Semantics: The WRAP Protocol?

Technical Discussions
#1

I’d like to get your thoughts on something rather pedantic and semantic.

I’d like to explore what it might look like if we view “Polywrap” and “The WRAP Protocol” as two correlated concepts. Let me explain :slight_smile:

Polywrap

Polywrap aims to enable the quick integration of SDKs into all types of applications. It does this through the WRAP protocol. Polywrap is a collection of tools that aid developers in leveraging the WRAP protocol.

The WRAP Protocol

WRAP stands for:
W - WebAssembly
R - Random
A - Access
P - Protocol

This acronym highlights the primary innovation that Polywrap technology leverages. The fact that at run-time you can random access WebAssembly modules using WRAP URIs.

These warppers can be persisted anywhere on the decentralized web, including the WRAP network which specializes in this functionality.

Additionally the WRAP network can help with other necessary features for a healthy ecosystem of wrappers:

  • named & versioned registry
  • version validation
  • source code verification
  • persistence & availability

That is the WRAP protocol.

Potential Benefits

I believe that making this distinction between product and standard through more refined semantic terminology will help us in the long run. It can help builders better understand the layers in our stack, as well as help them leverage different parts of our technology.

Thoughts?

3 Likes
#2

To me, there are four parts:

  • Polywrap Development Environment
  • Polywrap Clients
  • WRAP Protocol
  • WRAP Network

Polywrap Development Environment

I think of “Polywrap” as a development environment for:

  • Building high-performant, compact, secure, and portable SDKs (wrappers)
  • Easily testing and debugging wrappers locally
  • Deploying wrappers to decentralized storage

Polywrap Clients

The language-specific clients that enable their host environments to leverage the WRAP protocol.

WRAP Protocol

  • URI resolution to pinpoint the wrappers’ locations
  • Downloading and instantiating wasm modules
  • Encoding and decoding data transferred between the host and wrappers
  • Executing exported wasm functions
  • Etc.

WRAP Network

The WRAP Network is the natural home for wrappers and has the features you’ve listed (versioned registry, persistence, etc.).