Yesterday, Cardstack hosted Ember Meetup at our office in One World Trade Center. Our team senior developers Ed and Hassan both shared their insights about Ember, Blockchain and Cardstack to a passionate group of developers. Here are some photos that captured the highlight of the event
Developers, this talk is for you! In case you missed it, here’s a chance to learn all about card schemas. They are essential, as they define what a card is and its relationships with other cards, plus they allow these cards to move around!
https://youtu.be/xL7opLril_4
https://youtu.be/xL7opLril_4
What is a token pool?
In the Cardstack Network, customers will usually deal with more than one service provider. To enable frictionless billing of mutual customers, we use a smart contract called a “reward pool”. This is like waiters pooling their tips by putting them inside a jar. At the end of the night, they determine what portion of this tip jar goes to each person, just like we figure out what portion of this reward should go to each service provider, based on some usage accounting.
To know how much that reward pool is worth, especially when it contains multiple fluctuating tokens, we need Tally—our accountant or bookkeeper. Tally knows which transactions are happening on-chain and can access cryptocurrency-to-fiat exchange rate services, to calculate the current market rate of the reward pool.
Hear more about the token pool: https://youtu.be/FwO_ZGCk410?t=1070
In the Cardstack Network, customers will usually deal with more than one service provider. To enable frictionless billing of mutual customers, we use a smart contract called a “reward pool”. This is like waiters pooling their tips by putting them inside a jar. At the end of the night, they determine what portion of this tip jar goes to each person, just like we figure out what portion of this reward should go to each service provider, based on some usage accounting.
To know how much that reward pool is worth, especially when it contains multiple fluctuating tokens, we need Tally—our accountant or bookkeeper. Tally knows which transactions are happening on-chain and can access cryptocurrency-to-fiat exchange rate services, to calculate the current market rate of the reward pool.
Hear more about the token pool: https://youtu.be/FwO_ZGCk410?t=1070
YouTube
The CARD Protocol - Cardstack Tech Talk
Chris Tse, Founding Director of the Cardstack Project, takes a deep dive into the multi-currency payment & billing network called the “CARD Protocol”—which i...
Introducing the Card Makers
Users, developers, engineers, back-end, front-end, with or without framework-level experience—whichever category you fall into, you can play an important role in the Cardstack Ecosystem! By utilizing your individual skills, you can actively contribute to the making of cards, thus to the Card Catalog. The inverse pyramid of card makers tells you how that works. In the next few days, we will introduce each type of card maker, with the corresponding skill sets that are needed in each layer of this pyramid.
Learn more about our pyramid of card makers: https://medium.com/cardstack/who-are-the-card-makers-504f784881fb
Check out our early-access guides: https://docs.cardstack.com/release/
Users, developers, engineers, back-end, front-end, with or without framework-level experience—whichever category you fall into, you can play an important role in the Cardstack Ecosystem! By utilizing your individual skills, you can actively contribute to the making of cards, thus to the Card Catalog. The inverse pyramid of card makers tells you how that works. In the next few days, we will introduce each type of card maker, with the corresponding skill sets that are needed in each layer of this pyramid.
Learn more about our pyramid of card makers: https://medium.com/cardstack/who-are-the-card-makers-504f784881fb
Check out our early-access guides: https://docs.cardstack.com/release/
Medium
Who Are the Card Makers?
Their skills and their roles in the Cardstack Ecosystem
The Framework Team
At the bottom of our pyramid of card makers is the framework—people who write the software. At the moment, this is largely the Cardstack team who is building the Card SDK.
The Card SDK controls what a card can and cannot do. It is a front-end / back-end framework that runs on the Cardstack Hub, our decentralized application server. The same card can run on many hubs / servers and be hosted on different devices—whether that's on a PC or in a cloud.
The framework team builds the templating UI, tool kits, and server runtime. We want to tap into existing open-source tools as much as possible, so as to enable people who know these tools to be productive right away. Therefore, being a part of the Cardstack framework team means learning our version of tools like Ember Core, NodeJS, Postgres, and Docker.
Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=387s
At the bottom of our pyramid of card makers is the framework—people who write the software. At the moment, this is largely the Cardstack team who is building the Card SDK.
The Card SDK controls what a card can and cannot do. It is a front-end / back-end framework that runs on the Cardstack Hub, our decentralized application server. The same card can run on many hubs / servers and be hosted on different devices—whether that's on a PC or in a cloud.
