How do you start learning about blockchain programming? [closed]

Question

I am new to this technology. I have worked with C#,Javascript and JQuery to build web applications.

I have been reading about how to start building DApps and there is so much data about Ethereum, Blockchain, Solidity and Hyperledger. I'm confused.

• Can anyone please guide me on how to get started with this?
• What is the language used to build DApps?
• What is the difference between Hyperledger and Solidity?
• Can I use Visual Studio to build DApps?
• I have read a lot about Hyperledger and find it awesome, how do I start using it?

Answer 1

A great course is offered by Coursera which was developed by Princeton University. Titled, Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies (and it's free). Even though it is a little outdated and not specific to Hyperledger, you'll build a great platform for understanding key concepts.

Any introduction wouldn't be complete without mentioning the various whitepapers that accompany these technologies.

To name a few,

• Bitcoin white paper
• Ethereum white paper
• Hyperledger white paper

If you're feeling more adventurous then refer to some of their yellow papers e.g. Ethereum yellow paper.

You can also refer to a previous article I posted outlining my transition from being a J2EE developer here.

The language used to Build DApps

To answer this you'll have to know which blockchain you're developing for. For example, Ethereum uses Solidity to develop smart contracts that contribute to the whole 'DApp'. If it's Hyperledger that you want to pursue then you can begin by joining their various communities. I'm aware they've got discussion forums and meetups. Hyperledger uses something called Chaincode for their contracts. Chaincode is a piece of code that is written in one of the supported languages such as Go or Java.

Can I use Visual Studio to build DApps?

Using Visual studio to create DApps would not be a standard way for a beginner to enter the ecosystem (There is a compiler called ethsharp which aims to allow you to program smart contracts in C#, however the project is now deprecated). I'd suggest starting out by using the Solidity Online compiler if you're going to create smart contracts for Ethereum.

Answer 2

I can't really help you with hyperledger but they offer a free training on edx. I don't know anything about the content of the course and if it's too basic for your knowledge but you could check it out and give it a try. Since it's free it won't hurt.

https://www.edx.org/course/blockchain-business-introduction-linuxfoundationx-lfs171x

Answer 3

It sounds to me you run on a Windows OS. I professionally develop using C#, jQuery, etc., just like you. I got started developing smart contracts and interfaces on my Macbook Pro, but switched over to Windows 10 recently.

My suggestion would be to install Visual Studio Code, Git, and then follow this set of instructions on how to get setup developing Ethereum smart contracts on Windows using Geth, TestRPC, and Truffle. The languages you will be using include Solidity for smart contract development, and Javascript for your interface.

The tutorial I followed was in setting up a block explorer with a React.js front end. It was fairly simplistic; setting up the private Ethereum blockchain was one of the harder parts, but I learned a lot. In the end, using TestRPC was much faster for the actual smart contract development and debugging.

Don't bother trying to use Windows 10 Ubuntu subsystem; it took me an afternoon of frustration to learn the hard way that it's just not feasible.

As a side note, keep in mind that your "stack" does not involve a SQL database; the blockchain is your database, and runtime environment.

Answer 4

I started learning blockchain with Hyperledger and about 2 weeks later, I quit learning blockchain with Hyperledger. Hyperledger can be VERY complex, and if you're new to blockchain, you will get overwhelmed quickly. I would recommend what some of the others have said. Take a few courses. Then if you're interesting in DAPPs, I would recommend either Ethereum or RSK(The bitcoin smart contract platform.