Original author | francesco
Compilation | Golem
Arbitrum’s upcoming Stylus upgrade will allow developers to program in other languages such as Rust, C, and C++ while being fully compatible with EVM languages such as Solidity.
This article will introduce the necessity of Stylus, how it works, and what its introduction means to Arbitrum.
Why do you need Stylus?
EVM programming languages like Solidity have been the foundation (and initial development language) of the blockchain technology stack. However, this language has limitations as it is relatively new compared to other mature programming languages and has a limited number of developers. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 developers using Solidity, compared to 3 million developers using Rust and 12 million developers using C++ (as of August 2023).
Currently, if developers want to develop on the blockchain using a language other than Solidity, they must do so on a non-EVM blockchain, but these blockchains may not have the same basic applications or ecological activities as the EVM blockchain. Therefore, the blockchain must respond to developers' demand for more programming languages and adapt accordingly, providing them with more flexibility.
These are the core reasons for the Arbitrum Stylus upgrade, which is expected to be launched in the coming weeks.
Breaking through the limitations of the EVM
Stylus is defined as Arbitrum’s “next generation” programming language. Once Stylus is live, developers can write code in any language they like, taking advantage of the efficiency of Rust, C, or C++ while being fully compatible with the EVM. Stylus is expected to be available on all Arbitrum chains, including the Orbit chain.
With this upgrade, all Arbitrum chains will support MultiVM, bringing the following benefits:
Computational efficiency increased by 10 times;
Memory costs 100 times lower, but efficiency is 100 times higher;
Reduced transaction costs;
Implement operations that cannot be done in EVM languages.
In short, users can experience new applications and scenarios on Arbitrum and save more costs.
Stylus is a fully interoperable environment where developers can write code in Rust and interact with Solidity contracts as usual, while supporting the addition of various other languages. The comparison between Stylus and EVM is shown in the figure below:
Stylus has two virtual machines:
Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM): for Solidity;
WASM virtual machine (using WebAssembly): for Rust, C, C++.
The two virtual machines are not independent but work together. Contracts in one virtual machine can call another virtual machine and perform state transitions together. The fraud proof mechanism introduced from Arbitrum Nitro makes the implementation of the WASM virtual machine in Stylus possible, which allows the protocol to "deterministically prove arbitrary WASM" operations.
Starting the next wave of dApp building with Arbitrum
In addition to providing advantages to users through lower transaction fees, Stylus is also an upgrade for developers. By lowering the barrier for developers to enter the Web3 industry, Stylus makes it easier for developers to build applications on Arbitrum using the programming languages they are familiar with, which helps attract the next wave of developers to build applications on Arbitrum.
Stylus not only unlocks support for more programming languages on Arbitrum, but also provides better tools for developers. In addition, in the near future, Stylus will be able to support more programming languages such as Go, Sway, Move, and Cairo.
Arbitrum founder Steven Goldberg previously posted on the X platform that Stylus is coming soon. The first deployment of Stylus will also be supported by the Arbitrum Foundation’s Phase 3 funding program, which provides up to $150,000 in ARB funding for projects on the Stylus track.
More about Stylus
1.Zaros CTO Pedro’s introduction to stylus:
https://x.com/0x pedro_eth/status/1787814749985788094
2.Arbitrum’s latest update on Stylus:
https://x.com/arbitrum/status/1788242493860983126
3. Many projects are collaborating with Arbitrum:
https://x.com/SizeChad/status/1792908621816226135
4. OffChain’s Rachel’s interpretation of Stylus:
https://youtu.be/Whefhca1Fmk
