Interview with Eric Wang, Partner for Achain

Achain wants people with coding skills to learn more about blockchain, hence its open-source nature. We talked with Eric Wang, Partner for Achain about their work and what they are doing to cultivate blockchain talent.

JAXenter: How is Achain trying to make blockchain learning more accessible to developers?

Eric Wang: First, Achain is fully open-source. You can find the following open-source content on GitHub: Underlying code of Achain, Achain smart contracts template, tools to build a private blockchain on Achain, and other useful tools like offline signature, broadcasting transactions etc.

Second, we have a blockchain browser that is open to everyone. Anyone who uses this browser can see all transaction history and smart contracts. This can make it easier for people to learn about Achain. We also have a forum dedicated to developers and fans.

Achain on GitHub

Achain Browser

Achain Forum

JAXenter: How can developers with no blockchain experience issue smart contracts and create applications, as well as blockchain systems? Does this mean that developers’ lack of blockchain skills will no longer matter?

Eric Wang: To answer your first question, we want people with coding skills to learn more about blockchain, which is why Achain is open-source. We welcome fans with no blockchain background or knowledge to learn about the technology. We have a set of guidelines and protocols (Achain uses ATP1.0, for your understanding, Ethereum uses ETC20) on how to build smart contracts and launch dApps.

To answer your second question, it does not mean that developers with no blockchain skills will no longer matter. People with blockchain skills will learn and use Achain faster and have a better understanding of the technology in general.

JAXenter: Can this put an end to the shortage of blockchain developers?

We are trying to incorporate as many programming languages as possible for our smart contracts. We’ve made great progress as far as .Net and Java support is concerned.

Eric Wang: Hopefully, we can. In addition to the fact that our blockchain is easy to use, we are also working hard to cultivate blockchain talent. We host various meetups and tech events regularly around the world and we also attend numerous global events. We signed an agreement in South Korea where we will build a blockchain tech incubator that will help build a blockchain talent pool there.

It is our mission to create a blockchain-enabled world.

JAXenter: Which programming language(s) does Achain support? When should we expect to see more languages this year?

Eric Wang: The underlying infrastructure of Achain is based on C++. We use Glua to develop Achain’s smart contracts. As for apps that wish to plug into Achain, they only need to comply with our RPC framework instead of being restricted by one programming language. At the same time, we are trying to incorporate as many programming languages as possible for our smart contracts. We’ve made great progress as far as .Net and Java support is concerned.

JAXenter: What kind of IDE does Achain provide? How does that work?

Eric Wang: As I said above, we are an open-source community. We have dedicated coders that build and maintain our blockchain. We also have code contributors that help the core team with the development. However, as for the IDE that builds smart contracts on our blockchain, we have not published it yet. It is our plan to build a secure and solid IDE and IDE sandbox for our developers and we will release it as soon as it’s finished.

JAXenter: What’s next for Achain?

Eric Wang: We have a roadmap for Achain and that is “Singularity – Galaxy – Cosmos”. “Singularity” means a smart contract enabled blockchain network. “Galaxy” is a network with different forks (aka sub-chains) and “Cosmos” is a network where different forks can exchange information and value freely. As of now, we are in the middle of “Singularity” and “Galaxy”. To reach the final stage of Achain – “Cosmos”, we will build a “Value Exchange Protocol” (VEP) that will bring all forks together.

SEE ALSO: Making smart contracts safe with Hyperledger Sawtooth

JAXenter: How much value is stored in smart contracts? What can they actually do and what are the misconceptions about them?

Eric Wang: To understand how much value is stored in smart contracts, one must first understand what smart contracts are. A smart contract is a set of rules codified by programming languages (as pointed out in the previous answer that smart contracts can be built in different languages). If an input follows the prerequisite of the contract execution, the contract will process this input and produce a result. This input is usually a transaction of digital assets (cryptos), but it can also be other things such as legal controversies, insurance premiums or crowdfunding agreement. So, there is great potential for smart contracts. That’s where its value is. With the right tool, it can be used in many different ways.

There are misconceptions about smart contracts indeed. For example, “smart contracts are ‘fully’ autonomous”. As a matter of fact, smart contracts are not fully autonomous, they require an input to be functional. Or “smart contracts are not really contracts”. Actually, smart contracts have the necessary semantic structure to be counted as real contracts.

JAXenter: Thank you!

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