BUIDL IRL (🧱,🚀) ft. The Sud0_Verse
I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop hosted by Polygon Guild Jaipur called BUIDL IRL. This event focused on teaching participants about various aspects of Web3 development, including NFT minting, NFT staking, gasless Dapps, Polygon ID, and deploying smart contracts on the Polygon zkEVM over 5 days in the form of code along workshops. As a Web3 developer, I was excited to expand my knowledge and skills through this hands-on workshop series. In this blog post, I'll share my experience attending the BUIDL IRL workshop and the projects I built during the event. So, let's dive in!
What was the BUIDL IRL (🧱,🚀)?
BUIDL IRL was a web3 developer project-building event hosted by Polygon Guild Jaipur, one of the fastest-growing blockchain ecosystem's Jaipur Community Guild. The workshop series aimed to teach developers how to build decentralized applications (dApps) on the Polygon network, which has emerged as a popular choice for blockchain projects due to its scalability, low transaction fees, and fast confirmation times.
During the workshop series, participants were introduced to various Web3 development concepts and technologies, including smart contracts, blockchain infrastructure, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Account Abstraction for Gassless Dapps, and newer technologies like Polygon ID and Polygon zkEVM. The workshop also featured hands-on tutorials on building different types of dApps, such as NFT minting and staking websites, gasless dApps, Issuing credentials with Polygon ID and deploying contracts on the Polygon zkEVM.
The Workshop was hosted by :
Yash Garg aka. Megabyte Developer Advocate at Polygon, Developer Dao and HyperlaneIN and the Lead of Polygon Guild Jaipur.
Boidushya Bhattacharya aka. Boidu Senior Javascript Frontend Engineer at WalletConnect, Organizer Web3Conf, Co-founder and Developer Sqwid.
Ayush Agrawal aka. Lucifer0x17 Developer Advocate Polygon, Upcoming SDE Dell and the Co-Lead of Polygon Guild Jaipur.
What was I doing before attending BUIDL IRL?
Before attending the BUIDL IRL workshop series, I had decent prior experience in Web3 development, I had built a few Dapps on the Ethereum ecosystem, Binance ecosystem as well as Polygon ecosystem. but I was still relatively new to the Polygon ecosystem. I have good knowledge of writing smart contracts and interacting with them but still, I was a newbie in frontend development, and when I learned about BUIDL IRL workshops weren't just some talk event but a code along event with new technologies like Polygon ID and zkEVM to be explored.
I was motivated to attend the workshop series to expand my knowledge and skills in building full-stack Dapps on the Polygon network and to learn about new technologies like Polygon ID and zkEVM firsthand from experienced Developers.
What I have built during the BUIDL IRL?
During the BUIDL IRL workshop series, I had the opportunity to work on several exciting projects. Here is a summary of all the projects we made:
Day #1 NFT minting website - I built a website that allows users to mint their NFTs on the Polygon network. The website was built using React.js and the Backend using Solidity, and it leveraged Polygon's NFT standards to create unique tokens that users could sell or trade. Here is the website I made!
Day #2 NFT staking website - I also built a staking website that allows users to earn rewards by staking their NFTs on the Polygon network. The Dapp's front end was built using React.js and Backend using Solidity and used Ethers.js to connect them. Users can min their NFTs on the site and then stake them to earn a reward! Here is the website I made! Here is my tweet about Day 2
Day #3 Gasless dApp - I built a gasless dApp that allows users to interact with the Polygon network without paying gas fees. The Dapp was built using the Biconomy protocol, It uses the concept of Account Abstraction and makes it possible to perform transactions without paying gas fees with real money. I made the previous staking Dapp into a Gassless Staking Dapp. Here is the website I made! Here is my tweet about Day 3.
Day #4 Polygon ID Credential Issuer - I built a working demo of college ID verification using Polygon ID, which is a decentralized identity solution that allows users to securely manage their identity on the Polygon network. The demo showcased how the Polygon ID can be used to authenticate college students using their college ID linked with Polygon ID-issued credentials and then verified by the college administration. Here is the issued Credential I made! Here is my tweet about Day 4.
Day #5 Polygon zkEVM: I deployed an NFT minting smart contract written in solidity on the Polygon zkEVM using Hardhat and then interacted with it using polygon scan. The Polygon zkEVM is a unique Layer 2 scaling solution that provides many benefits over traditional L2 solutions. One of the key advantages is that it allows for faster and cheaper deployment of smart contracts on the Polygon network. The zkEVM utilizes zero-knowledge proofs to enable off-chain computation, which significantly reduces the gas fees and transaction times associated with smart contract execution. Here is the Smart Contract I Deployed! Here is my tweet about Day 5.
What do I know after attending BUIDL IRL?
During the BUIDL IRL workshop series, I acquired a lot of new skills and knowledge related to Web3 development.
I learned how to use WalletConnect API to connect a large variety of wallets instead of just using Metamask.
Using the WAGMI hooks for React.js makes front-end development for Ethereum Dapps easier.
Learned about the concepts of NFT staking, and Gasless Dapps using Account Abstraction.
How Polygon ID works in using the Decentralized Identity Foundation standards, what are Identity Providers, Verifiable Credentials, Identity Hubs etc.
How The Polygon zkEVM utilizes zero-knowledge proofs to enable off-chain computation, which significantly reduces the gas fees and transaction times associated with smart contract execution.
My perspective on Web3 development has changed after attending the workshop. Before attending, I had a general understanding of Frontend Development but had never built anything for a Dapp to this extent. However, after attending the workshop, I now have a much better understanding of how the blockchain works and how I can make Frontend for blockchain as a backend. I also gained a deeper knowledge of Smart Contract Development and Dapps in general.
Some of the key takeaways from the workshop series :
The importance of security and the need to properly audit smart contracts before deploying them. (we learned it the hard way :) )
I also learned about the different tools and technologies available for Web3 development, including Wagmi Hooks, WalletConnect, and The Biconomy SDK.
I also learned how to use GitHub more efficiently how to make pull requests and manage different branches etc.
I learned how working in a team feels like learning and building together and helping each other.
Moving forward, I plan to apply what I have learned in the workshop series to make a Fully Decentralized Identity Solution that companies or event organizers etc can use to create their identity verifications for their use cases. I am excited to build more decentralized applications and explore the various use cases for blockchain technology. I also plan to continue learning and staying up to date with the latest developments in Web3 development. WAGMI 🚀!
