Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Fourth Edition

By : Imran Bashir
5 (3)
Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Fourth Edition

5 (3)
By: Imran Bashir

Overview of this book

Blockchain is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, it has had a massive impact in many sectors, including finance, supply chains, healthcare, government, and media. It’s also being used for cutting edge technologies such as AI and IoT. This new edition is thoroughly revised to offer a practical approach to using Ethereum, Hyperledger, Fabric, and Corda with step-by-step tutorials and real-world use-cases to help you understand everything you need to know about blockchain development and implementation. With new chapters on Decentralized Finance and solving privacy, identity, and security issues, as well as bonus online content exploring alternative blockchains, this is an unmissable read for everyone who wants to gain a deep understanding of blockchain. The book doesn’t shy away from advanced topics and practical expertise, such as decentralized application (DApp) development using smart contracts and oracles, and emerging trends in the blockchain space. Throughout the book, you’ll explore blockchain solutions beyond cryptocurrencies, such as the IoT with blockchain, enterprise blockchains, and tokenization, and gain insight into the future scope of this fascinating and disruptive technology. By the end of this blockchain book, you will have gained a thorough comprehension of the various facets of blockchain and understand the potential of this technology in diverse real-world scenarios.
Table of Contents (24 chapters)
23
Index

Summary

This chapter began by introducing a history of smart contracts followed by a detailed discussion of the definition of a smart contract. As there is no agreement on the standard definition of a smart contract, we attempted to introduce a definition that encompasses the crux of smart contracts.

An introduction to Ricardian contracts was also provided, and the difference between Ricardian contracts and smart contracts was explained, highlighting the fact that Ricardian contracts are concerned with the definition of the contract, whereas smart contracts are geared toward the actual execution of the contract.

The concept of smart contract templates was also discussed, in which high-quality active research is currently being conducted in academia and industry. Some ideas about the possibility of creating high-level DSLs were also discussed to create smart contracts or smart contract templates. In the later sections of the chapter, oracles were introduced followed by a brief discussion...