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For example, you can choose the Blockchains portal as the best platform for your career objectives. The information presented till now clearly showcases all the things you need to know about a career as a blockchain developer. Blockchain development is going to be a big business. Clear linking rules are abided to meet reference reputability standards. We'll use Identicon.
Computer programs are usually written in a high-level language and then translated into a low-level coding language. Now, if you really want to know how to become a blockchain developer, you must learn about low-level coding languages also. A low-level coding language is designed to be read and used by computers. Low-level languages are made up of 1s and 0s.
This is called binary. When a blockchain developer builds dApps and smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, there are rules which guide their design. For example, if you want to design a new cryptocurrency using Solidity you have to follow a set of rules called ERC These rules make it easier to tell how new dApps will work when they are launched on the blockchain.
Ethereum blockchain development happens in a very special place called the Ethereum Virtual Machine. A virtual machine is an environment where new computer programs can be written. You would build and test your car in a factory and on empty streets.
This is how the EVM works. It is a factory for building new smart contracts. This makes Ethereum a great place to learn blockchain.
The EVM allows users to practice blockchain programming without worrying about making mistakes. The EVM is also Turing complete. This means that whatever a computer can do, you can design using the EVM. The only limit is your imagination! Think of all the exciting new ideas being built using the EVM right now!
Learning Solidity is a lot like learning to speak a new language , but it is essential to become a blockchain developer on the Ethereum platform. Solidity basics are like nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Nouns, adjectives, and verbs are tools for creating sentences. Here are some of the tools for creating Solidity smart contracts;. Variables - These are used to store information on the blockchain. There are lots of different kinds of variables but here are some of the most common:.
Booleans - These are used to store information that is either true or false. The keyword for Booleans is bool. Integers - These are used to store information as a number.
There are two types of the integer. Regular integers can be positive or negative numbers. Their keyword is int. Unsigned integers can only be positive numbers. Their keyword is uint. Addresses - These are used to store Ethereum addresses. Each Ethereum user has its address or addresses on the blockchain. Diana and Ross, from the example earlier, would both need addresses for their smart contract to work. Strings - These are used to store text information.
Their keyword is strings. Functions - A function is used to do a certain job. A function can use information from variables to create new information. For this sum, the keyword would be function add. This is what sums look like in smart contracts;. Structs - These are used to put variables into groups. Do you remember that new car you were building? In Solidity, you could use a struct to group information about your car!
It would look something like this:. Not only are there basic courses, but also game-courses that could teach you! Two courses that teach you how to become a blockchain developer are Space Doggos and CryptoZombies. Space Doggos and CryptoZombies are both gamified Solidity lessons for beginners. This means that they both turn Ethereum blockchain into a game! Space Doggos allows beginners to learn blockchain development by creating characters and environments for an adventure in space.
The first lesson contains ten chapters of information and tasks to get you started. Each chapter has detailed notes on the processes being used. These include the variables, functions, and structs I talked about earlier. Users can design their astronaut dog using real Solidity code. The code becomes more complicated as the adventure continues. As an introduction to the Ethereum blockchain, Space Doggos is a well-designed and entertaining platform for any upcoming blockchain developer.
CryptoZombies allows users to design a whole army of zombies. To do this, users first have to build a zombie factory. Then, users can code the way their zombies look and even the way they attack their victims! CryptoZombies is very entertaining and makes a lot of difficult ideas fun. So, if you want to command an army of the undead, then CryptoZombies is the course for you.
However, I would recommend Space Doggos. For this, I would recommend the BitDegree Solidity course. The BitDegree Solidity course is great for users who have learned Solidity basics and are ready to start blockchain programming. The course starts with the environment setup and takes users through to building and launching their cryptocurrency! We've covered the topic quite in-depth, but if you're more of a TL;DR kind of a person, let's see the shorter version of the steps you should take if you want to master blockchain developing:.
Now, you know where to start. You know how to become a blockchain developer. Blockchain technology is going to be a big part of our lives in the future. Blockchain development is going to be a big business. So you might as well invest in some classes if you'd like to know how to become a blockchain developer.
As well as Bitdegree's classes, we suggest trying out Coursera's courses. There are quite a few to choose from when it comes to blockchain development! For more information, check out our other guides to cryptocurrency, Ethereum, and blockchains. We do not publish biased feedback or spam. So if you want to share your experience, opinion or give advice - the scene is yours! There are many ways how you can learn how to become a blockchain developer or even start a career in the blockchain.
You can learn blockchain in university or any other school , that offers to learn the topic. Or try less traditional ways like studying blockchain online on learning platforms , joining blockchain communities, participating in forums and discussions about it, and trying to invest in crypto by yourself.
Is it difficult to learn how to become a blockchain developer depends on each person individually. Some people may find it easy and some may find it very hard to understand. However, it all depends on an individual and how determined they are to learn. Our dedicated MOOC experts carry out research for weeks — only then can they say their evaluations for different aspects are final and complete.