The framework team builds the templating UI, tool kits, and server runtime. We want to tap into existing open-source tools as much as possible, so as to enable people who know these tools to be productive right away. Therefore, being a part of the Cardstack framework team means learning our version of tools like Ember Core, NodeJS, Postgres, and Docker.
Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=387s
The Product Team
The SDK and APIs provided by the framework team are used by the product team to create experiences—by building environments.
Here’s an analogy: There's a home screen, volume control, and camera on your iPhone, which a developer of an iOS app doesn't have to build from scratch every time, since those are standard environments that already exist. That's what the product team at Cardstack is working on; and we want to grow this team to 100+ people. There are many new things coming (workflows, spaces, libraries, etc.), all of which will be standard. Every single card that is built using the Card SDK benefits from these sharing or zooming controls. Product developers are the ones who build these standard experiences for mobile or desktop, so they’re all part of the product.
Since the Cardstack Framework is built on top of Ember, this layer requires a deeper understanding of the Ember ecosystem.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=563s
The SDK and APIs provided by the framework team are used by the product team to create experiences—by building environments.
Here’s an analogy: There's a home screen, volume control, and camera on your iPhone, which a developer of an iOS app doesn't have to build from scratch every time, since those are standard environments that already exist. That's what the product team at Cardstack is working on; and we want to grow this team to 100+ people. There are many new things coming (workflows, spaces, libraries, etc.), all of which will be standard. Every single card that is built using the Card SDK benefits from these sharing or zooming controls. Product developers are the ones who build these standard experiences for mobile or desktop, so they’re all part of the product.
Since the Cardstack Framework is built on top of Ember, this layer requires a deeper understanding of the Ember ecosystem.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=563s
Back-end engineers
Once we have the environment, we can start thinking about the type of integration (adapter to back-end systems / data sources) we need. Back-end engineers are people who know how to use NodeJS and the extension we've added through the Cardstack Hub, and who know how to interact with REST APIs and databases. They can build plugins to blockchains, Stripe, GitHub, Gitchain, etc.
Plugins are encapsulated as integration cards. They are configurations like a printer driver—you install it and set up your credential. When something is created, we can use that integration card and the corresponding API and syndicate that data to a cloud or, in some cases, to the blockchain.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=662s
Once we have the environment, we can start thinking about the type of integration (adapter to back-end systems / data sources) we need. Back-end engineers are people who know how to use NodeJS and the extension we've added through the Cardstack Hub, and who know how to interact with REST APIs and databases. They can build plugins to blockchains, Stripe, GitHub, Gitchain, etc.
Plugins are encapsulated as integration cards. They are configurations like a printer driver—you install it and set up your credential. When something is created, we can use that integration card and the corresponding API and syndicate that data to a cloud or, in some cases, to the blockchain.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=662s
Front-end engineers
By creating common cards, front-end engineers put front-ends on top of our back-ends. Take an event card, for example. Anyone who wants to build an event catalog can start with the basic event card. Not only does it have all the schema.org language already defined; it also comes with an editing form, because the card is a mini-application. These common cards have built-in dropdowns and design systems, to guarantee a great standard experience for customizing cards.
We use common cards as a starting point to build this decentralized ecosystem, to allow back-end providers, integrations, or even new blockchains (like a calendar or event blockchain) to get into the user experience of the system.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=948s
By creating common cards, front-end engineers put front-ends on top of our back-ends. Take an event card, for example. Anyone who wants to build an event catalog can start with the basic event card. Not only does it have all the schema.org language already defined; it also comes with an editing form, because the card is a mini-application. These common cards have built-in dropdowns and design systems, to guarantee a great standard experience for customizing cards.
We use common cards as a starting point to build this decentralized ecosystem, to allow back-end providers, integrations, or even new blockchains (like a calendar or event blockchain) to get into the user experience of the system.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=948s
Web developers
Web developers theme the common cards built by front-end engineers and turn them into template cards.
Yet, when building a theme, they don't have to deal with the back-end; the common card already encapsulates all the data integration and blockchainy stuff. All the Web developers have to do is remap the fields, add some fields and texture, and call it a template.
The only skill set needed is HTML, CSS, and maybe a little bit of Ember, to create some logic around a card—so it shows a particular event, icon, or payment status. Without needing to know anything underneath, Web developers can create new mini-applications, including cards that contain other cards. And once a template is created, it can be published to the Card Catalog.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=1277s
Web developers theme the common cards built by front-end engineers and turn them into template cards.
