179 lines
9.9 KiB
Markdown
179 lines
9.9 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
layout: post
|
|
name: "Problem No. 2, very long title Bitcoin ipsum dolor sit amet. Peer-to-peer whitepaper SHA-256 bitcoin."
|
|
title: "Problem No. 2, very long title Bitcoin ipsum dolor sit amet. Peer-to-peer whitepaper SHA-256 bitcoin."
|
|
date: 2020-09-28 12:00:00 +0800
|
|
author: franck
|
|
published: true
|
|
permalink: /status-ipsum-2
|
|
category: problem
|
|
summary: "Status ipsum lorem exequoe"
|
|
image: /assets/img/js-waku-gist.png
|
|
discuss: https://forum.vac.dev/t/discussion-presenting-js-waku-waku-v2-in-the-browser/82
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
For the past 3 months, we have been working on bringing Waku v2 to the browser.
|
|
Our aim is to empower dApps with Waku v2, and it led to the creation of a new library.
|
|
We believe now is good time to introduce it!
|
|
|
|
## Waku v2
|
|
|
|
First, let's review what Waku v2 is and what problem it is trying to solve.
|
|
|
|
Waku v2 comes from a need to have a more scalable, better optimised solution for the Status app to achieve decentralised
|
|
communications on resource restricted devices (i.e., mobile phones).
|
|
|
|
The Status chat feature was initially built over Whisper.
|
|
However, Whisper has a number of caveats which makes it inefficient for mobile phones.
|
|
For example, with Whisper, all devices are receiving all messages which is not ideal for limited data plans.
|
|
|
|
To remediate this, a Waku mode (then Waku v1), based on devp2p, was introduced.
|
|
To further enable web and restricted resource environments, Waku v2 was created based on libp2p.
|
|
The migration of the Status chat feature to Waku v2 is currently in progress.
|
|
|
|
We see the need of such solution in the broader Ethereum ecosystem, beyond Status.
|
|
This is why we are building Waku v2 as a decentralised communication platform for all to use and build on.
|
|
If you want to read more about Waku v2 and what it aims to achieve,
|
|
checkout [What's the Plan for Waku v2?](/waku-v2-plan).
|
|
|
|
Since last year, we have been busy defining and implementing Waku v2 protocols in [nim-waku](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku),
|
|
from which you can build [wakunode2](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku#wakunode).
|
|
Wakunode2 is an adaptive and modular Waku v2 node,
|
|
it allows users to run their own node and use the Waku v2 protocols they need.
|
|
The nim-waku project doubles as a library, that can be used to add Waku v2 support to native applications.
|
|
|
|
## Waku v2 in the browser
|
|
|
|
We believe that dApps and wallets can benefit from the Waku network in several ways.
|
|
For some dApps, it makes sense to enable peer-to-peer communications.
|
|
For others, machine-to-machine communications would be a great asset.
|
|
For example, in the case of a DAO,
|
|
Waku could be used for gas-less voting.
|
|
Enabling the DAO to notify their users of a new vote,
|
|
and users to vote without interacting with the blockchain and spending gas.
|
|
|
|
[Murmur](https://github.com/status-im/murmur) was the first attempt to bring Whisper to the browser,
|
|
acting as a bridge between devp2p and libp2p.
|
|
Once Waku v2 was started and there was a native implementation on top of libp2p,
|
|
a [chat POC](https://github.com/vacp2p/waku-web-chat) was created to demonstrate the potential of Waku v2
|
|
in web environment.
|
|
It showed how using js-libp2p with few modifications enabled access to the Waku v2 network.
|
|
There was still some unresolved challenges.
|
|
For example, nim-waku only support TCP connections which are not supported by browser applications.
|
|
Hence, to connect to other node, the POC was connecting to a NodeJS proxy application using websockets,
|
|
which in turn could connect to wakunode2 via TCP.
|
|
|
|
However, to enable dApp and Wallet developers to easily integrate Waku in their product,
|
|
we need to give them a library that is easy to use and works out of the box:
|
|
introducing [JS-Waku](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku).
|
|
|
|
JS-Waku is a JavaScript library that allows your dApp, wallet or other web app to interact with the Waku v2 network.
|
|
It is available right now on [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/js-waku):
|
|
|
|
`npm install js-waku`.
|
|
|
|
As it is written in TypeScript, types are included in the npm package to allow easy integration with TypeScript, ClojureScript and other typed languages that compile to JavaScript.
|
|
|
|
Key Waku v2 protocols are already available:
|
|
[message](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/14/), [store](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/13/), [relay](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/11/) and [light push](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/19/),
|
|
enabling your dApp to:
|
|
|
|
- Send and receive near-instant messages on the Waku network (relay),
|
|
- Query nodes for messages that may have been missed, e.g. due to poor cellular network (store),
|
|
- Send messages with confirmations (light push).
|
|
|
|
JS-Waku needs to operate in the same context from which Waku v2 was born:
|
|
a restricted environment were connectivity or uptime are not guaranteed;
|
|
JS-Waku brings Waku v2 to the browser.
|
|
|
|
## Achievements so far
|
|
|
|
We focused the past month on developing a [ReactJS Chat App](https://status-im.github.io/js-waku/).
|
|
The aim was to create enough building blocks in JS-Waku to enable this showcase web app that
|
|
we now [use for dogfooding](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/issues/399) purposes.