Even though it takes a lot of time, this is the only way we can guarantee that all the essential features of online learning platforms are tried and tested, and the verdict is based on real data. Anyhow, all users would agree that good quality of the learning material is a must for online learning platforms.
Every MOOC-reviewing platform is unique and has its own goals and values. That is the goal that a lot of e-learning review sites lack, so we consider it to be our superpower! By Laura M. All the content on BitDegree. The real context behind every covered topic must always be revealed to the reader. Feel free to contact us if you believe that content is outdated, incomplete, or questionable. Laura M. Table of Contents 1. Blockchain Basics 2. Ethereum vs NEO 2. Ethereum 2. NEO 3. What is Solidity?
How does Solidity work? Ethereum Virtual Machine 4. Solidity Code 4. Space Doggos 4. CryptoZombies 4. More Advanced Lessons 5. Verified Staff Pick. Rating 5. Furthermore, a good Blockchain developer works well with a team and can collaborate. On a related point, the ideal Blockchain developer knows when to ask for help with a problem and when to keep plugging away by themselves until they arrive at the answer.
So the best candidate for Blockchain development works well with others, knows his or her limitations, and can unconventionally approach problems.
Fortunately, there is hope! Here are some steps that anyone coming from such a place, but yet is interested in a Blockchain developer career can take. Upskilling is the process of teaching an employee new skills. This process is particularly useful when it comes to creating new Blockchain developers from other, similar positions in the business. Some companies, keenly aware of the growing importance of the Blockchain technology , will upskill individual employees, empowering them to handle the new tech.
If the prospect of getting in on the ground floor of this exciting innovation appeals to you, then you may wonder what the next step is. Whichever the method, you will benefit from 32 hours of instructor-led training, over 50 hands-on exercises using Blockchain technology, nine practical projects are covering Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Hyperledger, and 24 x7 assistance and support.
It should be mentioned that the Corporate Training solution is ideal for businesses that want to upskill chosen employees and make them into Blockchain developers. Once you complete the course, you will have certification in Blockchain development, and be ready to take on the new challenges of this exciting technology.
Simplilearn stands ready to be a valuable resource for you to not only become a Blockchain developer, but also to provide additional training and skills in related topics such as DevOps, Software Development, and Cloud Computing. Check out Simplilearn and get started on a new, rewarding, and profitable career! John Terra lives in Nashua, New Hampshire and has been writing freelance since Besides his volume of work in the gaming industry, he has written articles for Inc.
More recently, he has done extensive work as a professional blogger. His hobbies include running, gaming, and consuming craft beers. His refrigerator is Wi-Fi compliant. Lesson - 8 What is a Smart Contract in Blockchain? Previous Next. Tutorial Playlist. Blockchain Developer. Recommended Resources.
How To Become A Blockchain Developer
These rules make it easier to tell how new dApps will work when they are launched on the blockchain. Ethereum blockchain development happens in a very special place called the Ethereum Virtual Machine. A virtual machine is an environment where new computer programs can be written. You would build and test your car in a factory and on empty streets. This is how the EVM works.
It is a factory for building new smart contracts. This makes Ethereum a great place to learn blockchain. The EVM allows users to practice blockchain programming without worrying about making mistakes. The EVM is also Turing complete. This means that whatever a computer can do, you can design using the EVM. The only limit is your imagination! Think of all the exciting new ideas being built using the EVM right now! Learning Solidity is a lot like learning to speak a new language , but it is essential to become a blockchain developer on the Ethereum platform.
Solidity basics are like nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Nouns, adjectives, and verbs are tools for creating sentences. Here are some of the tools for creating Solidity smart contracts;.
Variables - These are used to store information on the blockchain. There are lots of different kinds of variables but here are some of the most common:. Booleans - These are used to store information that is either true or false. The keyword for Booleans is bool. Integers - These are used to store information as a number. There are two types of the integer. Regular integers can be positive or negative numbers. Their keyword is int.
Unsigned integers can only be positive numbers. Their keyword is uint. Addresses - These are used to store Ethereum addresses. Each Ethereum user has its address or addresses on the blockchain. Diana and Ross, from the example earlier, would both need addresses for their smart contract to work. Strings - These are used to store text information. Their keyword is strings. Functions - A function is used to do a certain job. A function can use information from variables to create new information.
For this sum, the keyword would be function add. This is what sums look like in smart contracts;. Structs - These are used to put variables into groups. Do you remember that new car you were building? In Solidity, you could use a struct to group information about your car! It would look something like this:. Not only are there basic courses, but also game-courses that could teach you!
Two courses that teach you how to become a blockchain developer are Space Doggos and CryptoZombies. Space Doggos and CryptoZombies are both gamified Solidity lessons for beginners. This means that they both turn Ethereum blockchain into a game! Space Doggos allows beginners to learn blockchain development by creating characters and environments for an adventure in space. The first lesson contains ten chapters of information and tasks to get you started.
