When Vitalik Buterin created Ethereum in 2015, he opened the opportunities that led to the creation of decentralized applications to the world. Most people saw it as a groundbreaking idea. However, the rise of Etherum is because of the enforcement of smart contracts with Ethereum.
What are Smart Contracts?
Though it is considered to be a new thing, smart contracts have been available since 1996. Nick Szabo developed this technology. Nick characterized smart contracts as “a list of promises which are specified for digital use. They include protocols within which parties perform various promises.” This discovery led to groundbreaking research and was built upon by other experts such as Vitalik. Vitalik looked into ways to use smart contracts to explain how Gas and Ethereum Virtual Machines work.
A smart contract is a program on the Ethereum blockchain. It is a set of code and data (providing functions and state, respectively) in specific addresses on the Ethereum blockchain. The contract is like an Ethereum account, meaning they have a balance and can send transactions through a network.
Smart contracts are not managed by a user but are positioned to operate as they were programmed. For a user account to interact with a smart contract, they can submit transactions that execute a function outlined in the smart contract. Smart contracts define rules as a traditional contract would and automatically enforce them through a code. You cannot delete a smart contract by default, and its interactions are irreversible.
How to create an Ethereum Smart Contract?
Create a Wallet with MetaMask
To get started on Ethereum, you need to install and enable MetaMask on the Chrome browser. Once installed, click on the top-right icon on your browser page. This will open a new tab on your browser.
Next, you need to select the Create Wallet option and accept the terms and conditions. Next, you’ll need to set up a password. Once you have created your password, you’ll get a secret backup phrase that you can use to back up and restore your account. This information should remain private as someone can use it to steal your Ethers. Look for a checkmark close to “Main Ethereum Network” to ensure you are on the main network.
Pick a Trial Network
You can use a test network for a trial. Some of the test networks on MetaMask Wallet include Robsten, Rinkeby, Kovan, and Goerli Test Network. These networks are purely for experiments only, and they do not have any actual value.
Use a Dummy to Try out Ethers in your Wallet
If you need to explore how a smart contract works, you need to have dummy Ethers in MetaMask Wallet. For instance, testing a contract using the Robsten network will give you 0 ETH. This is the starting balance in the Wallet. To increase your number of dummy Ethers, you can use the option “Deposit” or “Get Ether” under the “Test Faucet.” You can do this by requesting one ether which is then added to Wallet. There is no restriction as to how many trial Ethers you can add to your test network. Once you have added dummy Ethers to your Wallet, you can begin writing smart contracts on Remix Browser IDE in Solidity.
Write a Smart Contract in Solidity using Editor
Using Remix Browser IDE, you can begin writing the Solidity code. You may wonder why we are using Remix here. Remix has a wide range of offers and features to offer for the perfect developer experience. It also comes in handy when writing small-sized contracts. Its features include:
- Inclusive statistical analysis.
- Highlighting syntax and errors.
- It warns about gas costs as well as unsafe codes. It also ensures there are no overlapping variable names and if the functions are constant.
- An integrated debugger.
- Deploys straight to MetaMask or Mist.
- Its functions are injected with Web3 objects.
- An integrated deployment and testing environment.
Make .sol Extension File
First, you need to open the Remix Browser. Now, you can add or create a .sol extension file by clicking on the plus icon located on the top-left side of the browser.
Change your Code to Make ECR20 Tokens
ECR20.sol is usually the typical template for ECR20 tokens. You can find an example of a code right here.
Contract Deployment
Once you are done writing the code, you can deploy it to an Ethereum test network by clicking on the deploy option on the right side of the Remix window. First, you need to wait for the transaction to complete. Once the transaction is complete, the contract’s address will be visible on the Remix window. You can check the number of tokens available in your Wallet by using the MetaMask window. Select option “add tokens” and enter the address for the smart contract. It also shows you the token amount that you have.
Testing Ethereum Contracts
Once you have created an Ethereum Smart Contract, you can test it by running it through methods such as totalSupply, transfer, or balanceOf. These methods are available on the Remix window. For example, for balanceOf, you can move some tokens from different ETH wallets and then check their balance. In totalSupply, you can check the total supply of Ethereum in your wallet.
How to deploy an Ethereum Smart Contract?
- To start using live smart contracts, switch to your primary Ethereum network.
- Input real ethers and then deploy the smart contract through Remix as outlined in the steps.
- If you want to know whether the contract has been added correctly, check https://www.etherscan.io. First, you need to search for your smart contract there.
- You can verify it by clicking on the “verify contract” button.
- Now, you have to copy the code generated and paste it to Etherscan. Then, pick the compiler you selected while writing the contract on Remix.
- Once you have optimized it, click verify, and in a few moments, your contract will be live.
Conclusion
Creating an Ethereum Smart Contract can be quite easy once you have the right resources. You can use Ethereum because you are guaranteed that the contract will be honored. This makes it a vastly popular cryptocurrency to trade. However, you need to check your code to avoid any issues or your contract not being fulfilled. Do you use Ethereum? How do you create your smart contract? Please share with us in the comment section.
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