This is a barebones walkthrough for developing a blockchain decentralized app (Dapp) for Etherium (ERC-20) based tokens. Goal is to go through all the steps needed to set up initial environment and build a first contract that compiles, deploys, test, and can interact with via web3.js Javascript in a web browser.
Step 1: Pre-Requisites
In this step we download and install the needed tools to set up our development environment.
Git is needed to retrieve software packages. Download and install Git for Windows: https://git-scm.com/download/win
Node.js is a server that allows execution of Javascript outside of a browser. Also includes NPM for downloading modules and packages. Download and install Node.js: https://nodejs.org/
Ganache gives you your own local blockchain node to develop with. Download and install Ganache: https://www.trufflesuite.com/ganache
MetaMask is crypto wallet & gateway to blockchain apps that turns your browser into a blockchain browser. You will also need to use a compatible browser such as Brave, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. Install MetaMask: https://metamask.io/download.html
Install Truffle. After you have installed Nodejs, Truffle can be installed using NPM. Open up cmd shell and enter:
npm install -g truffle
It is also helpful to use a text editor that recognizes the Etherium programming language Solidity, for example:
- Atom with its respective Solidity package
- Visual Studio Code with its respective Solidity package
- Sublime text with its respective Solidity package
For this walkthrough we will be using Atom.
Continue to Step 2 – Creating a Contract