A comprehensive technical overview of the Stellar stack. Covers the three networks (Mainnet for production, Testnet for development, Futurenet for experimental features), Stellar Core's consensus protocol, Horizon API for blockchain interaction, Soroban RPC for smart contracts, and SDKs available in Go, Python, Java, and JavaScript.
The Stellar network operates on three distinct networks: Mainnet for live production applications, Testnet for safe development and testing with free faucet funding, and Futurenet for experimental features. Stellar Core manages consensus across the network via the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP), ensuring nodes agree on ledger state every 5-7 seconds and defending against double-spend attacks. Developers access the network through two primary interfaces: Horizon API (a REST API for submitting transactions and querying account data) and Soroban RPC (for smart contract interaction and execution). The ecosystem is supported by SDKs available in Go, Python, Java, and JavaScript, abstracting low-level complexity into language-native abstractions that accelerate development.