Introduction to the Stack

Like any other stack structure, the full stack will switch between different items for different purposes.

However, the core technology of Hash Ahead is to provide a mental model that helps solve the problem of how Hash Ahead blocks interact between different applications. Understanding the layers of the stack will help you understand the different ways you can incorporate Hash Ahead into your software projects.

1.Hash Ahead virtual machine (EVMC)

Hash Ahead Virtual Machine (EVMC) is the runtime environment for smart contracts. All smart contracts and state changes on the Hash Ahead blockchain are executed by transactions. The Hash Ahead virtual machine handles all transactions executed on the Hash Ahead network.

Like any virtual machine, the Hash Ahead virtual machine creates a level of abstraction between executing code and the executing machine (the Hash Ahead node).

Behind the scenes, those Hash Ahead VMs use opcodes to perform special tasks. These unique execution codes make the Hash Ahead virtual machine Turing complete. This means that the Hash Ahead virtual machine can compute anything as long as it has enough resources.

As a developer of decentralized applications, you do not need to know more about the Hash Ahead virtual machine except for the existence of the Hash Ahead virtual machine, and you can authorize all applications on Hash Ahead unimpeded.

2.Smart Contract Library

Smart contracts are executable programs that run on the Hash Ahead blockchain.

Smart contracts use specific programming languages to compile to Hash Ahead virtual machine bytecodes (low-level machine instructions for calling opcodes).

Not only are smart contracts open source libraries, but they are basically open API services that run 24/7 and cannot be canceled. Smart contracts provide a public method for interaction between users and applications (decentralized applications), without permission. Any application may integrate functions with deployed smart contracts, such as adding data sources or supporting token swaps. Anyone can deploy smart contracts on Hash Ahead in order to add custom functionality to meet the needs of their application.

As a decentralized application developer, if you need to add custom functions to the Hash Ahead blockchain, you need to write smart contracts to achieve it. You may find that you can meet most or all of your project's needs simply by integrating with existing smart contracts. For example, if you want to support payments in stablecoins or enable decentralized exchange tokens.

3.Client API

A number of handy libraries (built and maintained by the Hash Ahead open source community) allow your end-user applications to connect to and communicate with the Hash Ahead blockchain.

If your user-facing application is a web application, you can simply choose to install a JavaScript API on your front end using npm. Perhaps you'll choose to implement this functionality on the backend using an API in Python or Java

While these APIs are not necessarily part of the stack, they abstract and remove most of the complexity of interacting directly with Hash Ahead nodes. They also provide useful functions (for example: convert HAH to Gwei), and as a developer, you can spend less time dealing with the complex issues of Hash Ahead client, so as to focus more time on processing your application unique features.

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