The problem Token Toucan solves

The web3 ecosystem is regarded as one of the most difficult to learn, due to its steep learning curve. Therefore, the most simple things such as block explorers can seemn daunting for novice people. Because of this, one of the main objectives is to bring a familiar interface, Discord that is, to people eager to learn web3 so that they can learn.

One of the biggest problems is information overload. Due to this, it is imperative for developers to filter the unwanted data so as to avoid wasting time. The solution that Token Toucan offers is a live notification system integrated and fully customizable from within Discord. This allows developers to set alerts for the smart contracts (XRC_20 and XRC_721, e.g.), that when triggered, a convenient message with the main data in a visually pleasing manner is sent to the designated channel.

This has even more implications when it comes to communities. Having a common tool that everyone can use to seamlessly interact with the superb XDC chain boosts relations and builds a tighter community. Every developer can set alerts for their token, get tailored events and check the data over a period in the past with the plotting tool, effectively helping them to make informed decissions.

Overall, Token Toucan offers a wide variety of tools that make interacting with the XDC chain way better and enjoyable. There is no need to traverse the endless jungle that block explorers usually are, just set an alert and get detailed information! Furthermore, a lot of emphasis has been put into the user experince. Error messages are highly descriptive yet not intimidating for newcomers, and emojis have been used all the way around, because who does not like emojis.

Challenges I ran into

Challenges mostly arose from the star feature: live notifications. I had to do some clever thinking to come up with the main idea, but other than that it was plain sailing. The stack was Deno with TypeScript, using Deno-first modules. Since I was using the interaction endpoint in Discord (that is that the bot is an API server), I could not send attachments, so to generate plots what actually happens is that there is a route

/charts

with some params that embed the image on Discord!