Ethereum For Dummies

Michael G. Solomon, PhD, is a full-time security, privacy, blockchain, and data science expert. An active speaker, consultant, and author, Michael is a professor of cybersecurity and global business with blockchain technology at the University of the Cumberlands. He has written more than 20 books on IT, security, and the PMP exam.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Foolish Assumptions 2Icons Used in This Book 2Beyond the Book 2Where to Go from Here 3Part 1: Getting to Know Blockchain and Ethereum 5Chapter 1: Introducing Ethereum 7Describing Blockchain Technology 8Introducing Ethereum 10Exploring Ethereum’s Consensus, Mining, and Smart Contracts 11Buying, Spending, and Trading Ether 13Getting Started with DAO and ICO 16Exploring the Ethereum Ecosystem 17Delving into Development Tools 18Building Blockchain Apps 18Chapter 2: Learning about Blockchain 21Exploring Distributed Applications 22Digging into distributed processing 22Exploring problems with distributed processing 24Presenting some solutions to distributed processing problems 27Examining the Bitcoin Solution to the Distributed Dilemma 28Describing Blockchains 30Examining blockchain details 30Protecting blockchain visibility 31Building Blockchains 33Agreeing to add blocks 33Making blocks immutable 34Reviewing the building process 35Keeping all blockchains consistent 35Understanding How Blockchains and Databases Store Data Differently 36Storing data in a traditional database 36Storing data in a blockchain 38Effectively Using Blockchains 39Transferring value without trust 39Reducing transaction costs by eliminating middlemen 39Increasing efficiency through direct interaction 40Maintaining complete transaction history 40Increasing resilience through replication 41Providing transparency 41Chapter 3: Exploring Use Cases for Ethereum 43Diving Into Ethereum Applications 44Exploring Financial Services 45Banking 46Creating Ethereum escrow applications 48Examining ICOs 48Establishing Digital Identity Management 49Managing individual and device identities 50Reducing fraud and identity theft 50Examining the ERC-725 standard and beyond 51Examining Industry Applications 51Healthcare 52Energy 52Supply chain 53Enabling Effective Governance 54Tax payment 54Government spending 55Voting 55Policy development 55Notary 56Part 2: Setting Up Your Ethereum Development Environment 57Chapter 4: Examining the Ethereum Ecosystem and Development Lifecycle 59Exploring the Ethereum Blockchain Block Structure 60Describing Smart Contracts 64Introducing Solidity, the Language of Smart Contracts 66Working with the Ethereum Virtual Machine 67Fueling Your Code with Gas 68Surveying Tools for Developing, Testing, and Deploying Ethereum Apps 69Ethereum blockchain client 70Development and testing blockchain 71Compiler and testing framework 72Source code editor/IDE 72Describing the Ethereum Development Lifecycle 73Introducing Smart Contract Development Tools 74Chapter 5: Getting and Configuring Ethereum Development Tools 77Examining Why Multiple Ethereum Development Tools are Available 78Downloading, Installing, and Configuring All the Pieces 79Installing the blockchain client 79Installing the test blockchain 83Installing the testing environment 86Installing the IDE 91Chapter 6: Establishing an Ethereum Wallet 95Unlocking the Secrets of an Ethereum Wallet 96Examining the Types of Ethereum Wallets 96Sorting out software wallets 97Handling hardware wallets 99Perusing paper wallets 99Choosing an Ethereum Wallet 100Software wallets 100Hardware wallets 102Paper wallets 103Installing MetaMask, an Ethereum Wallet 104Part 3: Building Ethereum Distributed Blockchain Apps 107Chapter 7: Building Your First Ethereum Apps 109Validating Your Ethereum Development Environment 110Creating a Truffle project 110Editing the Truffle config file 111Exploring the Ganache Test Environment 113Designing Simple Smart Contracts 115Coding Your First Smart Contract 116Running Your First Smart Contract 118Writing your code 118Compiling your code 119Deploying your code 120Invoking your code’s functions 122Paying as You Go 124Chapter 8: Learning about Smart Contracts 125Introducing Supply Chain and Common Challenges 126Describing supply chain 126Explaining difficulties when implementing a supply chain 127Examining How Blockchain Can Help Resolve Supply Chain Problems 128Describing a Blockchain Supply Chain