Plutus Multi-language support

[Benjmhart]

Plutus was originally released with PlutusTx as the default Haskell API for building plutus onchain scripts. other tools have quickly emerged for writing plutus without Haskell, either as a standalone language, or as an embedded DSL in mainstream programming languages. Additionally, other tools have arisen for building transactions offchain in multiple languages. A problem that then arises from this plethora of choice is sharing types and interfaces across languages for convenience, and in the case of Haskell alternatives, there has been compiler compatibility issues that can make certain alternatives harder to use.

Smart Contract Languages (Onchain Scripts)

• PlutusTx, Haskell*
• Plutarch, Haskell*
• Pluto, Standalone
• Helios, Standalone
• Aiken, Rust/Standalone
• Imperator, Standalone
• plu-ts, Typescript/Javascript

Transaction Builder Toolkits (Offchain Code)

• PyCardano, Python*
• PAB, Haskell*
• plu-ts, Typescript/Javascript
• decentralized application backend (DAB), API-based - this may qualify as more of an indexer/tx subscription service without an API that covers both indexing and submission.
• cardano-transaction-lib, Purescript (Javascript/Typescript coming soon)*
• lucid, Javascript
• mesh, Javascript

** known to be used in production, or have large plutus projects actively adopted for production purposes

Cardano has a flourishing polyglot suite of tools, however there are going to be a number of gaps when attempting to compose these individual tools into a full-fledged application:

• type sharing between smart contract and Transaction builder layers
• currently there is no known implementation of these tools for platforms that target mobile or gaming/metaverse technology. the best offering here is currently javascript, but it would be great to see similar tools for in C#, Dart, Golang, Swift, etc.

[Benjmhart]

Another key item is that all alternative languages utilize Untyped Plutus Core (UPLC) as the compilation target, so a strong suggestion to toolmakers is to allow for pluggable sourcemaps to better support alternative languages.

[hajola]

For the transaction builder list , I would add

• Cardano Go
• Cardano Client Lib, Java

[zliu41]

I find it interesting that few of these languages, if any, target PIR.

[Benjmhart]

@zliu41 as far as I know Plutarch is the only one that targets PIR - and mainly at auditor request.

[Benjmhart]

Note: this issue doesn't really have 'next steps' per se, however, it is intended as a resource for anyone looking for cardano support in their language, and for IOG to see that we're already in a flourishing multi-language environment.