---
id: dev-started-introduction
title: Introduction
keywords:
  - getting started
  - dapp development
  - address formats
  - zilliqa
description: Zilliqa developer getting started
---

---

## Getting Started with dApp Development

This section aims to give developers an idea on how to get started with
development on Zilliqa.

We try to make this guide concise, but yet easy enough for a developer with no
experience in blockchain development. As many applications developers are
`javascript` developers, we will use `javascript` in code snippet examples.
Zilliqa Research currently actively maintains an official SDK in Javascript
[`zilliqa-js`](https://github.com/Zilliqa/zilliqa-js) which we'll be using in
our examples.

### What are dApps?

Decentralised Apps ("dApps") are applications that interact with smart contracts
on the blockchain. As Zilliqa blockchain is a decentralised network that is not
hosted by a single entity, application that sits on the blockchain is
_decentralised_.

An application can have a user-facing components ("client"), which could be a
web application or mobile app. These applications can interact with smart
contracts on the Zilliqa blockchain.

!["Overview"](../../assets/img/dev-dapps/dapps-overview.png)

The entry to Zilliqa blockchain lies on the RPC interface. SDKs are not
compulsory for you to interact with the blockchain, but they do make your life
easier.

Saw the `0x1`, `0x2` on the entities on the blockchain? Those are
[addresses](#addresses).

Addresses are an identifier to an entity on the blockchain. An entity on the
blockchain can be either a user or a contract.

### Addresses

Zilliqa currently supports two address formats.

- `ByStr20`: 20 byte hexadecimal string (e.g.
  `0x573EC96638C8bB1c386394602E1460634F02aDdA`)
- `bech32`: A [bech32](https://github.com/Zilliqa/ZIP/blob/master/zips/zip-1.md)
  with a human-readable prefix of `zil` (e.g.
  `zil12ulvje3ceza3cwrrj3szu9rqvd8s9tw69c978p`)

The reason behind this design is to prevent confusion with Ethereum addresses.
For more detailed explanation on the address, refer to
[this post](https://blog.zilliqa.com/zilliqa-migrates-to-new-address-format-bf1fa6d7e41d)