A Smart Contract is a computer protocol that digitally enables, verifies, and enforces contract negotiation and results.
Smart Contract Programming. Examples and Tools. On top of the blockchain, benefits are the absence of intermediaries, which saves you time and tension because it is a decentralized network between all parties. Blockchains are unquestionably quicker, simpler, and safer than conventional networks, and banks and governments are turning to them.
Nick Szabo used the term “Smart Contract” in 1997 before bitcoin was created. He is a computer scientist, law scholar & cryptographer. So let us spare you his exact words. In simple, he wanted to use a distributed ledger to store contracts. Smart Contracts are just like contracts in the real world, but the main difference is that they are entirely digital. A smart contract is a lightweight, blockchain-based computer program.
Why Smart Contracts?
Introducing smart contracts and the technology that supports them removes the dependency on third parties and automates the execution of such smart contracts. Smart Contracts involve no other third party. They can be executed in minutes and has an automatic process with 100% transparency between the parties.
Anyone can go online and review audits and validate the transactions executed by the smart contract. Security, one of the most critical concerns, is maintained through cryptography, mainly using public-key cryptography infrastructure. All the transactions in smart contracts are digitally signed using the private keys of the participating entities.
Smart Contract Real-Life Examples
Consider taking a chocolate bar from a vending machine where you deposited a $2 note. After that, you hit the button assigned to the choco bar that you want to get. So as a result, the lever in the vending machine moves and pushes out the chocolate. The button is programmed to activate the lever to move the choco bar out of the machine.
A smart contract is very similar to a vending machine. It eliminated the need for a middle person. The vending machine replaces the seller and enables you to make a direct purchase without anyone involved. It eliminates the need for escrow services.
Smart contracts are self-executing contracts. They contain the agreement’s terms and conditions between the peers involved in the process. Those terms and conditions are written in code executed on a blockchain-based decentralized platform. Usually, the agreements are designed to facilitate the exchange of money, property, and shares.
Real Life examples
Imagine that you are at the airport, and your flight is delayed. Still, the inconvenience you’re covered with insurance that will compensate you if the flight is delayed. For just a moment, imagine that there is a smart contract that the insurance company has already deployed and is monitoring the flight delay. As soon as the condition of delay for the flight is met above the X amount of hours, the insurance company will automatically get a trigger, and you’ll be getting that amount of money agreed with the company.
Smart Contracts can have their issues, but they are undeniably faster, cheaper, and more secure than other traditional methods. Its built-in efficiency and security are why large banks and governments are turning slowly to them.
Self-executing models and Smart Contracts can be quickly developed by cleverly using cryptography digital signatures and secured computation. Nick Szabo realized, at the time, the vast potential of Smart Contracts created and executed digitally. We’re just starting to see the beginning of how today’s smart contracts can help exchange money, property, or anything else of value in a transparent, conflict-free, all while avoiding the services of a middleman.
Some Other Real-Life Applications
The insurance policy is a contract between the insurance company and the consumer. You may use smart contracts to simplify the policy terms execution if you are an insurance company. You can program the smart contract to include all the insurance policy clauses. The customer checks the terms and consents and digitally signs the deal. While the policyholder meets the conditions, such as paying a monthly premium, the smart contract enforces the agreed-upon policy. Suppose something goes wrong, and the policy owner needs to pay for his policy. In that case, the contract is paid off immediately until the policy owner provides the necessary paperwork to show the harm done to his property.
It speeds up the payment process for insurance, automates, and makes the entire system functional. Policyholders and insurance providers are no longer forced to build piles of paperwork if an insurance premium is made. Check this post to read about more Smart Contract use cases.
Smart Contract Tools and Languages
Blockchain technologies support more and more advanced computing platforms and tools to develop smart contracts. These tools must have the highest security and data protection standards since a Smart Contract manages money or, at least, a token representing some property.
The discovery and extended use of all these tools are critical for producing high-level applications that have resulted in new research areas where researchers suggest ways to improve safety and security (see the Haskell/Plutus programming language). We mention some other tools and languages for Smart Contracts.
Smart Contract Languages
Every software running on a virtual machine (VM) at Ethereum is a Smart Contract. Vyper and Solidity are the most common languages for writing smart contracts on Ethereum. Solidity is the most popular language on Ethereum, widely inspired by Python, C++, and JavaScript.
Solidity
For the design of Smart Contracts, Solidity is a high-level object-oriented language. Smart contracts are programs that control account actions in Ethereum. C++, Python, and JavaScript have inspired the soundness of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Solidity supports, among others, the heritage, libraries, and diverse user styles. With Solidity, contracts for voting, crowdfunding, blind auctions, and multi-signature wallets are available for you. Since Solidity is a work in progress, it is best to have the latest version before implementing a Smart Contract. Every Solidity upgrade brings new features and bug fixes.
Vyper
Vyper is a smart contract language deriving from Python 3 and targeting the EVM. When we enter the code, it is necessary to remember that all syntax of Vyper is valid Python 3 syntax, but not all functionalities of Python3 are provided for Vyper. A key difference with Solidity is that Vyper does away with inheritance. Vyper tries to keep all the relevant code in one file to make things easier for the programmer and the software maintainers.
Smart Contract Development Platforms
Remix IDE
Remix IDE is a browser-based open-source compiler that helps users write Solidity and Vyper contracts. Developers can use it both locally and in the browser Remix. This powerful JavaScript IDE supports smart contract testing, debugging, and deployment. Although the design could be a little complex, it comes with a code analyzer to ensure developers can write their best code. Remix connects with Metamask to get access to the Ethereum blockchain.
Truffle
Truffle is one of Ethereum’s most robust programming development systems. This development environment provides developers with a configurable, user-friendly service pipeline. Truffer makes the management of the Smart Contract life cycle. As we mentioned earlier, it has an automated contract testing suite, a critical aspect of Smart Contract development. Compiling, linking, deploying, and handling binaries is much simpler for Ethereum developers. Additional features include the automated Mocha and Chai contract check, scriptable deployment and migration System, and a direct contract communication interactive console.
More Resources
- Read about Smart Contracts, Blockchain, and Digital Transformation.
- Check some Blockchain Courses.