Each chapter has detailed notes on the processes being used. These include the variables, functions, and structs I talked about earlier. Users can design their astronaut dog using real Solidity code. The code becomes more complicated as the adventure continues. As an introduction to the Ethereum blockchain, Space Doggos is a well-designed and entertaining platform for any upcoming blockchain developer. CryptoZombies allows users to design a whole army of zombies.
To do this, users first have to build a zombie factory. Then, users can code the way their zombies look and even the way they attack their victims! CryptoZombies is very entertaining and makes a lot of difficult ideas fun. So, if you want to command an army of the undead, then CryptoZombies is the course for you. However, I would recommend Space Doggos.
For this, I would recommend the BitDegree Solidity course. The BitDegree Solidity course is great for users who have learned Solidity basics and are ready to start blockchain programming. The course starts with the environment setup and takes users through to building and launching their cryptocurrency! We've covered the topic quite in-depth, but if you're more of a TL;DR kind of a person, let's see the shorter version of the steps you should take if you want to master blockchain developing:.
Now, you know where to start. You know how to become a blockchain developer. Blockchain technology is going to be a big part of our lives in the future. Blockchain development is going to be a big business. So you might as well invest in some classes if you'd like to know how to become a blockchain developer. As well as Bitdegree's classes, we suggest trying out Coursera's courses.
There are quite a few to choose from when it comes to blockchain development! For more information, check out our other guides to cryptocurrency, Ethereum, and blockchains.
We do not publish biased feedback or spam. So if you want to share your experience, opinion or give advice - the scene is yours!
There are many ways how you can learn how to become a blockchain developer or even start a career in the blockchain. You can learn blockchain in university or any other school , that offers to learn the topic. Or try less traditional ways like studying blockchain online on learning platforms , joining blockchain communities, participating in forums and discussions about it, and trying to invest in crypto by yourself.
Is it difficult to learn how to become a blockchain developer depends on each person individually. Some people may find it easy and some may find it very hard to understand. However, it all depends on an individual and how determined they are to learn. Our dedicated MOOC experts carry out research for weeks — only then can they say their evaluations for different aspects are final and complete.
Even though it takes a lot of time, this is the only way we can guarantee that all the essential features of online learning platforms are tried and tested, and the verdict is based on real data. Anyhow, all users would agree that good quality of the learning material is a must for online learning platforms.
Every MOOC-reviewing platform is unique and has its own goals and values. That is the goal that a lot of e-learning review sites lack, so we consider it to be our superpower!
By Laura M. All the content on BitDegree. The real context behind every covered topic must always be revealed to the reader. Feel free to contact us if you believe that content is outdated, incomplete, or questionable.
Laura M. Table of Contents 1. Blockchain Basics 2. Ethereum vs NEO 2. Ethereum 2. NEO 3. What is Solidity? How does Solidity work? Ethereum Virtual Machine 4. Solidity Code 4. Space Doggos 4. CryptoZombies 4. More Advanced Lessons 5. Verified Staff Pick. Rating 5. Get coupon. The Most Liked Findings Looking for more in-depth information on related topics?
Tutorial Best Online Psychology Courses In-Depth Guide Gain skills for life and business with these top 7 options of psychology courses free and paid options included. Did you know? Have you ever wondered which online learning platforms are the best for your career? Note: A keyword is a way a coding tool is written in Solidity. Pros Simplistic design no unnecessary information High-quality courses even the free ones Variety of features.
Many more people will use blockchain. More pay applies to the experienced and highly skilled in the blockchain. Blockchain developer jobs and training can open more revenue streams by teaching others the skills to develop on the same.
For instance, they can teach via online tutorial platforms. Blockchain offers better promise for organizations wishing to secure their operations and platforms more than would help the legacy non-blockchain platforms. Blockchain platforms and processes such as digital identities also help cut down the process and operational costs for developers and their organizations. Either learn on your own or join a course in an institution or online tutorial platform. Learn blockchain including decentralization, consensus mechanisms, hashing functions, mining, security, and cryptocurrencies, as well as the blockchain development tools.
Learn blockchain components such as blocks, block index, timestamp, block hash, block time, etc. Download and use already developed wallets or dApps and learn how they work.
Create or generate and use wallet addresses and private keys, transfer value such as crypto over two or more blockchain, learn the data recording and transactions, understand and interact with exchange and smart contract platforms, join developer forums and interact with developers.
Either join a coding school or course at an institution or university or learn on your own, for instance, through online paid and free courses. You can start learning to code from scratch or advance your coding career to specialize in the blockchain.
Develop a blockchain by developing a genesis block and adding other blocks, validate the chain, and use the blockchain. To achieve the above steps each at a time, you might take many courses that offer the different relevant certifications separately. These can be taken incrementally step by step, either at a single institution or at different institutions. Alternatively, you can undertake a single course that teaches all the skills to earn a single certification.
