ThetaScan.io

ThetaScan.io - Block Explorer
ThetaScan.io - CLI interface
ThetaScan.io - Staking Address Details
ThetaScan.io - Staking Summary
ThetaScan.io - Address Details

Inspiration

When I looked at blockchain code and interactions almost everything was written in Java and I wanted to expand on other languages, being able to interact with the blockchain. I went with PHP because it opens the door to millions of developers being able to integrate in to the Theta blockchain. With smart contracts being implemented a developer can simply fire up a Linux server write a PHP script and integrate it into their website. This dramatically opens the door for development not just in Java or JavaScript but also in PHP.

What it does

ThetaScan.io is a full node block explorer for the Theta Network. It allows the user to search for addresses and transaction hashes. It also keeps track of staking addresses, their balances / rewards and allows anyone to be able to download coinbase transactions. This is done using a local node and PHP.
ThetaScan.io CLI web interface is a JavaScript explorer and uses https://explorer.thetatoken.org:9000/api/ main API. This does not require a Linux server to run and anyone can type in the commands to return block, transaction, and other information. It even allows a user to download JSON data directly from the API to a file.
ThetaScan.io examples are five examples that show developers how to interact with the Theta blockchain using PHP and a local node or JavaScript.

Challenges I ran into

The local node going out of sync. Configuring the correct number of peers was a major issue. For a lower end server the max peers should not be set above 22 peers or the node with constantly go out of sync.
Unlike a Window's node which stays near the minimum number of peers a Linux node always tries to go to the max number of allowed peers and you need 4 cores + and 16GB + of ram on the server or must greatly reduce max number of peers for slower servers.
The local node not being able to sync from block 1. With all the new Guardian nodes coming online you can easily be put in a group with no one having the information for block one, two, etc and it never updates. To overcome this I found setting the max peers to 500 and min to 250 allowed the node to continually update.
The local node running on test net sapphire does not have any peers with block one in it. I ran it for 3 days at 500 peers max and not one could give me the information so I had to start it from a snapshot.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Creating two interfaces with the Theta blockchain using PHP and JavaScript that are both fully functional. Currently I have 3 nodes running. One on a snapshot of main net, one currently syncing on main net so it will be a full node, and one started on a snapshot of test net.