The latest Casper Developer Community call took place on May 23 on Discord. The call provided valuable insights and updates, and a brief look at the recent Dev Connect- a small invitation only event in Barcelona and upcoming developments within the Casper ecosystem. Medha Parlikar, the CTO of Casper Labs, and Ralf Kubli, the Casper Association Board Member shared their perspectives and discussed important topics.

Ralf started the call by highlighting the success of the recent Dev Connect event held in Barcelona. The event witnessed strong engagement and participation from core Casper developers and showcased the core team's contributions to the code base. Several developers expressed their interest in building on Casper and utilizing the Casper Smart Contract platform. The focus of this year’s event was specifically on developers involved in building on the ecosystem. By keeping the attendee list small, we could gather valuable feedback and insights from this select group of developers, which is crucial in shaping the rollout of version 2.0 and effectively involving the broader ecosystem moving forward.

Following Ralf's update, Joe Benso - Head of Content for Casper Association and the host of the call has reminded the participants about the launch of the Developer Portal.

You can find the developer portal at developer.casper.network. The portal provides developers with essential resources and information about Casper and its features.

Medha Parlikar then took the stage to provide detailed updates on recent developments and future plans. She discussed the deep dive that took place in Barcelona, where core developers from Casper Labs and ecosystem developers explored the roadmap for version 2.0. The goal was to align the ecosystem around the upcoming upgrade and foster collaboration among developers. Working groups were formed to focus on various aspects, such as the execution engine, smart contracting FFI, and enhancing the NFT standard CEP 78. The emphasis was on creating a robust, scalable, and user-friendly ecosystem.

Medha highlighted the importance of testing for the 2.0 upgrade and ensuring that smart contract authors and dApp developers can seamlessly transition to the new version. She mentioned the collaboration with the MAKE team and their NCTL Docker Container, which facilitates early access for ecosystem developers to test their contracts. The focus was on strengthening the feedback loop between the developers and consumers of the core protocol and smart contracting platform.

The call also featured a comprehensive demonstration from the Odra team, showcasing their work and roadmap for smart contracts on Casper. The positive response from the community and engagement during the event was highly encouraging.

The Odra project is a smart contract framework that has open-sourced its code to encourage further exploration around ZKPs on Casper.  Devs can dive deeper here.  

Looking ahead, Medha expressed excitement about future Dev Connect events, which will be larger and more inclusive. These events will provide an opportunity to engage with enterprises, CTOs, and CXOs, fostering a unique enterprise-focused ecosystem within the Casper network. Medha emphasized the importance of community feedback and collaboration in shaping the ecosystem's future.

Regarding upgrades, Medha mentioned that version 1.5 is currently available in integration tests, and interested developers can reach out for access. The team is actively addressing a few issues identified during testing to ensure a smooth release.

Work on version 2.0 has already begun, with the team focusing on the account contract merger and other virtual machine features. A comprehensive project plan and roadmap for 2.0 will be shared with the community in the coming weeks.

During the Q&A session, Medha addressed questions about improvements to the JavaScript SDK and documentation. The team acknowledged the feedback from the community and expressed the intention to rework the JavaScript SDK as part of the 2.0 release. Additionally, efforts will be made to enhance the CEP 78 documentation to provide comprehensive API-level information.

We invite you to join our Developer-focused community calls on Discord and our open and follow us on twitter to join our dynamic discussions on our Twitter Spaces. These calls will keep you informed and connected to the latest updates. We encourage you to bring your questions and actively engage in our forthcoming calls, as we continue to enhance our offerings with the rollout of version 1.5. Thank you for being a part of our community and see you on the next call!