Blockchain 101 - Developing using Azure Services
Blockchain has been recognized as a fundamental breakthrough in technology. Specifically, the Ethereum Blockchain provides limitless functionality in both public and private development. In November 2015, Microsoft and Consensys partnered to release Blockchain as a Service on Azure. One of the tools provided for development is BlockApps - an Ethereum environment used to quickstart authoring of Smart Contracts. But how does one actually start developing on the blockchain? For quick prototyping, a BlockApps Bloc webserver is useful. Once development has begun, you can replace the local server with Azure's BaaS offerings.
This post will provide you with both the tools to get started and demonstrate a complete sample application. The sample project, BlockMobile, uses a private Ethereum Blockchain as a backend and Xamarin.Android for interaction on the frontend. Additionally, the project uses an AngularJS webapp and an Azure Mobile Service app to provide a complete demo environment.
What You Will Learn
- Microsoft and Blockchain
- Smart Contracts
- What and Why?
- How? Using Solidity
- Using BlockApps to interact with Blockchain
- Setting Up a Frontend
- Realworld Use Cases
Video Tutorial and Information
BlockMobile
BlockMobile is provided as an open source Blockchain project that is shown in the video above. You can read more about it on Github.
The project will provide you with sample Smart Contracts, a Xamarin.Android app, and an AngularJS webapp. To run the project, follow the instructions provided.