What is composability in the case of blockchain?

What is composability?

Composability is the property of a system that allows its components to be combined in different ways to form new mechanisms or perform new functions.

In software, composability is often used to describe the ability of different modules to be combined and used together to create new applications or extend the functionality of existing systems. This can be achieved through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) and other mechanisms that allow different components to communicate and interact with each other.

Composability is an important principle in many areas of technology, especially for the blockchain sector, because it makes it possible to create complex systems from simpler building blocks, and to reuse and repurpose existing components to create new solutions. She can also facilitate the development of modular and scalable systemswhich can be more easily maintained and modified over time.

A good approach to composability is to imagine composable elements as Lego bricks. Each Lego can be assembled with another, which makes it possible to build complex structures by combining different elements.

The application of composability in the blockchain

Taking the example of the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain, smart contracts are a kind of public API, so anyone can interact with or integrate them into applications to get additional functionality. The composability of smart contracts generally works according to 3 principles: discoverability, autonomy and modularity.

Discoverability

By design, smart contracts are open source: anyone can apply for a smart contract or take over their code. Where in traditional programming, developers cannot integrate software libraries into applications if these are not publicly available.

Autonomy

The components of a composable system must be able to function independently. Every Ethereum blockchain smart contract is self-executing and can work without depending on other parts of the system.

Modularity

Modularity is the ability of individual components to perform a specific task. In the case of the Ethereum blockchain, each smart contract has a specific use case. It can for example be a non-fungible token (NFT), a token exchange protocol, etc.

What is a smart contract?

The different types of composability

Syntactic Composability

This type of composability refers to the fact that a decentralized application (dApp) to the possibility of using technologies created by other applications. On the Ethereum protocol, smart contracts can be consulted by everyone and can be requested by any other contract. This means that any technology developed can be reused by the entire Ethereum ecosystem.

This ability to reuse open source components, such as smart contracts from other protocols, greatly increases the efficiency of building on the Ethereum ecosystem and allows teams to focus on developing new components. Undeniably, syntactic composability generates a higher degree of innovation by allowing teams to allocate their resources more efficiently.

Atomic Composability

In the context of blockchain, atomic composability refers to the ability to combine multiple transactions or smart contracts into a single atomic transaction. Thus, since all the operations are then linked, if one of them fails, the entire operation will fail.

Atomic composability is a fundamental element of decentralized finance (DeFi), as it makes possible innovative practices such as “flash loans”, very specific operations where an asset is borrowed, invested and repaid in a single transaction.

The use of atomic composability techniques can therefore lead to the creation powerful decentralized applications and the ability to create complex financial instruments. This also makes it possible to distribute a transaction on several decentralized exchanges, or to vote simultaneously on several DAO proposals.

What is DeFi? All about decentralized finance

Morphological composability

Although Ethereum is designed to make it easier to coordinate different decentralized applications, this does not automatically mean that the elements of these will work together seamlessly.

Developers must then collaborate to ensure this compatibility. Within the Ethereum ecosystem, one way to achieve this is to use a set of standards accepted by all userssuch as standard tokens (ERC).

The best known standard is undoubtedly the ERC-20 standard., which defines the guidelines for the operation of tokens on the Ethereum blockchain. You should also know the ERC-721 standard, which is used for the majority of non-fungible tokens (NFT) on this blockchain.

Thanks to the use of such standards, NFT marketplaces, wallets and various protocols can understand each other and offer specific functionalities to these tokens.

Conclusion on composability within blockchains

Fundamental element of blockchains, composability plays a crucial role in the successful development of these. Any self-respecting public blockchain should emphasize composability, in order to help its community build various applications on its network.

Although Ethereum is the example used here to illustrate this notion, most blockchains have a high degree of composability. A blockchain that decides to put this aside will have more difficulty attracting developers, who bring these decentralized ecosystems to life.

To go further: How to train effectively in blockchain technology in 2023?