Getting Started - Polkadot Wiki (original) (raw)

Get Started

Welcome to the Polkadot Wiki

The Polkadot Wiki serves as the central source of truth for Polkadot. It is a community-focused initiative led by Web3 Foundation to keep an up-to-date resource on the best information for learning about Polkadot.

For developer-focused documentation see the Polkadot Documentation.

Explore

What is Polkadot?¶

Polkadot is a blockchain-based multi-core decentralized cloud computer. Let's break it down bit by bit:

• blockchain-based: Polkadot at its heart has a blockchain that permanently and immutably stores sensitive information about the protocol and applications running on top of it
• multi-core: Like traditional computers, Polkadot has a virtual CPU with multiple virtual cores
• decentralized cloud computer: Instead of being run by a single entity, Polkadot is run by real computers owned by different operators (validators) scattered around the globe, part of a decentralized peer-to-peer network

Polkadot is a Web3 service provider: it provides secure and resilient computation and interoperability for any application connected to its network. Applications can be fully-fledged blockchains deployed as rollups on Polkadot (also known as parachains). Instead of bootstrapping their security, rollups can connect to Polkadot via its virtual cores by buying coretime with DOT and tap into Polkadot's multi-billion shared security. By doing so, they inherently access Polkadot's secure interoperability and can communicate with other applications running on different cores of Polkadot's virtual CPU.

Polkadot is owned by the DOT token holders who can shape its future through on-chain governance (also called PolkadotOpenGov) to orchestrate decisions, including accessing funds from thetreasury. Technical changes to the protocol's code are enacted and implemented automatically. Token holders can cast direct votes, delegate their voting power to entities and DAOs they trust, and place deposits for their referenda or referenda proposed by others.

In addition to purchasing coretime and voting in governance, the DOT token gives you the power to participate in Polkadot staking and help secure the network. For node operators, DOT can also enable you to participate in programs like the Decentralized Nodes program.

Polkadot's level of abstraction and generalization allows for building applications specific to their use cases, and for those applications to communicate securely, leveraging each other's value proposition. The trustless cooperation between applications makes Polkadot an ideal ecosystem to build a web3 future.

Polkadot Gifts¶

Polkadot Gifts provides an easy way to:

• Onboard friends or family who are curious about blockchain but haven’t made the leap yet.
• Share your love of Polkadot and send any amount of DOT.
• Say ‘thank you’ or send someone tokens when you don’t know their address.
• Get friends and family set up to participate in crowdloans.

Learn more about how you can create and send Polkadot Giftshere.

Learning about Polkadot and Web3¶

Depending on your understanding of blockchain, Web3, and Polkadot, several learning resources exist.

Beginner Level¶

• The Blockchain Fundamentals MOOC course: an introduction to blockchain technology to start familiarizing yourself with concepts such as cryptography and peer-to-peer networks.
• Polkadot's light paper: a visual, easy to read, and less technical introduction into Polkadot's technology. This paper dives into the components of Polkadot and is tailored for both a non-technical and technical reader.
• Polkadot for Beginners: A non-technical guide to decentralization, blockchains & Polkadot: a book funded by the Polkadot Treasury about Blockchain technology with a dive into the Polkadot protocol, its participants and components.

Intermediate Level¶

• Polkadot's original white paper: the original Polkadot white paper that describes Polkadot 1.0 and how Polkadot's core components work together.
• Polkadot's overview paper: an updated version of the white paper that describes the protocol in more technical terms.
• The Technical Explainer Videos: These introductory videos explain and demonstrate how to interact with Polkadot using the Polkadot-JS tools and more user-friendly wallets.
• Polkadot Knowledge Base - Troubleshooting resources for specific errors and problems while using tools such as the Polkadot Staking Dashboard and Polkadot-JS UI.

Advanced Level¶

• The Web3 Foundation's research site: up-to-date technical research on Polkadot, including scalability, cryptographic, economic, and security aspects of the protocol.
• Polkadot's specification: the latest Polkadot Host protocol specification, Polkadot's specification tests of the many components of the network, and the Polkadot Runtime specification. This repo holds algorithms and explores how various processes function in the Polkadot network. The Polkadot specification takesPolkadot's ideas and concepts from the light and the white paper, but focuses on the technical specs of the technology.
• ELVES protocol paper: a technical scientific paper of Polkadot's shared security model.
• The Polkadot Parachain Host Implementer's Guide: an extensive description of Polkadot's shared security model.

Certified Courses¶

• EdX Courses
  • Introduction to blockchain and Web3: this course introduces the fundamental concepts of Blockchain technology and Web3.
  • Introduction to Polkadot: this course provides a comprehensive overview of Polkadot Network, its technology and ecosystem.
• The Polkadot Blockchain Academy X (PBA-X): an online course about cryptography, blockchain, crypto-economics, the Polkadot protocol and Polkadot SDK.
• The Polkadot Blockchain Academy Campus (PBA Campus): a three-week intensive course that will make you a blockchain core developer or a dApp developer.

Tutorials for Developers¶

• Rust and Polkadot Workshop: A workshop to teach new students the basics of Blockchains, Rust, and the Polkadot SDK.
• DotCodeSchool: An interactive online school that teaches you how to build meaningful web3 applications using the Polkadot SDK.
• Polkadot Study: A platform where developers can write tutorials for the Polkadot ecosystem. Part of the development of the platform was funded by theKusama treasury. The platform also hostsSubstrate in Bits, a technical content series aimed at solving the pain points of developers building withPolkadot SDK (Substrate) and Rust.