This article provides advice on how to become a Ethereum blockchain developer. Learning blockchain development can be an easy subject to learn, if you learn it step by step. If you are new to coding then you will need to start of with the basics, then progress to more complicated tasks. We are assuming you know very little about coding, so will start from the beginning. Anyone can learn how to code if they have patience and determination to learn. First of all, you need to have a clear understand of the following topics:
Knowledge Required for Ethereum Blockchain Development
What is a Blockchain?
A blockchain is a computer database which is checked globally by many computers. Any data uploaded to the blockchain must be confirmed by all computers on the chain for it to be valid. The blockchain acts as an online ledger which accurately records every single transaction. This means digital transactions can be carried out with such confidence that is does not require a middleman such as a bank. It is very difficult or almost impossible to hack or change the blockchain system. There are actually many different types of blockchain for different currencies. Ethereum and Bitcoin are the major ones.
What are Crypto Currencies?
This is any currency that is encrypted as tokens or coins, and uses blockchain technology. This type of currency is decentralised, meaning it does not require a middleman such as a bank to carry out your transaction. Digital currencies live on a blockchain.
What is a Smart Contract?
A smart contract is a code script usually written in a programming language such as solidity, which is then uploaded to a blockchain where it can be executed and interacted with. One way of creating such a code is to use Remix IDE, which is basically an online coding editor which can interact with Web3 and the blockchain. Smart contracts provide a strict set of instructions of how a contract will be interacted with. The digital contract can be for anything such as digital assets, or even real world objects. Currently smart contracts are most popular in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) world for digital assets such as art. For example, we created a collection of 100 seal images called Seal of Approval. We wanted to make this collection exclusive, so set a maximum limit of 100 images that can be created (minted) for that collection. The smart contract also makes the public, customer or investor aware of other important information regarding the assets, such as the descriptions, prices, traits, etc. Smart contracts are basically digital agreements. If someone were to buy a digital asset from someone on the blockchain, then they can simply read the digital contract themselves before purchasing it. Rather than taking the sellers word for anything.
What are Gas Fees?
Gas fees are payable every time there is a transaction on the Ethereum blockchain. The fee is to pay people to verify and record your transaction to the blockchain (known as mining). The process of mining requires vast amounts of computing power to make complicated calculations, which is why gas fees can be very prices. Gas fees vary on how busy the blockchain is at the time. It is called gas because it is essentially the fuel which powers the Ethereum network. Before carrying any transaction on the Ethereum network, you will always get a notification of what the gas fee will be. However, you can try putting through a slightly lower gas fee sometimes, but the transaction will just take longer to go through.
Programming you need to Learn
You will need to learn Solidity
Solidity is an object-oriented programming language which was created especially for the Ethereum network, by the teams that run it. Learning this is a must if you want to become an Ethereum Blockchain developer. Solidity is used to create smart contracts which can be deployed to the Ethereum blockchain. Solidity uses a similar programming logic to JavaScript as they share basic concepts such as loops, if and else statements, loops, arrays, etc. We recommend you learn JavaScript first as there are many free tutorials for that. Solo Learn is a great platform where you can learn JavaScript coding, they also have a free phone app too. Or you can learn using W3School, as they have many free online tutorials. Practice with the basic logic functions first, then try and combine them. Maybe create a small programming project, such as solving an equation. Learning the main logically functions of JavaScript will be a good introduction to coding in general, and prepare you for using Solidity.
- Solidity is used to create smart contracts.
- It uses programming logic similar to JavaScript, C and C++.
- Solidity enables you to upload (deploy) your smart contract to the Ethereum blockchain. Or to be exact, it is deployed to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
- Uses variables, functions, arithmetic operations, classes, string manipulation and other programming concepts.
More Advanced Programming Techniques
There are many other programming languages that can help you out in the NFT world, such as Truffle and Hardhat. These can also be used for testing and deploying smart contracts to the blockchain. Truffle and Hardhat work together to provide all the tools you need.
- Truffle is a world renewed coding development environment which can access the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to deploy smart contract. It is also a great testing framework. It is a popular tool for blockchain development. Visual Studio Code is an excellent coding editor platform that supports Truffle.
- Hardhat is a development environment for Ethereum software. It has the tools you need to edit, compile, debug and deploy smart contracts and Decentralised Applications (dApps).
Front End Frameworks
This is a free, open-source front-end JavaScript library. It is ideal for building user interfaces based on UI components. You can view the React website for more information.
Decentralised Applications (DApps)
These are applications that run on a decentralized network (like the Ethereum blockchain) that combines a smart contract and a frontend user interface. They allow thee public to access your smart contract directly from your website and interact with it. For example, if you have an NFT art collections, then visitors could mint token directly from your web page. Or the DApp could be turned into a game, or anything else. Why you are a confident Ethereum blockchain developer, you can make some pretty cool stuff with DApss, such as exciting gaming platforms when people can play games as a particular NFT!
What is Byte code?
If you ever deploy an Ethereum smart contract to Opensea, then you will need to know how to access the byte code to verify your smart contract. A bytecode is computer object code that an interpreter converts into binary machine code. This machine code is then read by a computer’s hardware processor. This byte code is basically a set of instructions that a computer understands, and it is also an encryption of a solidity code. It is in the form or letters and numbers.
The Bottom Line
We hope this guide on how To Become a Ethereum Blockchain Developer has helped you get started. We recommend you add this page to your bookmarks as we plan to constantly update this article with new and insightful information.
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