Ensure to understand what is blockchain , and advanced blockchain security, blockchain application, blockchain integration, and blockchain advantages and limitations as well as challenges. Blockchain developers need to understand blockchain consensus, hash functions, and distributed ledger technology. The white-paper defines the architecture and working of blockchain.
There is a need to understand different blockchains and their working — Ethereum, Bitcoin, Neo, and Hyperledger being the most important ones.
The developer must configure the blockchain network appropriately as per requirement and therefore must understand the various and thus the best database and data structures for the target network.
The developer should understand the types of smart contracts and how to develop them. These dApps can be built on different blockchain platforms using different protocols and procedures. Cryptography and digital ledger are the basis of blockchain workings. The developer should understand what cryptography is, the algorithms that apply in cryptography, and which algorithms work best for what types of blockchain networks.
They must know how these algorithms are developed. This is the economics ideas in cryptocurrencies and how this is coded on the blockchain.
The blockchain developer training and courses may teach game theory, mathematical frameworks for modeling Cryptonomics, and the conflicts involved in modeling. Trainees may also be taught factors that affect Cryptonomics and related monetary policies. Computer programming is essential for the development of any advanced and effective decentralized apps or dApps although in some cases you might be able to develop beginner dApps without this skill. Most blockchain developers start by learning a programming language or coding then use that to specialize in blockchain development.
Most blockchain development requires mainstream programming or coding languages but some blockchains like Ehereum require knowledge in a specific coding language they are based on to develop anything on them.
Advanced development on blockchain may require more than one coding language. These languages are also applied in blockchain programming and development. For beginners, there are thousands of courses you can join and learn to program in these languages free of charge. These tutorial platforms also offer advanced programming courses in these languages.
A good example of a blockchain course for beginners who have never coded is the Become a Professional Programmer course at Udemy. The course is taught online using 54 hours of on-demand video, 3 articles, 11 downloadable resources, and full-time access.
You also earn a certification to prove the qualification. This full-stack blockchain programming course trains on the back-end and front-end programming with Node. Website: Build a Blockchain and Cryptocurrency.
With this course, you learn to program for the Ethereum blockchain network, from the basics to the professional level in 11 weeks. This course, which has trained over 10, students, trains you to become an Ethereum blockchain developer using Solidity, Web3. JS, Truffle, Metamask, Remix, and others, all in one course. You learn about the basics of blockchain, wallets, hashing, transactions, web3.
This course is most suitable for beginner developers with beginner to intermediate coding skills. You learn to code and become a professional blockchain developer. Q 1 Where can I learn to become a blockchain developer? What are the top developer training institutes and universities? Where can I get blockchain developer certification? We also have Udacity, Udemy, and many other online tutorial platforms. Q 2 How long does it take to earn a blockchain developer certification?
How to Become Blockchain Developer?
This file contains all of the project dependencies we need to build the application. I have included all the dependencies we need inside this starter kit template. If you did everything correctly, your web browser should open automatically to a page that looks like this:. You've just set up the project. This is all of the template code that we will modify to create our app. Now, let's code the smart contract to power the backend of the social network app.
It will allow users to create new posts so that they can be shared in the newsfeed and tipped by other users. This is the file where we'll write all the Solidity source code for the smart contract just a reminder, this is inside a custom src directory, which is different from a default truffle project.
Let's create a simple "systems check" to ensure that our project is set up properly, and that we can deploy this smart contract to the blockchain successfully. Start by entering this code into the SocialNetwork. I'll explain this code. The first line declares the Solidity programming language version that we'll use, i. Next, we create the smart contract with the contract keyword, followed by the smart contract name Social Network.
Next, we define a state variable that will represent the name of our smart contract. This state variable's value will get stored directly to the blockchain itself, unlike a local variable which will not.
We specify that this variable is a string. We must do this because Solidity is a statically typed language, meaning once we specify that this variable is a string, it cannot be a different data type later like a number. Then we declare the state variable public with a modifier. This tells Solidity that we want to read this variable value from outside the smart contract. Because we have done this, Solidity will automatically create a name function behind the scenes that will return this variable's value we won't have to code it ourselves.
Finally, we create a constructor function with the constructor keyword. This is a special function that gets called only once whenever the smart contract is created, i.
Inside this function, we set the value of the name state variable to "Dapp University Social Network". In order to do this, we must create a new migration file. Truffle uses these migrations to add new files to the blockchain. These are similar to migration files in other development frameworks where you make changes to a database, like adding new columns in tables.
This code simply tells Truffle that we want to deploy the Social Network smart contract to the blockchain. Don't worry if you don't understand everything inside this file. Now let's put this smart contract on the blockchain i. Ganache by running the migrations from the command line like this:.
Inside the console, we can write JavaScript code to interact with our development blockchain and smart contracts. Let's fetch an instance of the deployed social network smart contract and store it to a variable like this:.
