Bitcoin library vs script to develop application

I'm curious about the development of application of Identity management in Blockchain platform, but I'm a bit confused about the technologies to use.

In short words, when is more convenient to develop an application coding in script and when is it better to use a high-level library like BitcoinJ or a service as Blockchain.info API?

I'm a Java developer and I'm more confortable using a Java Library like bitcoinJ, but I don't understand if, in this way, I can lose something in performance or expressivity or "semantic power" in regard to most raw-level scripting system of Bitcoin (that is a kind of assembler).

Thanks you in advance

alepuzio

Posted 2017-09-26T23:30:11.617

Reputation: 113

Answers

Before you take on trying to use Script I recommend doing whatever you can with an existing API. I've used Blockchain.info's which has worked well.

Here's another API package for Java that might work for you https://github.com/blockchain/api-v1-client-java

Once you have gotten comfortable with the abstracted interface, and have a need to go lower level, go for it. That being said, you may find Blockchain to propagate transactions more quickly than your own server since it has many many peers.

nym

Posted 2017-09-26T23:30:11.617

Reputation: 118

Ok, I thought to start in this way. Is this meaning that scrypt has the same expressivity of the Java library you suggest? Is there only difference in performance, can you confirm this? – alepuzio – 2017-09-28T22:57:21.917

You can interact with bitcoin at a low level, e.g. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script, or you can do so at a high level, like blockchain.info, or coinbase.

Based on the identity management part, it's not clear to me you need to be working at a low level. The problem with running a bitcoin client yourself is that it takes some time to sync the blockchain, so if you want to code something today, I recommend a service, at least till you get a better idea of your goal.

– nym – 2017-10-01T04:54:29.660

I would:

Install bitcoin on your local machine and run it regtest mode

Use a json lib to query the local bitcoin node. The RPC documentation here:

https://bitcoin.org/en/developer-reference#remote-procedure-calls-rpcs

This seem as easy as learning a third party API.

erols

Posted 2017-09-26T23:30:11.617

Reputation: 53

When I originally took this approach we had to wait three days to get the blockchain synced, despite pulling a recent copy from bittorrent beforehand. Hopefully it's better these days! – nym – 2017-10-01T04:56:32.937

the important part is to run it in regtest mode. This it generates a fake local blockchain. Nothing to download. Bitcoin Regtest Mode

You can get on with developing whilst your Production node is syncing.

– erols – 2017-10-01T08:16:23.193