Blockchain is a technology that has revolutionized the way we think about storing value and conducting online transactions.
It has given rise to cryptocurrencies, smart contracts, and many other innovations that have influenced the way the global economy, particularly the financial economy, operates. However, while blockchain is extremely promising, its full potential is still being explored and developed.
It is in this context that the Cosmos SDK, a tool that aims to simplify the process of creating and managing your own blockchains, is emerging.
In today’s lesson, we will take a closer look at what the Cosmos SDK is, how it works, and its applications in the blockchain technology sector.
What is the Cosmos ecosystem?
The Cosmos ecosystem is a decentralized network of independent and parallel blockchains. Each can scale and communicate with the others. Interestingly and just as importantly, each chain is powered by the Tendermint consensus algorithm.
The Cosmos platform is a developer’s paradise. It allows them to build their blockchains that process transactions very quickly, are independent, and can work with other chains. This is all thanks to the use of Tendermint, the Cosmos SDK framework, and IBC.
What is Tendermint and IBC?
To understand how the Cosmos SDK works, we first need to understand how Tendermint and IBC work.
Tendermint is an algorithm of consensus used by chains in the Cosmos network. In practice, it is software used to replicate applications securely and consistently across multiple computers. Tendermint works even when most of the computers on a given network have failed. Moreover, the machines are consistent, meaning that each machine sees the transaction log and calculates the same state.
So you have already noticed that Tendermint has the ability to tolerate errors and machine failures. This concept is familiar to you – for we are talking about Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT).
Tendermint has been designed so that no chain splitting (fork) occurs under any circumstances. Transactions are acknowledged immediately as soon as they are in a block. This action reduces the time required for developers to create a new chain of blocks.
IBC, or Inter-Blockchain Communication, is the protocol responsible for communication between chains in the Cosmos network. It facilitates the transfer of data or even tokens between chains.
Importantly, IBC works despite the differences that may exist between chains. Not surprisingly, achieving compatibility with it is relatively easy.
So what is the Cosmos SDK?
The Cosmos SDK is based on the Go programming language and is designed to facilitate the process of creating your own blockchain. The tool provides ready-made modules that can be combined and customized to meet the specific needs of a project. These modules include features such as account management, rate delegation, Proof-of-Stake, smart contracts, and much more.
Thanks to the modular design of the Cosmos SDK, developers can create blockchains that are precisely tailored to their goals. There is no need to write everything from scratch, significantly speeding up the process of creating new blockchain projects. This makes the Cosmos SDK an attractive tool for both experienced blockchain developers and those who are just starting out with blockchain technology.
The Cosmos SDK has one goal: to enable developers to easily create custom, interoperable blockchain applications across the Cosmos ecosystem, without having to recreate common blockchain functionality. So, imagine that the Cosmos SDK is such a framework for creating secure blockchain applications on top of Tendermint.
Cosmos SDK optimizes flexibility and security. The solution is designed to allow other applications to adapt to current needs. The Cosmos SDK is based on two main pillars:
- Composability: Anyone can create a module for the Cosmos SDK. Implementing the created modules is as simple as importing them into the blockchain application.
- Security: Any developer who wants to use the functionality of the Cosmos SDK will need to access other companies’ modules when creating their own. In practice, this means that we do not need to access checklists for other modules, as each module implements its own maintainer. This means that if module A is passed to module B, module B will be able to call a specific set of functions of module A.
At the moment, the Cosmos SDK tool only works on the Golang network. This means that developers can only develop their modules there. Of course, in the near future, the Cosmos SDK will be implemented in other programming languages.
Summary
The Cosmos SDK is a tool that contributes to the development of blockchain technology and the ecosystem based on it. With its modular design and IBC protocol, the Cosmos SDK enables the creation of independent blockchains that can work together within the Cosmos ecosystem.
This opens up many opportunities for application developers and projects to use different blockchains in their solutions. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, the Cosmos SDK remains one of the leading tools to help develop it and realize its potential.