Beginning Solidity

Learn to Program Smart Contracts with Solidity
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-394-29061-1
Verlag: Wiley

Buch, Englisch, 576 Seiten, Format (B × H): 188 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 794 g

Unlock the future of programming on the Ethereum blockchain with Solidity smart contracts

Explore and learn smart contract development on the Ethereum blockchain with Beginning Solidity: Learn to Program Smart Contracts with Solidity by Alexandros Dolgov.

This book is a guide to taking your first steps and becoming comfortable with Solidity programming, providing accessible learning material for existing and aspiring programmers who wish to build decentralised applications on the Ethereum platform. This book provides insights into the creation, compilation and deployment of smart contracts and decentralised applications.

Beginning Solidity demystifies the complexities of the Ethereum blockchain and the Solidity language. From understanding the origins and use of money to basic blockchain concepts such as accounts, transactions, block explorers, wallets and consensus mechanisms, to applications like understanding and creating fungible (ERC-20) and Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or developing a decentralized auction platform, Alexandros Dolgov covers it all. Through practical examples and real-world scenarios, this book equips you with the knowledge to design, develop, and deploy smart contracts and decentralized apps, positioning you at the forefront of the blockchain revolution. You'll also:

- Learn Solidity programming through the Foundry framework making Solidity programming incredibly accessible for those with or without prior coding experience
- Become comfortable with the development of Ethereum smart contracts and the deployment of decentralized applications across various sectors
- Stay up to date in the rapidly evolving field of blockchain technology with cutting-edge practices and adaptable learning strategies

For both practicing and aspiring programmers and developers eager to explore the possibilities of the Ethereum blockchain and Solidity programming, Beginning Solidity is an essential read. Embark on an exciting journey to become proficient in creating blockchain-based applications that can transform the digital world. Grab your copy today and take the first step towards mastering the future of decentralized technology.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Dolgov, Alexandros

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Programmierung | Softwareentwicklung Software Engineering
• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik Computerkommunikation & -vernetzung Cloud-Computing, Grid-Computing