|
|
|
|
Most of the effort was on getting familiar with the [js-libp2p](https://github.com/libp2p/js-libp2p) library
|
|
that we heavily rely on.
|
|
JS-Waku is the second implementation of Waku v2 protocol,
|
|
so a lot of effort on interoperability was needed.
|
|
For example, to ensure compatibility with the nim-waku reference implementation,
|
|
we run our [tests against wakunode2](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku/blob/90c90dea11dfd1277f530cf5d683fb92992fe141/src/lib/waku_relay/index.spec.ts#L137) as part of the CI.
|
|
|
|
This interoperability effort helped solidify the current Waku v2 specifications:
|
|
By clarifying the usage of topics
|
|
([#327](https://github.com/vacp2p/rfc/issues/327), [#383](https://github.com/vacp2p/rfc/pull/383)),
|
|
fix discrepancies between specs and nim-waku
|
|
([#418](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/issues/418), [#419](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/issues/419))
|
|
and fix small nim-waku & nim-libp2p bugs
|
|
([#411](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/issues/411), [#439](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/issues/439)).
|
|
|
|
To fully access the waku network, JS-Waku needs to enable web apps to connect to nim-waku nodes.
|
|
A standard way to do so is using secure websockets as it is not possible to connect directly to a TCP port from the browser.
|
|
Unfortunately websocket support is not yet available in [nim-libp2p](https://github.com/status-im/nim-libp2p/issues/407) so
|
|
we ended up deploying [websockify](https://github.com/novnc/websockify) alongside wakunode2 instances.
|
|
|
|
As we built the [web chat app](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku/tree/main/examples/web-chat),
|
|
we were able to fine tune the API to provide a simple and succinct interface.
|
|
You can start a node, connect to other nodes and send a message in less than ten lines of code:
|
|
|
|
```javascript
|
|
import { Waku } from "js-waku";
|
|
|
|
const waku = await Waku.create({});
|
|
|
|
const nodes = await getStatusFleetNodes();
|
|
await Promise.all(nodes.map((addr) => waku.dial(addr)));
|
|
|
|
const msg = WakuMessage.fromUtf8String(
|
|
"Here is a message!",
|
|
"/my-cool-app/1/my-use-case/proto"
|
|
);
|
|
await waku.relay.send(msg);
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
We have also put a bounty at [0xHack](https://0xhack.dev/) for using JS-Waku
|
|
and running a [workshop](https://vimeo.com/551509621).
|
|
We were thrilled to have a couple of hackers create new software using our libraries.
|
|
One of the projects aimed to create a decentralised, end-to-end encrypted messenger app,
|
|
similar to what the [ETH-DM](https://rfc.vac.dev/spec/20/) protocol aims to achieve.
|
|
Another project was a decentralised Twitter platform.
|
|
Such projects allow us to prioritize the work on JS-Waku and understand how DevEx can be improved.
|
|
|
|
As more developers use JS-Waku, we will evolve the API to allow for more custom and fine-tune usage of the network
|
|
while preserving this out of the box experience.
|
|
|
|
## What's next?
|
|
|
|
Next, we are directing our attention towards [Developer Experience](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku/issues/68).
|
|
We already have [documentation](https://www.npmjs.com/package/js-waku) available but we want to provide more:
|
|
[Tutorials](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku/issues/56), various examples
|
|
and showing how [JS-Waku can be used with Web3](https://github.com/status-im/js-waku/issues/72).
|
|
|
|
By prioritizing DevEx we aim to enable JS-Waku integration in dApps and wallets.
|
|
We think JS-Waku builds a strong case for machine-to-machine (M2M) communications.
|
|
The first use cases we are looking into are dApp notifications:
|
|
Enabling dApp to notify their user directly in their wallets!
|
|
Leveraging Waku as a decentralised infrastructure and standard so that users do not have to open their dApp to be notified
|
|
of events such as DAO voting.
|
|
|
|
We already have some POC in the pipeline to enable voting and polling on the Waku network,
|
|
allowing users to save gas by **not** broadcasting each individual vote on the blockchain.
|
|
|
|
To facilitate said applications, we are looking at improving integration with Web3 providers by providing examples
|
|
of signing, validating, encrypting and decrypting messages using Web3.
|
|
Waku is privacy conscious, so we will also provide signature and encryption examples decoupled from users' Ethereum identity.
|
|
|
|
As you can read, we have grand plans for JS-Waku and Waku v2.
|
|
There is a lot to do, and we would love some help so feel free to
|
|
check out the new role in our team:
|
|
[js-waku: Wallet & Dapp Integration Developer](https://status.im/our_team/jobs.html?gh_jid=3157894).
|
|
We also have a number of [positions](https://status.im/our_team/jobs.html) open to work on Waku protocol and nim-waku.
|
|
|
|
If you are as excited as us by JS-Waku, why not build a dApp with it?
|
|
You can find documentation on the [npmjs page](https://www.npmjs.com/package/js-waku).
|
|
|
|
Whether you are a developer, you can come chat with us using [WakuJS Web Chat](https://status-im.github.io/js-waku/)
|
|
or [chat2](https://github.com/status-im/nim-waku/blob/master/docs/tutorial/chat2.md).
|
|
You can get support on Discord [#waku-support (dev support)](https://discord.gg/VChNsDdj).
|
|
If you have any ideas on how Waku could enable a specific dapp or use case, do share, we are always keen to hear it.
|