Introducing the Linera Developer School

Presenting top projects from our first batch and looking ahead to Autumn Developer School

This summer, we graduated our first batch of Linera Developer Summer School, a four-week program for developers to learn how to build on Linera’s unique multichain programming paradigm. We received impressive submissions from our community that showed what is possible with the Linera SDK.

We would like to thank all of the developers who participated. If you missed it, you can check out this YouTube Playlist of our kickoff event and live coding workshops. You’re also invited to join us for our Autumn Developer School starting on September 8.

A new programming paradigm

Linera introduces the concept of microchains to enable unprecedented horizontal scalability for web3 applications. Inspired by research at Meta/Novi, the Linera system scales by adding chains, not by increasing the size or the production rate of blocks.

Microchains are lightweight chains that operate in parallel within a common set of validators. The number of microchains present in the Linera system is meant to be unlimited, granting each end user their own chain and providing unlimited blockspace as a service.

By pioneering microchains, Linera introduces a new programming paradigm. The Linera Developer School gives developers an opportunity to learn microchain programming with direct support from the Linera team and a chance to win from our prize pool, while building community along the way.

Four weeks to build and learn

We started our learning journey with an insightful Kick-Off Call, where Linera founder Mathieu Baudet gave a presentation on the protocol, vision, and technical implementation of Linera. This helped developers see the big picture of how the protocol is structured and described some examples that showcase Linera’s capabilities, including retail payments and gaming micro-rewards; messaging and social data feeds; proprietary trading; and version control systems for software, data pipelines, or AI training.

The program continued with a series of three Live Coding Workshops hosted by Linera software engineer, Christos Hadjiaslanis. Each of these workshops built on the one prior to walk developers through the fundamentals of building on the Linera SDK, from the basics of building and deploying on the Linera SDK, to ensuring application robustness through testing and logging, and finally demonstrating cross-application calls.

Developers leveraged our robust developer documentation at linera.dev and Demo Apps. If any questions came up, developers could reach out to us on Discord or Telegram, where engineers on our team could help answer questions.

Throughout the four weeks, developers were able to build web3 applications that run locally using Linera’s initial SDK.

Projects that showcase Linera’s possibilities

We received impressive submissions from our community that showed what is possible with the Linera SDK. Participants had a chance to win from our $10,500 USD prize pool. We are proud to showcase the top submissions.

ResPeer — First Place Winner

In first place, winning $5,000 USD was the project ResPeer. ResPeer is a P2P content publishing platform on Linera. Its features include a feed for publishing content, a credit issuing mechanism, a marketplace, and an intuitive front end. We were very impressed with the complexity of the project and how much the team was able to build in such a short period of time.

Equalizer — Second Place Winner

Securing second place and $3,500 USD, was Equalizer. Equalizer is a revenue based financing protocol. Its main premise is to help web3 products leverage investors and raise funding.

This project idea was particularly interesting for its proposal of creating an alternative to traditional financing models. Through Equalizer, businesses could create recurring revenue streams, mint cashflow NFTs representing a revenue share, and allow investors to trade upfront capital to buy NFTs and gain a revenue share.

Linera Logger — Third Place Winner

In third place and winning a prize of $1,500 US was Linera Logger. This tool provides a deep dive into the Linera network, showcasing transaction lists, block inspections, and vital metrics. The standout feature of this application is its intuitive user interface. Users can seamlessly extract valuable insights into the network’s activities and overall performance.

Honorable Mentions

Two projects deserve a special nod for their creativity and execution, Soulbound and Linchat.

Soulbound is a decentralized, community-driven social media platform on the Linera SDK, breaking away from traditional platform constraints.

Linchat is a peer-to-peer chatroom built on the Linera SDK. The application emphasizes privacy, security, and direct connection. This project shows how developers can reimagine existing systems using blockchain technology.

Join us for Autumn Developer School 2023

We are excited to continue this momentum with Autumn Developer School 2023, hosted on Dorahacks. This program will run from September 8 to October 15. Join us for five weeks of programming, including live coding workshops, and a chance to win from our prize pool. All valid submissions will also receive a digital credential. We are happy to share a few updates we are making for this session.

Increased Prize Pool and Digital Credential

With an increased prize pool of $12,500, we aim to recognize and reward the groundbreaking projects that will be birthed from this event.

Additionally, to ensure that every meaningful contribution receives the acknowledgment it deserves, participants who submit a valid project will receive exclusive credentials from mygateway.xyz. This not only serves as a testament to their skill and effort but also sets a standard for the Linera community’s dedication to excellence.

Hosted on Dorahacks

We’re excited to announce that this season, the program will be hosted on the Dorahacks platform. Dorahacks is known for its seamless integration and extensive reach in the developer community.

Five Weeks of Programming & Support

Over the next five weeks, participants will have access to the following programming:

• Adhoc 1:1 Sessions: Offering personalized guidance, feedback, and mentorship to address unique challenges and brainstorm ideas.

• Live Coding Workshops: Empowering developers with hands-on, real-time learning experiences led by our technical experts.

• Keynote Presentations: Linera Founder Mathieu Baudet will once again take the stage, sharing the latest updates to the Linera SDK and insights on the protocol’s roadmap and vision.

By hosting the Linera Autumn Developer School 2023, we reiterate our unwavering commitment to nurturing the next generation of blockchain developers. We genuinely hope that, just as with the summer session, the Linera Developer School acts as a launchpad for inspiring projects and innovation in web3.

Registrations are now open. Dive into our developer documentation at linera.dev and join us on Discord and Telegram. We look forward to building with you!

–Jesse Pariselli, Head of Community Growth at Linera