When a hard fork occurs on the Cardano blockchain, Developers need to take several important steps to ensure their applications and tools remain functional and compatible with the updated network. Here’s what they should do:
- Review the Hard Fork Changes
- Understand the Update: Developers should thoroughly review the changes introduced by the hard fork. This includes understanding updates to the consensus protocol, ledger rules, smart contract platform, and any other relevant components.
- Assess Impact: Identify how the changes will affect their applications, smart contracts, or tools. For example, if the hard fork introduces new Plutus scripting features, developers may need to modify their smart contracts to leverage or comply with these changes.
2. Update Dependencies
- Update Libraries and SDKs: Ensure that all libraries, SDKs, and dependencies used by the application are updated to versions compatible with the new protocol.
- Tooling Compatibility: Developers should also check for updates to their development environment and tools, such as cardano-node, cardano-cli, and any third-party libraries or APIs they rely on.
3. Test Applications
- Run Tests on the Testnet: Before the hard fork is implemented on mainnet, Cardano usually deploys the update to a testnet. Developers should deploy and test their applications there to ensure compatibility and to identify any issues.
- Smart Contract Testing: If the hard fork involves changes to smart contracts, extensive testing is required. Developers should test all scenarios, including edge cases, to ensure that their contracts behave as expected under the new protocol.
4. Deploy Updates
- Update Smart Contracts: If necessary, deploy updated versions of smart contracts that are compatible with the new protocol.
- Release New Versions of Applications: If the hard fork impacts the front-end or back-end logic of dApps, Developers may need to release new versions of their applications. Ensure users are notified of these updates.
5. Monitor the Network Post-Fork
- Observe for Issues: After the hard fork goes live on mainnet, Developers should closely monitor the network and their applications for any unexpected behavior.
- Be Ready to React: If any issues arise, Developers need to be prepared to quickly patch or update their applications.
6. Engage with the Community
- Participate in Discussions: Engage with the Cardano Developer community to share experiences, challenges, and solutions related to the hard fork.
- Stay Informed: Keep an eye on official announcements from the Cardano team and stay updated on any post-fork developments or further updates.
By following these steps, Developers can ensure their applications remain functional and take advantage of new features or improvements introduced by the hard fork.
Developers: If your application is still encountering issues on Preprod, Mesh can give you a hand.
Mesh is Chang ready! Visit https://meshjs.dev to access the resources you need.