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction xix

Chapter 1: What Is Money and a Brief History of It? 1

What Is Money? 1

Money as a Technology 2

Medium of Exchange 3

Store of Value 4

Unit of Account 5

The History and Evolution of Money 5

Barter 6

Primitive Money 7

Primitive Money: Conclusion 10

Modern Types of Money 10

Coins 11

Paper Money 11

Bretton Woods Conference 12

Modern Types of Money: Conclusion 12

Cryptocurrencies 13

Bitcoin 13

Bitcoin’s Monetary Properties 14

Bitcoin’s “Monetary Policies” 14

Ethereum and Smart Contracts 16

What Are Smart Contracts? 17

Tokenization of Real-World Assets 17

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations 22

Decentralized Exchanges 22

Lending/Borrowing: Aave 23

Travala 23

VitaDAO 24

BeerDAO 24

CityDAO 24

Cryptocurrencies and Smart Contracts: Conclusion 24

Chapter 1 Questions 25

Chapter 2: An Introduction to Ethereum’s Architecture 27

Basics of Ethereum 27

The Blockchain Trilemma 31

Smart Contracts 31

The Ethereum Virtual Machine 34

The Ether Coin 34

The Byzantine General’s Problem and Ethereum’s Consensus Mechanism 35

Gas Fees 36

The Scaling Problem of Ethereum 38

Layer 2 Solutions 40

Rollups 40

Validiums 42

Side-Chains 42

Sharding 43

Danksharding 44

Layer 3 Solutions 44

Ethereum: Toward Finalization 44

Chapter 2 Questions 45

Chapter 3: Wallets, Metamask, and Block Explorers 47

Understanding Wallets 48

Hosted Wallets 48

Advantages, Disadvantages, Best Practices, and Case Studies 48

Browser Wallets 51

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Case Studies 51

Desktop Wallet (Full Nodes) 52

Advantages and Disadvantages 53

Desktop Wallet (Lightweight) 53

Advantages and Disadvantages 53

Mobile Wallets 54

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Case Studies 54

Cold Storage/Hardware Wallet 55

Advantages, Disadvantages, and Best Practices 55

Convert Your Old Phone into a Hardware Wallet 57

Multisignature Wallets 59

Hierarchical Deterministic Wallets 59

Installing MetaMask 60

Logging In Again with the Seed Phrase 62

Changing Networks 64

Engaging with Faucets 65

Sending Your First Transaction 71

Block Explorers 74

Test Network (Testnet) Block Explorer 77

Block Explorer: Transaction Anatomy 78

Block Explorer: Block Anatomy 78

Connecting to DApps 82

Block Explorer: Anatomy of a Wallet 88

Chapter 3 Questions 98

Chapter 4: Remix, Data Types, Visibility, and Helloworld 101

What Is Programming? 101

Starting with Solidity, Remix, and HelloWorld 102

Creating the HelloWorld.sol File in Remix 103

SPDX-License-Identifier 106

Solidity Versions and the pragma Line 107

Contract HelloWorld {} 110

Data Types and Variables in Solidity 111

int 111

uint 112

string 112

address 113

bool 113

bytes 114

Function Visibility Levels 116

Function Anatomy 116

Visibility Levels 116

View and Pure Keywords 117

HelloWorld Contract 117

Chapter 4 Questions 120

Chapter 5: Zoomanagement 123

Setting Up the ZooManagement Contract 123

Structs 130

Arrays 132

Dynamic Arrays 134

Fixed-Size Arrays 135

addAnimal 137

getAnimal 138

Mappings 139

Creating a Mapping 140

Contract Importing 144

Inheritance 149

Single Inheritance 150

Multilevel Inheritance 152

Multiple Inheritance 154

Hierarchical Inheritance 156

Deploying and Running a Contract from Another Contract 158

Chapter 5 Questions 166

Chapter 6: Installing Microsoft Visual Studio Code And Foundry 169

What Is Microsoft VS Code? 169

Microsoft Visual Studio Code Layout 172

Explorer Pane 172

Search Pane 174

Extensions 176

Night Owl 177

Polacode 179

Bookmarks 179

Cloak 180

Solidity Juan Blanco 180

Even Better TOML 180

GitHub Copilot 181

VS Code Keyboard Shortcuts 181

Working on Different Files at the Same Time 184

Mirror/Mini-Map 186

Zen Mode 187

VS Code Terminal 187

Installing Foundry 191

Installing libusb and Homebrew 192

Starting a Foundry Project 196

Chapter 6 Questions 202

Chapter 7: Foundry Zoomanagement 205

The Foundry Project Files 205

Compiling a Contract 208

Introduction to Anvil 211

Local Smart Contract Deployment 215

Using Scripting to Deploy a Contract 218

Contract Interaction with Foundry 224

Deploying a Smart Contract to a Test Network Through Foundry 227