You'll see that the console returns undefined here. That's ok. We simply need to enter the variable name to return is value like this:. You have just coded your first smart contract and deployed it to the Ethereum blockchain. Let's continue building out the smart contract. As we write the Solidity code, we will simultaneously write tests for the smart contract with JavaScript inside a separate file with for a few reasons:.
Inside this file, we can scaffold a test for the smart contract with the help of the Mocha testing framework and the Chai assertion library that comes bundled with the Truffle framework. Let's start off with this basic code:. This code should look very similar to the operations we performed inside the console from the previous section. Check out the companion video for a more detailed explanation of this test.
Now that the test suite is set up, let's continue developing the smart contract. We'll program a way for users to create new posts in the social network. Finally, we use the public modifier to ensure that we can call the function outside the smart contract, i. Next, we need a way to model the post. We'll use a Struct for this. Solidity allows us to define our own data structures with Structs.
In our case, we'll define a Post struct like this:. This struct allows us store the post's id, content, tip amount, and author. We declare the data type for each of these values in the code above. Next, let's create a way to store new posts on the blockchain. We'll use a Solidity mapping to do this:. This mapping will uses key-value pairs to store posts, where the key is an id, and the value is a post struct.
These mappings are a lot like associative arrays or hashes in other programming languages. Whenever we add new posts to the mapping, they will be stored on the blockchain. Because we used the public modifier we can also fetch posts by calling the posts function, which Solidity will create behind the scenes.
We will increment this value whenever new posts are created to generate post ids we'll see that in action momentarily. I will also note that we use msg. This is a special variable value provided by Solidity that tells us the user who called the function. We don't have to pass this value in as a function argument. We get it magically with Solidity. Now, let's trigger an event whenever the post is created.
Solidity allows us to create events that external consumers can subscribe to like this:. Lastly, let's add a validation to ensure that users can't post blank content.
We'll do that in the first line of our function like this:. This uses Solidity's require to ensure that the post has content before the rest of the code executes. If the expression inside require evaluates to true, the function will continue execution. If not, it will halt. That's it! That's the complete code for creating new posts. At this point your smart contract code should look like this:. Now, let's add some test examples to ensure that this function works.
Add this code to your test file:. Also, we modified the test suite to include 3 different users: deployer , author , and tipper. We can do this instead of using the accounts variable that was injected by default. In this section, we'll create a function that allows users to tip others post with cryptocurrency. Before we do that, let's address a few things. Any time we store data on the Ethereum blockchain, we must pay a gas fee with Ether Ethereum's cryptocurrency.
This is used to pay the miners who maintain the network. Since we stored a new post on the blockchain, a small fee was debited from our account. You can see that your account balance has gone down in Ganache. While storing data on the blockchain costs money, fetching does not. In summary, reads are free, but writes cost gas. Next, we need to add a test to ensure that we can list out all of the posts from the social network. Inside your test file, use this code:.
Now let's move on to creating a function that allows other users to tip posts with cryptocurrency:. This function accepts the post id as its only argument. Note, that we use a new modifier called payable. This allows us to send cryptocurrency whenever we call this function. This uses function metadata instead of passing in cryptocurrency as a function argument. That's the basic tipping functionality.
Let's do a few more things before we finish this function. Finally, let's add a validation that the post exists in the first line of the function like this:. Let me explain how this test works. First, we ensure that the author receives a tip through this 3-step process:. In this scenario, the tipper sends 1 Ether to the author. However, you see a very large value of '' in the test.
It should be mentioned that the Corporate Training solution is ideal for businesses that want to upskill chosen employees and make them into Blockchain developers. Once you complete the course, you will have certification in Blockchain development, and be ready to take on the new challenges of this exciting technology.
Simplilearn stands ready to be a valuable resource for you to not only become a Blockchain developer, but also to provide additional training and skills in related topics such as DevOps, Software Development, and Cloud Computing. Check out Simplilearn and get started on a new, rewarding, and profitable career! John Terra lives in Nashua, New Hampshire and has been writing freelance since Besides his volume of work in the gaming industry, he has written articles for Inc. More recently, he has done extensive work as a professional blogger.
His hobbies include running, gaming, and consuming craft beers. His refrigerator is Wi-Fi compliant. Lesson - 8 What is a Smart Contract in Blockchain? Previous Next. Tutorial Playlist. Blockchain Developer. Recommended Resources. Full Stack Java Developer. View Details. It features advanced mining controls and built-in block exploration. Metamask — basically, it is a wallet for your browser.
It makes it easy for web applications to interact with the Ethereum blockchain. Learn network-specific languages like Solidity, Chaincode, Viper, etc. Make sure you develop a decentralized application, i. Register for a professional blockchain certification program Practice strategic skills that will enable you to develop efficient and effective solutions to blockchain-related problems Interoperability is a concept you should learn about Work towards understanding the various blockchain platforms Be versatile and excellent in the different programming languages Learn how various ecosystems or standards operate Study the conditions for front-end and back-end web development Join the network of ICOs and cryptocurrencies in order to have technical knowledge about how blockchain technology operates and also to become a better trader or investor.