Yet, when building a theme, they don't have to deal with the back-end; the common card already encapsulates all the data integration and blockchainy stuff. All the Web developers have to do is remap the fields, add some fields and texture, and call it a template.
The only skill set needed is HTML, CSS, and maybe a little bit of Ember, to create some logic around a card—so it shows a particular event, icon, or payment status. Without needing to know anything underneath, Web developers can create new mini-applications, including cards that contain other cards. And once a template is created, it can be published to the Card Catalog.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=1277s
Power users
Finally, power users use the tools provided by the lower layers to create full-stack Web applications.
And all they do is use the interface. They don’t have to do any coding. The Four Edges allow them to drag a card from a library, open it, look at different editing options, and configure it to their liking with a few clicks. They don't need to do anything beyond Web-based administration. That's the only tool they need to create research report templates, newsletters, conference programs, tickets, and invitations, to name a few examples. Power users just use the templates that Web developers put out there to create their own version of a reality.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=1597s
Finally, power users use the tools provided by the lower layers to create full-stack Web applications.
And all they do is use the interface. They don’t have to do any coding. The Four Edges allow them to drag a card from a library, open it, look at different editing options, and configure it to their liking with a few clicks. They don't need to do anything beyond Web-based administration. That's the only tool they need to create research report templates, newsletters, conference programs, tickets, and invitations, to name a few examples. Power users just use the templates that Web developers put out there to create their own version of a reality.
Learn more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrGLmAYYpqQ&t=1597s
A lot is happening here at Cardstack! Githereum is live on testnet and Card Schema V2 is already in the works. This is an update on the progress we’ve made recently and our plans for the coming weeks: https://medium.com/cardstack/whats-new-at-cardstack-f48917a4a73e
Medium
What’s New at Cardstack?
We’ve launched Githereum on testnet.
Check out our brand-new product talk, where Chris introduces the Cardstack Builder! He explains how the work done by framework engineers and Web developers empowers the users—the people who don’t know how to code, but who are comfortable using Excel and SaaS software like Salesforce or Airtable. Using our unique card building tool, power users will be able to assemble their own real working apps quickly with simple drag-and-drop tools.
https://youtu.be/PkpVR2U554k
https://youtu.be/PkpVR2U554k
YouTube
Designing the Cardstack Builder - Cardstack Product Talk
Cardstack’s Founding Director Chris Tse introduces the Cardstack Builder: the product that makes the complete full-stack Cardstack Experience possible. All t...
Did you miss Chris’ latest product talk?
In this video, he presents the Cardstack Builder—the unique (drag-and-drop-style) card building tool that allows people who don’t know how to code to assemble their own real working apps: https://youtu.be/PkpVR2U554k
In this video, he presents the Cardstack Builder—the unique (drag-and-drop-style) card building tool that allows people who don’t know how to code to assemble their own real working apps: https://youtu.be/PkpVR2U554k
YouTube
Designing the Cardstack Builder - Cardstack Product Talk
Cardstack’s Founding Director Chris Tse introduces the Cardstack Builder: the product that makes the complete full-stack Cardstack Experience possible. All t...
What is the Card SDK?
The Card SDK (software development kit) is a composable UI system, which developers use to create the cards they add to the Card Catalog. When it comes to packaging those cards, they can build an entire full-screen stand-alone website, embed the cards within their websites or workflows, or provide an overlay that allows users to pick and choose from several cards.
To learn more about the SDK, check out this part of Chris’ talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AmjAvQGSYw&t=629s
The Card SDK (software development kit) is a composable UI system, which developers use to create the cards they add to the Card Catalog. When it comes to packaging those cards, they can build an entire full-screen stand-alone website, embed the cards within their websites or workflows, or provide an overlay that allows users to pick and choose from several cards.
To learn more about the SDK, check out this part of Chris’ talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AmjAvQGSYw&t=629s
Read all about the Cardstack Builder! Here’s our blog post to go with Chris’ recent product talk, in which he explains how users can build their own apps quickly and easily, using nothing more than their mouse and drag-and-drop tools. Once they have assembled their fields and cards like Lego bricks, they can chain them together to create all kinds of workflows and embed them in message threads—thus enjoying one cohesive experience that also can (but doesn’t have to) be further customized for them by developers.
https://medium.com/cardstack/the-ultimate-card-building-tool-25c442e22bed
https://medium.com/cardstack/the-ultimate-card-building-tool-25c442e22bed
Medium
The Ultimate Card Building Tool
Introducing Cardstack Builder & Cardstack Workflow
Who participates in the “Cardstack” way of doing things?
