TELIP: Considering SpaceTimeDB for Real-Time State and Backend on Adiri Testnet Applications

Council Proposals TELIP
1

Proposal

I came across something called SpaceTimeDB and think it’s worth considering in the context of current Adiri testnet experimentation (and perhaps even has uses beyond testnet, due to a meaningfully large capacity to scale):

1000x faster than your database - SpacetimeDB 2.0

SpaceTimeDB is effectively a database and backend combined into one system, where the application logic runs directly inside the database and state is synchronized to connected clients in real time.

This seemed relevant as it appears that Adiri is already moving toward testing more interactive, state-driven systems (for example, TelPets). While the Telcoin blockchain layer is well suited to finalising transactions, maintaining consensus, and recording state changes, it is not designed for rapid, continuous updates or real-time interaction between users.

Applications of this kind typically require an additional layer to handle low-latency state synchronisation and coordination across users, which is where backend infrastructure normally comes in.

If its not clear already, this proposal is not suggesting any change to core protocol or settlement layers. Instead, it suggests evaluating whether a tool like SpaceTimeDB could serve as a lightweight, off-chain state layer for testnet applications, and that it may also have potentially greater usefulness than that in the long-term.

The potential value is straightforward: it could allow developers to build and iterate on shared, real-time features more quickly, without needing to stand up and maintain full backend systems. Because logic and state live together and are synchronised automatically, it reduces the overhead normally associated with real-time application development.

In practical terms, this could make it easier to prototype and test interactive systems, multi-user state synchronisation, and application behaviour prior to committing logic on-chain.

Given that tools like this can be deployed with minimal infrastructure and are designed for high-performance, real-time use cases, they appear suitable for low-cost experimentation at the testnet level.

The suggestion here is simply to evaluate this class of tooling within a limited-scope Adiri testnet application and assess whether it improves iteration speed, developer experience, or overall usefulness of the testnet.

From their website:

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Note: “transactions” in the context of SpaceTimeDB refers to database/state operations (e.g. state updates, interactions), not financial or on-chain transactions.

Costs

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Conclusion

As Adiri continues to evolve as a testing environment, introducing a real-time state layer for certain types of applications could improve both experimentation speed and developer accessibility.

SpaceTimeDB represents one potential approach and may be worth exploring in that context.

And lastly, a tool that helps iterate testing faster may also help mainnet emerge some time BEFORE the heat death of the universe, which would be ideal, just saying.

2

Appreciate you putting this together, it’s a thoughtful direction.

That said, SpaceTimeDB isn’t filling a gap in the stack, but rather offering one of many ways to run an off-chain backend that simplifies DevOps.

Everything it provides, real-time state sync, co-located logic + data, reduced backend overhead, already exists entirely at the application layer of the Telcoin Network. From the network’s perspective, it’s interchangeable with any other backend approach that ultimately anchors state on-chain.

It also comes with tradeoffs. You’re moving execution into a tightly coupled, non-verifiable environment with its own constraints around scaling, composability, and control. That can be a good fit for certain apps, but it’s not a clear upgrade over existing patterns, just a different set of tradeoffs.

Importantly, evaluating or standardizing specific off-chain tooling isn’t within the scope of the protocol, and doing so wouldn’t be a productive use of resources as the network continues progressing toward mainnet.

After internal discussion, this isn’t something the network plans to evaluate or adopt at this time. It remains a tooling choice for developers.

If you think it materially improves iteration speed or UX, the best path is to prove it. You’re welcome to deploy a prototype using SpaceTimeDB on Adiri testnet and demonstrate how it performs in practice.

Thanks again for bringing this up.

3

Yep, I follow what you’re saying, I’ve suggested something that might be useful to a developer on the platform, but not to the actual developers OF the platform. Understandable.

4

Of course, and thanks for the suggestion here.

as the dev team reviewed this internally, it’s not something at this time they feel makes sense to allocate resources towards implementing, which would take away from mainnet/adiri.

if a developer felt strongly that this was a viable use case, they can easily deploy themselves so there is a case study for further review, as well. That’s the beauty of testnet being open and available to all.