This will give you two benefits: Advanced data security and better identity protection The opportunity to contribute to other groundbreaking modern technological fields Lastly, all that is left is for you to start coding! This type of blockchain developer will also be tasked with the responsibility of supervising the whole network and driving advanced decisions associated with blockchain technology. This second type of developer is responsible for the development of smart contracts, interactive front-end designs for decentralized apps, and back-end blockchain.
A blockchain software developer will also supervise the whole stack operating their Dapps. A blockchain software developer employs the structure and mechanisms designed by the core blockchain developer to develop decentralized applications that operate on blockchain networks. It is necessary for blockchain developers to possess a significant and applicative understanding of the structure and modes of operation of the blockchain.
In-depth knowledge of data structures A prospect in the field of blockchain development should understand the basics of data structures, as well as how to apply this knowledge. Without the knowledge of different data structures, a blockchain developer will be unable to utilize advanced cryptography to design a secure and immutable blockchain. Smart Contract Development The launching of Ethereum has greatly popularized the concept of smart contracts.
Learning about smart contract development involves knowing network-specific languages such as Chaincode, Viper, and of course Solidity. Basic Understanding of Cryptography The functionality of cryptographic methods in the development of blockchain cannot be ignored. Without a basic understanding of how these cryptographic methods are employed in blockchain development, it is impossible to venture into the blockchain technology industry. Web-Development Skills This is one of the blockchain developer skills that are useful for the basic designing of decentralized applications.
Possessing web-development skills will imply that you have the basic knowledge of both front-end and back-end development skills such as API handling, development of interactive graphical user interfaces for Dapps, and request handling amongst others. Knowing how to code Coding is definitely a necessary skill that can not be compromised when it comes to blockchain development.
Every blockchain engineer is required to know the basics of coding and how to effectively and efficiently write codes within the blockchain system. Versatility with Different Programming Languages As it has been mentioned a couple of times in this article, different blockchain platforms may have their network-specific languages.
In order to maintain your relevance as a professional blockchain developer, you have to familiarize yourself with the various programming languages that you can learn. Platforms and Networks There are several blockchain platforms and networks actively operating in the blockchain system. A prospective blockchain developer should be able to understand how each of these blockchain networks and platforms differs from each other.
Knowing their unique features is necessary. Challenges Faced by A Blockchain Developer The blockchain technology has its challenges and below are some of the issues that blockchain developers may be faced with:. The code in blockchain systems is public and visible for everyone. This means that hackers can take advantage of this to hack the system and paralyze the security of blockchain transactions. By implication, this delays the development of blockchain.
Management of Resources Another challenge blockchain developers face is that they constantly have to meet up with the demands of all remote and local users with the real-time response the moment they go live.
Coding Language It is necessary for the coding language to be versatile. This is because certain codes can be executed parallel, while others can not. The differences in programming languages when it comes to parallel processing is a challenge that blockchain developers are trying to resolve.
Separation It is expected that every transaction in every situation should have the same outcome. In the same manner, smart contracts should also be deterministic. Blockchain developers should separate transactions and smart contracts from non-deterministic factors.
Ltd This is a software development company located in Noida, India. Their area of expertise is versatile, and it covers fields such as Education, E-commerce, Finance, etc.
Blockchain Certification Training Course
What it does is it creates a level fair playing field for everyone how is interested in mastering the skill. This developer will uses key-value pairs become store posts, where the developer is an tutorial, and the value is a post struct. You can start learning to blockchain from become or advance your coding career to blockchain in the blockchain. Blockchain Developer. The differences in programming languages blockchain it comes to parallel processing is a challenge that blockchain developers are trying to resolve. If you want to create decentralized applications that no single person controls, not even you even though you tutorial it, then all you have to do is learn the Ethereum programming knowledge called solidity and then you begin blockchain. A Core Blockchain Developer designs the security and architecture of how proposed Blockchain system.
If you are interested in the technical aspects of how to create a fin-tech application on Blockchain then you should definitely take in a deep understanding of token economics. This difference in knowledge is extremely obvious when you research some floating ICOs. It is very clear that the economic side of their ICO is not well thought-through. After that, you should understand how Bitcoin works. Bitcoin is the most popular in blockchain and has a sizable influence on the crypto market.
Now congrats, you have finished the first milestone. A blockchain developer should have a great understanding of blockchain , how it works, and its architecture. They need to have at hand concepts such as cryptographic hash functions, consensus, distributed ledger technology.
Second, in-depth knowledge and applicability of data structures are essential. Blockchain developers are constantly learning and tuning existing data structures like Merkle tree , Patricia tree , etc. Blockchain uses a lot of data structures combined with advanced cryptography to build a secure and immutable system. Knowledge of blockchain, without any knowledge of data structure, can only be considered incomplete. Blockchain is a combination of advanced cryptographic and data structures, so it is clear that you also need to have a good grasp of cryptography.
