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July 17, 2021

Drizzle Explained – What is Drizzle?

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It’s no secret that developing decentralized applications (dApps) is more complex than developing for Web2. However, the Web3 scene has been under frantic development, and a long list of helpful tools and platforms are beginning to emerge. From reading this article, you’re obviously already familiar with Moralis, the premier blockchain middleware. Another example of such a platform is the Truffle Suite. Truffle Suite is a sophisticated ecosystem for Ethereum development consisting of three main tools: Truffle, Ganache, and Drizzle. Together, these tools complement one another to create a more accessible Web3 development experience. However, in this article, we will narrow down the field and solely focus on what Drizzle is. Drizzle is part of the Truffle Suite system and aids in frontend development.

In short, Drizzle is a collection of frontend libraries. Moreover, Drizzle is a tool for frontend development, but this is not where the main issues with Web3 development lie. The real struggle of dApp development is the backend infrastructure, which is where Moralis comes in. Moralis is the number one middleware for Web3 development, and the platform handles the backend infrastructure of your dApps. Furthermore, Moralis works great together with Truffle Suite. Essentially, Moralis takes care of the backend, while Truffle assists in smart contract development. 

Furthermore, not only does Moralis offer an infinitely scalable backend infrastructure, but additional services for dApp development as well. One great example is Moralis’ Speedy Nodes. Speedy Nodes provide Moralis’ users with some of the fastest and most reliable nodes on the market. Something which can aid tremendously in the dApp development process. 

So, if you are interested in becoming a dApp developer, we highly recommend signing up with Moralis. Creating an account is entirely free, and you can access all Moralis tools right away! 

What is Truffle Suite? 

Truffle Suite is a Web3 development ecosystem that consists of three different tools; Truffle, Ganache, and, of course, Drizzle. This ecosystem is diligently used, and the tools are well-established for development. The goal of the ecosystem is to make Web3 development more accessible and an easier experience.

 So, what are these tools included in the Truffle Suite ecosystem?

  • Truffle — Truffle is an asset pipeline, testing framework, and development environment using the EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine). Truffle is one of the most well-used development environments for building ETH dApps. The purpose of this tool is to make smart contract development more accessible. Furthermore, some of the main features of Truffle are smart contract management, automated contract testing, scriptable migration and development, and much more. 
  • Ganache — Ganache is the second tool in the Truffle Suite ecosystem. Ganache allows us to create our own local Ethereum blockchain to take advantage of when developing dApps. With our local blockchain, we can develop, deploy and test our dApps and smart contracts in a safe environment before launching on an authentic chain. However, if you are interested in reading more about Ganache, check the following article. See our previous article explaining Ganache, and how you can benefit from a local blockchain. 

Truffle and Ganache are the two additional tools alongside Drizzle in the Truffle Suite ecosystem. However, as this article will explain where Drizzle fits into the Truffle trifecta.

What is Redux?

Before taking a closer look at the last tool of Truffle Suite, we will dive deeper into Redux. The reason for doing so is that Drizzle is built with a Redux store as its core. So, what is Redux? 

In essence, Redux is a predictable state container for JavaScript-based applications. Unlike a traditional library, Redux is a data-flow architecture, and it brings many benefits for application development. Furthermore, Redux is most commonly used for application state management. This means that Redux keeps the state of an application in a single object or immutable state tree. Along with keeping the state, it is also impossible to directly change the tree. This means that whenever something changes, a new object is created. 

There are a few key factors why Redux has become so popular. It all has to do with the benefits of utilizing this tool. For one, it makes app development more predictable. The reason for this is that Redux helps you to write applications with consistent behavior that are easy to test and that can run in different environments. Furthermore, another benefit is that Redux is able to work with any UI layer. Additionally, there is also a large ecosystem of addons that you can customize to fit your development needs. 

However, there is a lot more to read about Redux, and for more information, we recommend visiting their official website.

What is Drizzle?

So, if Truffle is the development environment and Ganache is software for setting up a local blockchain, then what does Drizzle do?

Drizzle is the last part of the Truffle Suite ecosystem, and it is a collection of frontend libraries with a Redux store as its basis. Drizzle offers a better and easier way for developers to build the frontend of their Ethereum dApps. With Drizzle, it is possible to make the development process more accessible as well as more predictable. However, how does this actually work?

In the previous section of the article, we went through the basics of Redux, and there was a good reason for doing so. As Drizzle is built on a Redux store as its core, the framework can utilize some of the benefits of Redux. This is one of the reasons why developing with Drizzle is relatively simple and more predictable.

Furthermore, Web3 development is characterized by a vast amount of boilerplate code. This can make development complicated, but it can also be solved with Drizzle. The framework reduces boilerplate code and makes integrating smart contracts with your frontend much more accessible. This means that we can use Drizzle to build Ethereum dApps with more consistent behavior and solve problems with state mutations in non-synchronous environments. 

Lastly, as Drizzle is based on a Redux store, you have access to all the development tools of Redux during the development process. This can further improve the developer experience since many of these tools can come in handy. 

Drizzle Features

Drizzle has several useful features, and some of them have their origin from the Redux core. Here are four noteworthy features: 

  • Reactive Ethereum Datastore — Drizzle takes care of synchronizing your data. Some examples of data that Drizzle syncs are contract and transaction data, among other things. 
  • Maintains Underlying Functions — Another great feature of Drizzles is the extension provided for Web3 1.0’s contracts. Drizzle extends these contracts so that you can access all methods and properties found in the contracts documentation. 
  • Component Library — To ease up the development process, Drizzle keeps a library containing React components. The components that are kept are used extensively for dApp functions. 
  • Existing Store — It is possible to either use your own existing store, but Drizzle is also capable of creating its own. All that you need to do to access an existing store is to import the sagas and reducers. 

Drizzle Components

There are three main components of Drizzle: ”drizzle”, ”drizzle-react”, and ”drizzle-react-components”. So, what makes each element unique, and why are they useful? 

  • drizzle — drizzle is the base module, and it contains the main functionality of Drizzle. This core component is responsible for several things, but two main features are that the module fixes necessary synchronization and provides contracts with additional functionality. 
  • drizzle-react — This is the second main component of Drizzle, and this module is responsible for allowing you to integrate Drizzle to your React apps easily. drizzle-react supplies a higher-order Provider component that takes care of other components and passes them down to the state of drizzle. 
  • drizzle-react-components — This is the last main component, and it is a library with ready-to-use React components. Some examples are components for reading data from smart contracts, writing data, and displaying accounts. 

Furthermore, Drizzle is of a modular design which means that it is prone to a high degree of customizability. This means that you can add the components and use the features that you want when developing.

However, there is much more to learn about Drizzle, and if you are interested in further information, we recommend that you visit Truffle Suite’s official website. Here you can find more extensive information regarding all the tools of the ecosystem. 

Moreover, Drizzle covers the frontend development of Ethereum dApps, but the most significant issue, from a traditional perspective, has been backend development for Web3. This is where Moralis comes into the picture as this is the best middleware for dApp and backend development. So, what exactly is Moralis? 

Moralis & Truffle Suite connection Explained

Moralis is the ultimate dApp development platform, and there are several reasons why you should start using Moralis. This is a complete Web3 development platform, and it can help developers save time, boost growth and increase engagement. The platform contains everything that you need to build and deploy your dApps. 

With Moralis, it is possible to build serverless dApps, and you can shorten the development process dramatically. Traditionally, dApp development has been plagued by cumbersome backend development issues. However, Moralis takes care of this for you, as it provides users with an infinitely scalable backend infrastructure. This gives you time to focus solely on smart contract development and the frontend of your dApps. As a result, you can put more resources into creating the best possible user experience for your targeted market. 

Furthermore, Moralis works excellently with tools from the Truffle Suite ecosystem. For example, Ganache is a perfect tool to complement Moralis development with a local Ethereum chain for testing Moralis dApps. Along with this, Truffle is excellent to aid in the development of Solidity smart contracts.
Moreover, Moralis offers a number of valuable tools that can support you further in your development endeavors. For example, Moralis has native support for many tools such as MetaMask and IPFS. Along with this, Moralis also offers cross-chain compatibility, the Moralis NFT API, Speedy Nodes, and much more. 

If you are looking to become a dApp developer, the best way to get going is with Moralis. You can shorten the time to market tremendously, and signing up is completely free. With an account, you will get immediate access to all Moralis tools and can begin developing right away! 

What is Drizzle? — Summary

Web3 is booming, and as such, the demand for new dApps is at an all-time high. Traditionally, Web3 development has been without functional middleware and development tools, but this is no longer the case. Developers have been provided with neat solutions like the Truffle Suite ecosystem providing tools such as Drizzle to meet demand.

Drizzle is a collection of frontend libraries based on a Redux store at its core, and its purpose is to aid in frontend dApp development. The framework can help in a number of ways, and utilizing the tool can make Ethereum dApp frontend development more predictable and more manageable.
Drizzle comes with several useful features like a reactive Ethereum datastore, component libraries, and existing stores. The framework is of a modular design, which means that you as a developer can choose precisely what to include/exclude allowing you to customize the tool depending on your needs. 

However, the main issue with Web3 development has not been with frontend development but rather with backend. As a result, the market was provided with Moralis. Moralis is the number one middleware for dApp development, and it provides users with a fully functioning backend infrastructure. As a result, you as a developer can direct your full attention to developing the smart contracts and the frontend of your application to create the best possible user experience. 

Furthermore, Moralis offers other helpful development tools such as MetaMask/IPFS integrations and Speedy Nodes. Just recently, Moralis also announced that the Speedy Nodes now feature full WebSockets!
So, if this sounds interesting to you, we recommend signing up with Moralis. Signing up is completely free, and you can begin developing your first project right away! 

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