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New changes or standards start as proposals divided into two categories: Core Advancement Proposals and Stellar Ecosystem Proposals.

Core Advancement Proposals (CAPs) are suggested changes to the core protocol of Stellar. These have a direct effect on how the network operates.

As an example let’s consider CAP-0015 (Bump Fee Transactions) which is currently in the draft phase. This is a proposal to allow fees to be paid by an arbitrary account, which would enable an application to cover its users’ network fees. Since network fees are handled at the protocol level, this proposal would require altering Stellar core code, so it’s categorized as a CAP.

A proposal categorized as a CAP enters a multi-step process to ensure that it’s high quality, backwards compatible, and meets the goals of the Stellar network. One goal of this process is to root out protocol bugs, which can lead to severe network issues that are difficult to fix. For a CAP to be classified as Final and go live on the network, it must be implemented in the code, included in a protocol upgrade, and accepted by a majority of the network validators. The recent upgrade to Protocol 11, for instance, included CAP-0005, which improved transaction pricing and network capacity, and CAP-0006, which added a buy offer to the SDEX.

The life cycle of a CAP is represented by the chart below:

Stellar Ecosystem Proposals (SEPs)

Stellar Ecosystem Proposals (SEPs) deal with changes to the standards, protocols, and methods used in the ecosystem built on top of the Stellar network.

They allow developers to agree on how services using the network should be implemented to allow for maximum interoperability. Often, they do that by specifying two sides of interaction: one side creates an API that acts in a predictable way; the other consumes it.

A good example of this would be SEP-0002, the Federation Protocol, which explains how to set up a server to map Stellar addresses to human-readable addresses (GCCVPYFOHY7ZB7557… → name*domain.com) and how to query that server to resolve those addresses. Wallets that implement the Federation Protocol can present users with an intuitive interface to send and receive payments: all the complexity happens in the background.

SEPs are also divided into two categories: Informational and Standard. A SEP classified as informational is open to use by the Stellar ecosystem but is not endorsed and standardized by SDF. A Standard SEP is not only open to use by the ecosystem but is endorsed and standardized by SDF. A Standard SEP has also been approved by two SDF members on the SEP team.

The life cycle of a SEP is represented by the chart below:

How to Participate

To keep up with ongoing developments, new ideas, and developer discussions you can follow the developer mailing list or #dev_discussion channel on Keybase. The developer blog is also a good resource for keeping up with new releases, developments, and technical information. Stack Exchange is another place to ask technical questions and get developer answers. Galactic Talk, a community ran a forum, is where the Stellar Community Fund is being hosted and is a good place for discussion with community devs.

StellarX’s native mobile apps are designed and developed by the team behind BlockEQ (acquired by Coinsquare), the first Stellar mobile wallet application. The goal is to make transacting on the Stellar network accessible and as easy as downloading an app on your mobile phone.

OS Support:

The Android StellarX mobile app targets the last 7 OS versions — this provides users with wider coverage by allowing users with older Android devices to use the app. The iOS app targets back to iOS 11. Stellar did not elect to target back further as 85% of the current iPhone market is on iOS 12.0 or later.

Mobile Features:

>> Stella has released its apps in multiple deployments, starting on Android at the end of June and then releasing iOS in mid-July.

>> Below is a list of the v1 functionality.

>> Sign Up: you can register now on all 3 platforms (web, Android, iOS), but always remember your passphrase and store it safely!

>> StellarX Authentication: login using the same credentials and restore accounts and settings

>> Wallet Capabilities: view balance by currency, protocol minimum balance requirements, send and receive any token on the network

>> Activity & Transactions: view recent activity and transactions

>> Inflation: set Inflation destinations

>> Add Tokens: add any token on the network

>> Multiple Accounts: for multiple account holders, there’s the ability to switch between accounts

>> Themes: light and dark theme switching for Android

What’s Next on Mobile?

>>Path Payments: specify a series of assets to route a payment through, from source asset (the asset debited from the payer) to destination asset (the asset credited to the payee).

>> Market Listings & Trading: buy and sell any token listed on StellarX. Easily execute trades with one touch.

>> Look Up By Domain: the ability to look up tokens by domain instead ofby issuer address.

>> Contact List Integration stellar addresses can become associated with personal contacts for easy sending and receiving transactions between friends.

>> Filter By Transactions: the ability to filer recent activity by different transaction types (i.e. payments, trades).

See also: