactions that allow groups of transactions to be submitted at one time. If any of the transactions fail, then all the transactions will fail. That is, an Atomic Transfer guarantees the simultaneous execution of multiple transfers of all kinds of assets. Detailed documentation about this feature is available on Algorand’s developer website here. If you are a database developer this is analogous to database transaction (it all works or none of it works).

Steps to Create Atomic Transfers

Create unsigned transactions and save them to a file Combine these transactions in to one file Sign the grouped transactions with all the appropriate keys and submit them

Note that goal and the SDKs include wrappers for these steps.

Figure 2 — Diagram that shows the steps to create an Atomic Transfer.

Figure 2 above shows the flow of an Atomic Transfer. See implementations using the Go, Java, JavaScript and Python SDKs here. You will find examples for creating group transactions and sending them to the network in each of the available SDKs. For information on installing Go, Java, JavaScript and Python SDKs see here.

The example code at the above link is separated into snippets categorized by these core functions…

Create the Transactions — This is like creating any kind of transaction in Algorand.

Group the Transactions — This involves computing a groupID and assigning that id to each transaction.

Sign the grouped transactions — Sign the grouped transactions with their respective private keys.

Send the transactions to the network — Combine the transactions and send it to the network.

Atomic Transfers Use Cases

Atomic Transfers enables applications such as:

Circular Trades — e.g. Alice pays Bob if and only if Bob pays Clare if and only if Clare pays Alice. Group Payments — e.g. Either everyone pays or no one does. Decentralized exchanges — e.g. Atomic multi-party transfers enable trades without trusted intermediaries . Internal units of accounting — e.g. Several companies can settle their accounts with each other with a single transaction. Payments — e.g. Payments can be made to multiple recipients.

Interactive Task

Get started with Atomic Transfers by clicking here. See the full task on our forums here.

Resources

Source

Algorand Standard Assets

An Algorand Standard Asset, ASA for short, is a layer 1 feature that allows users to represent any asset on the Algorand blockchain, in turn benefiting from the same level of security and ease of use as the native Algo. Detailed documentation about this feature is available on Algorand’s developer website here.

In this article you’ll find out the most important concepts for developers who plan to work with ASAs. You’ll also find some examples of real-world assets that users can represent with this feature on the Algorand blockchain. There is an example scenario paired with an interactive task to get you started with this new feature on TestNet.

Algorand Co-Chains. The Need for Both Public and Private Blockchains

The Algorand protocol is a public permissionless blockchain platform that enables all organizations, individuals and governments to exchange value in a manner that is efficient, secure and transparent. However, governments, central banks and traditional financial organizations have complex regulatory, control and compliance requirements that frequently require a different solution.

Understanding this need for both public and private blockchains, Silvio Micali has recently shared his latest for Algorand Co-Chains, which are private permissioned chains that interoperate with the Algorand MainNet.

A co-chain

Is totally independent from the public chain, shields its transactions from all outsiders, chooses its own validators, and runs its own Algorand consensus algorithm; Interoperates with the Algorand main chain to transact with other co-chains, and everyone else, with the same ease and security with which the members of Algorand’s permissionless chain transact with each other; and Enjoys, both in its internal and external interactions, the same atomic transactions, layer-1 smart contracts, and all other primitives and tools offered by the permissionless Algorand protocol. In fact, it automatically inherits all the improvements and upgrades that will be added to Algorand’s permissionless protocol.

Source

Read the full article on Algorand Co-chains