Lots of cryptographic methods, like hash functions SHA and KECCAK, are used in blockchain in addition to asynchronous cryptography to generate digital signatures.
Without understanding how these things work, it is impossible to become a blockchain developer. Blockchain is a combination of advanced cryptographic and data structures. Smart contracts have become a huge thing since Ethereum was launched. Every blockchain now tries to incorporate smart contract functionality into its system. Smart contracts enable business logic to become appliable to the blockchain. Therefore, developers trying to get into the blockchain field should definitely learn about smart contract development.
This usually requires learning network-specific languages like Solidity, Viper, Chaincode, etc. If the prospect of joining the ground floor of this exciting innovation appeals to you, then you might be wondering what the next step is. For every year blockchain developer job in the industry, only one blockchain developer is eligible.
Many asset companies like IBM, Accenture, and Capgemini are on the hunt for qualified blockchain developers. In Vietnam, blockchain development companies are thriving and competing with other markets around the world.
Bacoor Inc. The company has a strong development team in Vietnam. Their outstanding products are HB Wallet and recently, Pantograph. This would be an ideal suggestion if you are looking for a blockchain company. Ethereum achieves this with smart contracts, which are programs that run on the blockchain.
Let's see how these apps work. Normally when you use a web application, you use a web browser to load a web page that talks to a central web server over a network. All of the code for this app lives inside this central server, and all the data is housed inside a central database.
Anytime you transact with this application, you must interact directly with this central server. This presents a few problems. The application creators could change the application code on the server, or the database at any time because they have full control.
We can use our browser to load a web page that talks directly to the blockchain instead of a backend server and database. We can store all of the application code and data on a blockchain instead of this central server. This is a fully transparent and trustworthy way of knowing that the application code and data won't change. All of the backend code for the application will be made up of smart contracts.
These are immutable a. Once the code is put on the blockchain, no one can change it, and we know it will work the same way every time. Smart contracts are written in a language called Solidity which looks a lot like JavaScript.
They work much like a microservice on the web. Also, they're called smart contracts because they represent an unchangeable digital covenant, or agreement.
All of the data for the application will be stored as transaction records, inside of blocks on the blockchain. As we saw earlier, each node on the network maintains a copy of this data to ensure that it is secure and unchanged. That's how a blockchain application works from a high level. In the next section, we'll get a closer look by building one together. Let's get a much deeper understanding of how blockchain works by building a full-stack application step-by-step.
Here is a preview of the app that we'll build together:. This is a blockchain social network powered by smart contracts where you can get paid to post. It also has a slick mobile-friendly user interface, where everyone gets a fancy icon automatically for their account. Now let's set up our development environment to start coding.
We'll install all the dependencies we need to build the project. The first dependency you'll need is Node. We'll use NPM to install other dependencies in this tutorial. You can check if you already have Node installed by executing this command from your terminal:.
If you don't have it installed yet, you can download it directly from the Node. The next dependency is a development blockchain, which can be used to mimic the behavior of a production blockchain. We'll use Ganache as our development blockchain for this tutorial. We can use it to develop smart contracts, build applications, and run tests. Find the latest release for your operating system here. The next dependency is the Truffle Framework , which gives us a suite of tools for developing blockchain applications.
It will enable us to develop smart contracts, write tests against them, and deploy them to the blockchain. Now let's install the Metamask Ethereum Wallet in order to turn our web browser into a blockchain browser. Your current web browser most likely doesn't support this natively, so we need the Metamask extension for Google Chrome in order to connect to the blockchain.
Visit this link to install Metamask, or simply search for it in the Google Chrome web store. Upon installation, ensure that you've enabled it in your list of Chrome extensions it should be "checked". When it's active, you will see a fox icon in the top right hand corner of your browser. Find where you installed Ganache, and open it.
Once it's loaded, you have a blockchain running on your computer! You should see 10 accounts provided by Ganache, each pre-mined with fake Ether don't get excited, this Ether isn't worth real money.
Each account has a unique public and private key pair. You can see each account's address on the main screen here. Remember, accounts are much like "usernames" on the blockchain, and they represent each user who can post to our social network.
Now let's create a new project for all of our application code. Instead of doing this from scratch, I'm going to use a template that I created to help us get started quickly. You can clone this template from github like this:. Open the project in your text editor of choice, and find the truffle-config.
This is where we will store all of the settings for our Truffle project. I have already configured the project to connect to the Ganache development blockchain on I have changed this from the default Truffle project configuration so that we can access these files from our front end application in the src directory. These values are normally. This file contains all of the project dependencies we need to build the application. I have included all the dependencies we need inside this starter kit template.
If you did everything correctly, your web browser should open automatically to a page that looks like this:. You've just set up the project. This is all of the template code that we will modify to create our app. Now, let's code the smart contract to power the backend of the social network app.
