Solidity 101

In the previous chapters, we learned about Ethereum in detail. We read about the Ethereum network, clients, gas, Ethereum virtual machine, and other elements of the Ethereum blockchain. One of the interesting facts about Ethereum is that anyone can create their own blockchain using Ethereum.

Ethereum runs smart contracts on its platform; these are applications that use blockchain technology to perform the required action, enabling users to create their own blockchain and also issue their own alternative cryptocurrency. This is made possible by coding in Solidity, which is a contract-oriented programming language used for writing smart contracts that are to be executed on the Ethereum blockchain and perform the programmed tasks.

Solidity is a statically typed programming language that runs on the Ethereum virtual machine. It is influenced by C++, Python, and JavaScript...

Basics of Solidity

Solidity is not the only language to work on Ethereum smart contracts; prior to solidity, there were other languages that were not as successful. Here is a brief list of languages currently (as of August 2018) compatible with Ethereum:

• Mutan: Inspired from Golang and deprecated in March 2015.
• LLL: Short for lisp-like language. While it is still supported, it is rarely used.
• Serpent: While this language is similar to Python, it is no longer recommended for use.
• Solidity: The fourth language introduced by the Ethereum foundation, and so far the most successful language for developing smart contracts. It is the most documented, stable, and has a large community support.
• Vyper: Newly introduced, much simpler and easier than Solidity, although it does not have much community support yet. It is influenced by Python.

Solidity is also known as a contract-oriented...

Programming in Solidity

In this section, we will be discussing the structure and elements of a Solidity source file; we will discuss the layout, structure, data types, its types, units, controls, expressions, and other aspects of Solidity. The format extension of a solidity file is .sol.

Laying out a Solidity file

Solidity is going through active development and has lot of regular changes and suggestions from a huge community; hence, it is important to specify the version of a solidity file at the start of the source file, to avoid any conflict. This is achieved by the Pragma version. This is defined at the start of the solidity file so that any person looking to run the file knows about the previous version. Take a look at...

Summary

In this chapter, we discussed Solidity in detail, we read about the compiler, and we did a detailed study programming in solidity that included studying about the layout of a solidity file, the structure of a contract, and the types of values and reference. We also learned about mapping.

In the next chapter, we will apply our new knowledge from this chapter to develop an actual contract and deploy the same on a test network.