Solution 129Paying for supply chain services 129Managing assets on the supply chain 130Digging into Solidity 132Describing Basic Smart Contract Syntax 133Declaring valid compiler version 134Commenting your code 134Importing external code 135Defining your smart contracts 135Handling Data in Solidity 136Learning about Computation and Gas 140Exploring Access Modes and Visibility of Smart Contract Functions and Data 142Controlling Execution Flow 144Handling Errors and Exceptions 145Chapter 9: Writing Your Own Smart Contracts with Solidity 147Reviewing Supply Chain Design Specification 148Payment token smart contract 149Supply chain smart contract 150Creating New Smart Contracts 151ERC-20 token interface 153ERC-20 token smart contract 154Supply chain smart contract 155Coding Primary Functions 157ERC-20 token functions 157Supply chain functions 160Using Events 163Defining events 165Triggering events 166Introducing Ownership 168Designing for Security 170Implementing Minimal Functionality 171Part 4: Testing and Deploying Ethereum Apps 173Chapter 10: Testing Ethereum Apps 175Understanding Ethereum dApp Testing 176Writing tests from the beginning 176Choosing the right test blockchain 176Learning the steps in the testing lifecycle 177Testing for software quality 177Deploying a dApp to a Test Ethereum Blockchain 178Telling Truffle to use the Ganache blockchain 178Deploying your code to the Ganache blockchain 180Writing Tests for Ethereum dApps 181Testing using the command line 181Writing test cases in JavaScript 185Logging and Handling Errors 187Handling errors in Solidity 188Logging activity in smart contracts 189Fixing Bugs in a dApp 190Chapter 11: Deploying and Maintaining Ethereum Apps 191Test Blockchain Options versus Live Blockchains 192Testing with the Ganache blockchain 192Deploying your code to other test blockchains 193Anticipating Differences in Live Environments 195Preparing Your Configuration for Deploying to Different Networks 196Deploying a dApp 198Getting enough ether 199Compiling your code 203Deploying your code 203Chapter 12: Integrating Non-Blockchain Apps with Ethereum 205Comparing Blockchain and Database Storage 206Locating control 207Imposing data format 207Updating data 207Optimizing performance 208Protecting confidentiality 208Paying for storage 208Providing integrity and transparency 209Protecting resilience 209Contrasting Execution and Flow in Blockchain dApps and Traditional Applications 210Designing Goals for Incorporating Blockchain into an Existing Application 211Using existing smart contracts 213Developing your own smart contracts 213Identifying Interface Data and Transaction Requirements 214Creating or Modifying Contracts to Provide Data Interface 215Testing Integrated dApps 215Deploying Integrated dApps 216Part 5: The Part of Tens 219Chapter 13: Ten Free Ethereum Resources 221Exploring Alternative Ethereum Development Frameworks 222Managing you development with Populus 222Exploring Ethereum blockchain containers with Cliquebait 222Selecting a Free Integrated Development Environment 223Developing Solidity code with Atom 223Going online with Remix 224Keeping it simple with EthFiddle 224Exploring Ethereum Clients and APIs 226Swapping your Ethereum client to Parity 226Interacting with Ethereum by using Web3.js 226Focusing on Wallets and Security 227Protecting your crypto-assets in Mist 227Securing your dApps with OpenZeppelin 228Learning More About Developing Ethereum dApps 228Chapter 14: Ten Design Principles for Distributed Blockchain Apps 229Designing for Trust 230Enforcing Consistency 230Removing Doubt through Transparency 232Providing Feedback, Guidance, and Setting Expectations 233Handling Mistakes with Class 233Designing Functions that Focus on User Actions, Not Data 234Storing Data Based on User Actions, Not Data Structures 235Keeping It Simple 236Expecting Blockchain Access to Be Expensive 236Staying Out of the User’s Way 237Chapter 15: Top Ten Ethereum Projects 239Predicting Future Events with Gnosis 240Crowdsourcing Event Predictions in Augur 240Managing Decentralized Organizations with Aragon 241Breeding and Collecting Cryptokitties 241Exchanging Tokens with IDEX 242Creating Your Digital Identity with uPort 243Sharing Your Thoughts on the Blockchain with EtherTweet 243Searching for Jobs with EthLance 244Using TenX to Pay with Cryptocurrency 245Buying and Selling Computing Power with Golem 246Index 247