Cardstack sits in the middle of a four-sided market between users, providers, developers, and businesses—providing each of them their respective experiences, while the token mechanism allows them to benefit from the economic value of this network. In the next few days, we will walk you through the benefits Cardstack offers the different ecosystem participants.
Cardstack sits in the middle of a four-sided market between users, providers, developers, and businesses—providing each of them their respective experiences, while the token mechanism allows them to benefit from the economic value of this network. In the next few days, we will walk you through the benefits Cardstack offers the different ecosystem participants.
Users
The Card Catalog is open-source, user-friendly, and offers a great selection of cards and features to use for payment, content, messaging, and much more. It's like an app store, where developers publish their apps for users to download and use. But instead of asking users to pay for 40 different subscriptions, we offer them everything they need for one flat rate, $5 per month. That makes the catalog well-priced for each individual user. Yet, those subscriptions fund the entire ecosystem by rewarding the developers, who contribute the code, and the service providers, who provide the hosting services the users need.
The Card Catalog will be launched in 2020.
The Card Catalog is open-source, user-friendly, and offers a great selection of cards and features to use for payment, content, messaging, and much more. It's like an app store, where developers publish their apps for users to download and use. But instead of asking users to pay for 40 different subscriptions, we offer them everything they need for one flat rate, $5 per month. That makes the catalog well-priced for each individual user. Yet, those subscriptions fund the entire ecosystem by rewarding the developers, who contribute the code, and the service providers, who provide the hosting services the users need.
The Card Catalog will be launched in 2020.
Developers
With the Card SDK, developers can build quickly and easily, so they can be successful immediately. We provide a unified software development kit that contains both the front-end and the back-end, so they can create, deploy, and sell their cards (their mini-applications) all within one system. There’s only one set of software (Card SDK in JavaScript) they need to learn to use. Then, they will be able to push their code into the catalog with just one command. Our framework does all the hard work, so they can focus on the features of their cards. Plus, developers no longer have up-front operating costs, as we shift hosting to service providers and its costs to the users. Based on actual usage analysis, developers get paid for building, maintaining, and improving the software indirectly by the subscribed users who end up using their cards.
The Card SDK V2 is already in the works, as is our developer documentation: https://docs.cardstack.com/release/
With the Card SDK, developers can build quickly and easily, so they can be successful immediately. We provide a unified software development kit that contains both the front-end and the back-end, so they can create, deploy, and sell their cards (their mini-applications) all within one system. There’s only one set of software (Card SDK in JavaScript) they need to learn to use. Then, they will be able to push their code into the catalog with just one command. Our framework does all the hard work, so they can focus on the features of their cards. Plus, developers no longer have up-front operating costs, as we shift hosting to service providers and its costs to the users. Based on actual usage analysis, developers get paid for building, maintaining, and improving the software indirectly by the subscribed users who end up using their cards.
The Card SDK V2 is already in the works, as is our developer documentation: https://docs.cardstack.com/release/
Providers
Service providers help users host their software—the cards (mini-apps) they have chosen from the Card Catalog—similarly to hosting WordPress, thus providing the “do-it-for-me convenience” you expect from the Web and the cloud. And that's a sticky arrangement. Once you're running your website/app with a certain provider, you're likely to stick with that provider over time. The recurring revenue coming in through the users is meant to create sustainable margins for the providers, enabling them to run a successful business. Yet, users can always switch providers if they are not content with the services; since our data is portable and everything is open source. There is one stack to manage and deploy on any containerized cloud, so anyone can operate a Cardstack-based service—which ensures a competitive market.
As a start, the first hosting provider, Card.Space, will be launched in 2020.
Service providers help users host their software—the cards (mini-apps) they have chosen from the Card Catalog—similarly to hosting WordPress, thus providing the “do-it-for-me convenience” you expect from the Web and the cloud. And that's a sticky arrangement. Once you're running your website/app with a certain provider, you're likely to stick with that provider over time. The recurring revenue coming in through the users is meant to create sustainable margins for the providers, enabling them to run a successful business. Yet, users can always switch providers if they are not content with the services; since our data is portable and everything is open source. There is one stack to manage and deploy on any containerized cloud, so anyone can operate a Cardstack-based service—which ensures a competitive market.
As a start, the first hosting provider, Card.Space, will be launched in 2020.