As the first blockchain platform to introduce the concept of smart contracts, Ethereum is the gateway to a worldwide decentralized computing paradigm. With this practical guide, the authors provide everything you need to know to start building smart contracts and DApps on Ethereum and other virtual machine blockchains.
Through comprehensive coverage of Ethereum's internal workings, you'll understand not just the how but also the why of Ethereum's innovative technology. And practical deep dives into the architecture and operational mechanics will equip you with the knowledge and tools to explore further developments in Ethereum and the wider blockchain world.
- Run an Ethereum client, create and transmit basic transactions, and program smart contracts
- Learn the essentials of public key cryptography, hashes, and digital signatures
- Understand how "wallets" hold digital keys that control funds and smart contracts
- Learn security best practices, design patterns, and antipatterns with real-world examples
- Learn the essentials about DeFi and zero knowledge proofs
- Understand how the Consensus of Ethereum works and the challenges it presents
- Read and write basic Solidity and Vyper code
Carlo Parisi, also known as Blackie, is a senior Solidity smart contract developer, senior auditor, and content creator with a degree in computer science. He has a deep knowledge in developing and auditing Solidity code, the main language used in Ethereum for smart contracts. He has been a Bitcoin enthusiast since 2013 and a DeFi user since 2018.
Alessandro Mazza is a web3 developer and content creator with a degree in software engineering. He has experience working on the Ethereum core protocol, mainly in the execution layer side, and on the Cosmos ecosystem, where he used to work on CosmWasm, the smart contract platform, and Cosmos SDK. Moreover, he has one of the biggest communities in Italy for highly technical content regarding the cryptocurrencies world.
Niccolò Pozzolini is a senior smart contract auditor with a master's in software engineering. Specializing in blockchain security, he also has a keen interest in developing blockchain tools.
Gavin Wood is a blockchain pioneer with a master’s and doctorate in computer science. He coded the first functional Ethereum implementation, created the Solidity contract language, and authored the "Ethereum Yellow Paper," the first formal blockchain protocol specification. Before Ethereum, he consulted for Microsoft Research and worked on startups in music semantics and presentation, visual meta-programming, and legal text analysis. Introduced to Vitalik Buterin in 2014, he has since been a key figure in Ethereum’s development, has gone on to found Polkadot and Kusama, and has created the Joint Accumulation Machine (JAM) protocol.
Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a best-selling author, speaker, educator, and highly sought after expert in Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies. He is known for making complex subjects easy to understand and for highlighting both the positive and negative impacts these technologies can have on our global societies. As an educator, his mission is to educate as many people as possible, in as many places as possible, in as many languages as possible, about the historical, technological, and socio-economic impacts of Bitcoin and open blockchain technologies.
