Today, with the digitization of everything, consumers are using the Internet to access different online services, platforms and digital assets. This has led to a new generation of users being introduced to the benefits of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts.
In an increasingly digital world, these tools are enabling a new type of business — the decentralized application or dApp developer. That’s why we’re excited about Ethereum and its support for naming things on the blockchain.
The more people that use Ethereum’s name service (ENS), the easier it will be for developers and businesses to build decentralized applications on the platform.
If you’ve been following along in previous blog posts, you know that Ethereum is an open-source, public blockchain project that is still under development but has been gaining widespread adoption among developers looking to build better software solutions.
It’s also become one of the most popular ways for developers to explore blockchain technology without needing any initial investment or knowledge of computer science or cryptocurrency. Today, we’ll take you through what ENS provides and how it fits into this growing ecosystem.
What is Ethereum Name Service?
ENS provides a decentralized name service that anyone can use to register brand assets and domain names on the blockchain. Users can create ENS domains, host websites, and create other decentralized applications with brand assets and domain names registered through the platform.
Users can also use the same domain name service to find other decentralized applications built on top of the blockchain like smart contracts, decentralized apps, and more.
By creating a decentralized application on top of the blockchain, users can access these applications through a decentralized web that is built on top of the blockchain. This decentralized web allows users to access the application without having to go through the centralized name service.
How Ethereum Name Service Works
Let’s start with the basics. Users create an account on the Ethereum Name Service and then select the type of asset they want to name. It can be anything from a company name to a country or city name.
From there, they can pick a name that best represents the nature of the asset. For example, if we’re naming a hotel in New York City, we could name the asset “New York” or “The-New-York.”
The user can then choose a price for the name. While most assets will be accepted at no cost, some assets may incur a small fee. Once the name is selected, the user can click on the “Register” button to launch the process. This will create a record in the blockchain for the name.
Benefits of Using ENS
ENS can be used to speed up the process of discovering new applications and creating decentralized apps. It can also be used to list and discover more apps built on top of the blockchain. This is particularly useful for startups who are looking to create a decentralized app framework on top of the blockchain.
How to Set Up ENS on Your Server
ENS requires a 1-3PHP CentOS/RHEL server to manage the decentralized name service. The server has to be able to run the Berkeley DB implementation and have access to the Internet. It also has to have at least 16GB of RAM and a fast storage device to download blockchain data.
Final Words: Going from ENS to Smart Contracts
Now that we’ve gone over what ENS is and how it works, it’s time to take a look at how it can be used in a real-world scenario. The decentralized name service has been around for a long time, but it has received relatively little attention from developers. However, with the growing popularity of decentralized applications, it’s starting to get more attention.
More developers are starting to build decentralized apps on top of the decentralized name service, and in time, this will lead to more adoption and usage of the decentralized name service itself.
With more developers and users on board, the benefits of decentralized applications will become apparent, and the adoption of decentralized applications will accelerate. This is a good thing for Ethereum — and the entire ecosystem.