Chapter 7 Questions 235

Chapter 8: Fundraising Contract 237

Setting Up a Fundraising Contract 237

Oracles 240

Deploying the Price Feed Contract Through Remix 251

Solidity Interfaces 254

Creating Libraries 259

Withdraw Function 262

Resetting the Mappings 263

Resetting the listOfSenders Array 264

Sending ETH from a Contract 265

Transfer 265

Send 265

Call 266

Constructor 267

Modifiers 269

Testing the Contract by Deploying It on a Test Network 270

Immutability and Constants 278

Custom Errors 283

Receive and Fallback Functions 284

Chapter 8 Questions 285

Chapter 9: Building An Erc-20 Cryptocurrency 287

Introduction to ERC-20 287

The Process of Creating an Ethereum Improvement Proposal 289

Building an ERC-20 Token with OpenZeppelin 290

Building an ERC-20 Manually 299

Deploy Your ERC-20 Cryptocurrency 307

Chapter 9 Questions 311

Chapter 10: Borrowing and Lending Protocol 313

What Is a Stablecoin? 313

Types of Stablecoins 316

Creating the Stablecoin 322

The Stablecoin Skeleton 327

Chapter 10 Questions 338

Chapter 11: Building An Erc-721 Nonfungible Token 341

What Is an NFT? 341

Setting Up the NFT Project 343

ERC-721 Contract Breakdown 347

Introduction to IPFS 362

Downloading, Installing, and Using IPFS 363

Downloading IPFS 363

Installing the Browser Extension 368

Using IPFS 371

OpenSea 377

Creating the ERC-721 Contract 382

Writing a Deployment Script and Deploying on Sepolia 384

Deploying the Contract 387

Chapter 11 Questions 394

Chapter 12: Upgradable Smart Contracts 397

Introducing Upgradable Contracts 397

Preset Versatility Upgrades 398

Introduction to CertiK 399

Contract Succession Upgrade 405

Proxy Delegated Upgrade 406

Using Delegatecall 410

OpenZeppelin UUPS Proxies 417

Importing UUPSUpgradeable.sol 422

Initializer 426

Deploying the Proxy Contract 431

Chapter 12 Questions 433

Chapter 13: Decentralized Autonomous Organizations 435

What Is a DAO? 435

Exploring the Aave Protocol 439

Snapshot 444

Potential Voting Architectures for a DAO 447

The DAO Toolkit 448

Setting Up the DAO Project 448

Adding the RetrievableNumber.sol Contract 451

Voting Token Contract 454

OpenZeppelin’s Contracts Wizard 457

The Governance Contract 460

Timelock Contract 469

Chapter 13 Questions 470

Chapter 14: Introduction to Smart Contract Security 471

The Importance of Smart Contract Security 471

Smart Contract Auditing and Security Best Practices 472

Security Techniques Used for Auditing 478

Having High Confidence and Assurance That Your Smart Contract Is Safe 479

Chapter 14 Questions 480

Chapter 15: THE FIRST (OR One OF THE FIRST) Stepping Stones 481

Uploading Projects to GitHub 481

Finding a Job in the Crypto Industry 484

Continuing with Solidity Education 484

Appendix: Answers to Chapter Questions 487

Chapter 1 What Is Money and a Brief History of It? 487

Chapter 2 An Introduction to Ethereum’s Architecture 491

Chapter 3 Wallets, MetaMask, and Block Explorers 494

Chapter 4 Remix, Data Types, Visibility, and HelloWorld 499

Chapter 5 ZooManagement 502

Chapter 6 Installing Microsoft Visual Studio Code and Foundry 505

Chapter 7 Foundry ZooManagement 508

Chapter 8 Fundraising Contract 511

Chapter 9 Building an ERC-20 Cryptocurrency 515

Chapter 10 Borrowing and Lending Protocol 519

Chapter 11 Building an ERC-721 Nonfungible Token 522

Chapter 12 Upgradable Smart Contracts 524

Chapter 13 Decentralized Autonomous Organizations 528

Chapter 14 Introduction to Smart Contract Security 531

Index 535

Über Autor(innen)

ALEXANDROS DOLGOV grew up questioning the limits of centralized systems, inspired by Greece’s financial turmoil and his father’s stories of post-Soviet economic collapse. Discovering Bitcoin, DeFi, and DAOs ignited his vision for a decentralized future, leading him to master Solidity as a tool for change. Holding an MSc in Blockchain and Digital Currency from the University of Nicosia and the Chartered Blockchain Analyst Certification, Alexandros has contributed to key areas of the blockchain ecosystem, including DeFi, Decentralized Identity, and Token Economics. A guest lecturer and passionate advocate, Alexandros now brings his expertise to this book, empowering readers to unlock the potential of smart contract development.