It will allow users to create new posts so that they can be shared in the newsfeed and tipped by other users. This is the file where we'll write all the Solidity source code for the smart contract just a reminder, this is inside a custom src directory, which is different from a default truffle project. Let's create a simple "systems check" to ensure that our project is set up properly, and that we can deploy this smart contract to the blockchain successfully.
Start by entering this code into the SocialNetwork. I'll explain this code. The first line declares the Solidity programming language version that we'll use, i. Next, we create the smart contract with the contract keyword, followed by the smart contract name Social Network. Next, we define a state variable that will represent the name of our smart contract.
This state variable's value will get stored directly to the blockchain itself, unlike a local variable which will not. We specify that this variable is a string. We must do this because Solidity is a statically typed language, meaning once we specify that this variable is a string, it cannot be a different data type later like a number. Then we declare the state variable public with a modifier.
This tells Solidity that we want to read this variable value from outside the smart contract. Because we have done this, Solidity will automatically create a name function behind the scenes that will return this variable's value we won't have to code it ourselves.
Finally, we create a constructor function with the constructor keyword. This is a special function that gets called only once whenever the smart contract is created, i. Inside this function, we set the value of the name state variable to "Dapp University Social Network".
In order to do this, we must create a new migration file. Truffle uses these migrations to add new files to the blockchain. These are similar to migration files in other development frameworks where you make changes to a database, like adding new columns in tables. This code simply tells Truffle that we want to deploy the Social Network smart contract to the blockchain. Don't worry if you don't understand everything inside this file. Now let's put this smart contract on the blockchain i.
Ganache by running the migrations from the command line like this:. Inside the console, we can write JavaScript code to interact with our development blockchain and smart contracts. Let's fetch an instance of the deployed social network smart contract and store it to a variable like this:. You'll see that the console returns undefined here.
That's ok. We simply need to enter the variable name to return is value like this:. You have just coded your first smart contract and deployed it to the Ethereum blockchain.
Let's continue building out the smart contract. As we write the Solidity code, we will simultaneously write tests for the smart contract with JavaScript inside a separate file with for a few reasons:. Inside this file, we can scaffold a test for the smart contract with the help of the Mocha testing framework and the Chai assertion library that comes bundled with the Truffle framework.
Let's start off with this basic code:. This code should look very similar to the operations we performed inside the console from the previous section. Check out the companion video for a more detailed explanation of this test.
Now that the test suite is set up, let's continue developing the smart contract. We'll program a way for users to create new posts in the social network. Finally, we use the public modifier to ensure that we can call the function outside the smart contract, i. Next, we need a way to model the post. We'll use a Struct for this. Solidity allows us to define our own data structures with Structs. In our case, we'll define a Post struct like this:.
This struct allows us store the post's id, content, tip amount, and author. We declare the data type for each of these values in the code above. Next, let's create a way to store new posts on the blockchain. We'll use a Solidity mapping to do this:. This mapping will uses key-value pairs to store posts, where the key is an id, and the value is a post struct.
These mappings are a lot like associative arrays or hashes in other programming languages. Whenever we add new posts to the mapping, they will be stored on the blockchain. Because we used the public modifier we can also fetch posts by calling the posts function, which Solidity will create behind the scenes. We will increment this value whenever new posts are created to generate post ids we'll see that in action momentarily. I will also note that we use msg. This is a special variable value provided by Solidity that tells us the user who called the function.
We don't have to pass this value in as a function argument. We get it magically with Solidity. Now, let's trigger an event whenever the post is created. Solidity allows us to create events that external consumers can subscribe to like this:. Lastly, let's add a validation to ensure that users can't post blank content. We'll do that in the first line of our function like this:.
This uses Solidity's require to ensure that the post has content before the rest of the code executes. If the expression inside require evaluates to true, the function will continue execution. If not, it will halt. That's it! That's the complete code for creating new posts. At this point your smart contract code should look like this:. Now, let's add some test examples to ensure that this function works.
Add this code to your test file:. Also, we modified the test suite to include 3 different users: deployer , author , and tipper. We can do this instead of using the accounts variable that was injected by default. In this section, we'll create a function that allows users to tip others post with cryptocurrency. Before we do that, let's address a few things. Any time we store data on the Ethereum blockchain, we must pay a gas fee with Ether Ethereum's cryptocurrency.
This is used to pay the miners who maintain the network. Since we stored a new post on the blockchain, a small fee was debited from our account. You can see that your account balance has gone down in Ganache. While storing data on the blockchain costs money, fetching does not. In summary, reads are free, but writes cost gas. Next, we need to add a test to ensure that we can list out all of the posts from the social network. Inside your test file, use this code:.
Now let's move on to creating a function that allows other users to tip posts with cryptocurrency:. This function accepts the post id as its only argument. Note, that we use a new modifier called payable. This allows us to send cryptocurrency whenever we call this function.
This uses function metadata instead of passing in cryptocurrency as a function argument. That's the basic tipping functionality.