REACH Intro and Summit 2022
What is REACH?
In short, REACH is a programming language. A high-level language with JavaScript-like syntax.
The magic of REACH is under the hood.
When we compile REACH programs, we can choose which network to deploy on. Same code, same IDE, same as it ever was, change networks with a simple configure command.
That’s right, a single command.
Without REACH, a developer would have to spend countless hours to first learn the basics of a network, then more time learning its native language, then more time building and debugging — then do it all over again for each blockchain.
I really don’t think it’s possible for me to overemphasize the implications of this easy cross-chain compatibility.
This changes the game of blockchain development.
Currently REACH supports Algorand, Ethereum (including its layer 2s), and Conflux networks — but with the vision of founders Jay McCarthy and Chris Swenor, more network support is in the works at all times. I’d bet we see support for another network by the end of the year.
But cross-chain compatibility isn’t the only magic trick REACH does…
REACH is complete with a custom Verification Engine.
What does that mean?
It means that REACH programs are mathematically guaranteed that no flaw exists and no attack is possible.
In the web3 world, where contract audits are costly, this means less money spent on these audits.
When you compile your code, the Verification Engine tries to break the code in as many ways as possible. If the code breaks, the compile fails — describing exactly where a vulnerability exists.
These programs are entrusted to handle millions and someday billions of dollars — users can sleep easy knowing they’ve got the Verification Engine on their side.
That is the magic of the REACH programming language.
It’s safe, secure, cost-effective and cross-chain compatible right out of the box.
And that is why we learn to program web3 applications with REACH.
What is the REACH Summit?
The Summit refers to your journey up the mountain of learning the REACH platform.
While the REACH language abstracts away a significant amount of web3 programming requirements, there is still a lot to learn.
It’s not exactly a mountain of material, but maybe a foothill — or a sledding hill.
The Summit starts with Basecamp — an optional (but really cool) two day in-person event at SXSW in Austin, TX — where developers and creators converge to talk about their projects, aspirations and all things REACH.
We heard presentations from founders Chris and Jay about the future of Blockchain and their vision for the role of REACH in that future — One where different blockchain economies supply different types of economic value. In a multi-chain world, the ability to interact and deploy between networks will be pivotal.
We learned about Blockchain Fundamentals from JP Miller, the Director of Learning & Curriculum at REACH.
We heard from some of the first projects building with the REACH platform including:
Humble DeFi — A suite of decentralized finance products starting with the launch of their Humble Swap DEX.
Dequency — Creating the future of music & visual synchronization through a decentralized sync licensing platform. The team at Dequency has huge potential to disrupt this market in a very big way and I’m super excited to see this one progress.
Zestbloom — An NFT marketplace with an AI trained search engine presentation that was insanely impressive. Check out the demo here
xBacked- A DAO building a decentralized, permissionless stablecoin backed by ALGO and xUSD.
Dr. Jay put on a show as he “raced” the clock to crush a 5k USD bounty hack, live in front of the audience. Using the power of REACH Jay built an RSVP staking app in less than 30 minutes!
See the live video here
Spoiler — he wasn’t racing at all. He built the dApp with ease, on someone else’s computer even. It was fun to watch.
The rest of our time was full of meet and greets with passionate web3 innovators, but that didn’t keep me from sneaking away to play Ms. Pacman for a while. That’s right — Basecamp came complete with classic arcade games.
Basecamp was a great way to kick off the first installment of the REACH Summit — it created the opportunity to put faces to NFT profile pictures and really drive engagement.
After Basecamp the real work begins as we start The Ascent portion of the program.
What is The Ascent?
The Ascent is a 6-week guided bootcamp learning the language with the help of REACH’s expert guides.
The program is designed to take you from web2 developer to experienced cross-chain web3 master.
Some prior programming knowledge is assumed for the bootcamp — but little prior blockchain knowledge is necessary.
There are even employers looking to hire graduates directly following your completion of The Ascent program. Trust in REACH and they’ll teach you what you need and make the connection when you are ready.
Incredible.
The next few weeks I’ll focus on the content covered during this part of the program.
I’ll go over the topics presented and break them down as we move along. The goal is to highlight the power of REACH and to help get you started down your own path in blockchain development.
