Decentralized applications

Now, let us discuss the next layer: decentralized applications (DApps). These are basically applications that get executed over a decentralized peer-to-peer network and have an open source code. It can be a simple logic based program that adds two numbers, or it can be something quite complex, such as a micro blogging service.

Being a foodie, I often imagine a mist browser as a five-star hotel's weekend brunch buffet table (along with gas burners) on which different kinds of DApps are spread out, ready to be devoured by hungry software developers and clients. The only thing is that these DApps, rather than coming from a single centralized kitchen employing many chefs, are procured in a potluck manner by different software developers. They are even made to pay for the gas burner to keep their DApps palatable. The best part is that the developers must share the recipe and ingredients for free. Figure 2.6 shows such DApps on a mist browser: