WHAT EXACTLY IS THE CARDANO ROADMAP?
The Cardano roadmap is a five-era summary of Cardano development; Byron, Shelley, Goguen, Basho, and Voltaire. Each era is centered on a set of functionalities that will be delivered over the course of several code releases.
While the
Cardano eras will be delivered sequentially, the work for each era is done in
parallel, with research, prototyping, and development often occurring
concurrently across the various development streams.
Each era's
work is gathered and presented on its own page, representing years of effort.
This section contains an overview of the era's goals, as well as descriptions
of the core functional components, links to related academic research, status
updates and even real-time code commits.
Methodology
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
Unlike many
other blockchains, Cardano does not rely on Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies systems for its technical foundations. Rather, IOHK collaborates with
world-class academics on fundamental research, the majority of which is subject
to academic peer review and is presented at top-tier international conferences.
All major components and functional areas begin with research to determine what
is possible and the best way to achieve it.
PROTOTYPING
A technical
prototyping team experiments with implementations of the functions and approach
described in the research in collaboration with the research team. The goal is
to make what is theoretically possible a reality while learning lessons about
real-world technical and functional implementation issues, allowing for the
creation of technical specifications for building the actual product.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
Technical
specifications are created and published in collaboration with prototyping
based on research and prototyping results, outlining expected functionality and
behavior. These specifications ensure that the final code implementation
adheres to the research's original vision, achieves the required functionality,
and is technically feasible.
METHOD OF FORMAL DEVELOPMENT
Engineers at
IOHK make extensive use of formal development methods, which are rigorous,
mathematical techniques for ensuring that software works exactly as intended.
Normally reserved for high-stakes applications such as avionics software, space
flight systems, or high-volume banking software, IOHK is bringing this level of
rigor to Cardano development for the first time in the blockchain industry.
PROGRAMMING FOR FUNCTIONALITY
IOHK supports
functional programming languages, particularly Haskell. Functional programming
languages are not only less prone to ambiguity and human error than other
languages, but they are also easier to test and verify mathematically,
reinforcing IOHK's commitment to high-assurance formal development.
