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Ask HN: Resources to learn blockchain and smart contracts?

526 points by dnt404-1 9y ago

What resources are available to get into these two and related topics? Would be also better if there are papers/books that introduces to these concepts (and toy implementation)?

corbinpage 9y ago
These videos by Jordan Leigh are really great for Ethereum concepts and development. http://decypher.tv/series/ethereum-development http://decypher.tv/series/ethereum-development
- mvleming 9y ago
  I second this. Really great videos that balance breath vs depth well and that are easily digestible. The guy is also enjoyable to listen to. I am not associated with Jordan Leigh nor Decyper.TV in any way except as a customer.
grk 9y ago
If you want to stay updated on current news, I can recommend the http://blockchainweekly.net/ http://blockchainweekly.net/ newsletter.
ttyprintk 9y ago
Mastering Bitcoin, Second Edition https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook
- hcaw 9y ago
  I second this, it's a very good resource. Mastering Ethereum should be out early next year too.
animesh 9y ago
This article was on HN a few days ago. “Learn Blockchains by Building One” @van_flymen https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117428612f46 https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117...
- submeta 9y ago
  That's an excellent article. And a very hands-down approach using code examples in Python.
rainloft 9y ago
CS 251: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies at Stanford https://crypto.stanford.edu/cs251/ https://crypto.stanford.edu/cs251/
- dnt404-1 9y ago
  Did you do it via self-study? How was the experience?
- panzerboy 9y ago
  Can this course be also followed online? If yes, how? I can see the list of lectures, but not the actual contents.
elorm 9y ago
Here you go https://github.com/xel/blockchain-stuff https://github.com/xel/blockchain-stuff
- dnt404-1 9y ago
  that's quite a good resource :)
markatkinson 9y ago
Might be worth learning about DAG, Tangle and IOTA too, here is their latest whitepaper: https://iota.org/IOTA_Whitepaper.pdf https://iota.org/IOTA_Whitepaper.pdf
thisisit 9y ago
https://blockchaintechblog.com/ https://blockchaintechblog.com/
roro5678 9y ago
What I am currently attending : https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency/home/welcome https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency/home/welcome
- dnt404-1 9y ago
  I quickly checked the syllabus, however didn't find smart contracts? Do they go into that in some of the videos? How much time do you think this course takes?
  - david_vc 9y ago
    No smart contracts - it's a Bitcoin course. Some of the authors also released a tutorial on Solidity and smart contracts, which you can find on Andrew Miller's webpage. The Coursera class took around 20 hours end to end.
- kochthesecond 9y ago
  Would also like to recommend this course. The lectures are good, the tasks are ok. It assumes familiarity with cryptographic hash functions and signatures, allowing to keep the focus on bitcoin. In some places it delves into some interesting variations of implementations, like Zcash.
nikivi 9y ago
For blockchains : https://learn-anything.xyz/databases/distributed-databases/blockchain https://learn-anything.xyz/databases/distributed-databases/b... For smart contracts : https://learn-anything.xyz/distributed-computing/ethereum/smart-contracts https://learn-anything.xyz/distributed-computing/ethereum/sm...
jc123 9y ago
Solid material at "stackoverflow": https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com https://ethereum.stackexchange.com https://ethereum.stackexchange.com
ym705 9y ago
If you're interested in Ethereum Smart Contracts I wrote: http://ethereumdev.io/ http://ethereumdev.io/
- sghiassy 9y ago
  Clearly written articles, thx! I’m n00b in Smart Contracts but they seem like interfaces to reading/writing to a data store. If I didn’t totally botch what they are. Then I don’t really get why they’re “smart”. The pitfalls of regular programming, seem to apply to contracts. Seems like I could easily code a bug in a smart contract and have it t deployed to the network?? Or did I miss something?
  - taternuts 9y ago
    You didn't miss anything, it's very easy to deploy a bug in a smart contract and why anyone using it for anything important should have their contracts be audited by a third party professional(s).
  - elsurudo 9y ago
    It's really just a marketing name.
earlybike 9y ago
Also an important question: How to get quickly tokens for a ETH test network to be able to do anything. Last time I tried I wasn't successful because all these places where you could get some free tokens didn't work and the only thing possible was to mine them yourself which still took a day or two.
- tree_of_item 9y ago
  For a test network, can't you just modify the code to give yourself however many coins you want? Why would you need to mine?
  - crypt1d 9y ago
    I assume OP is referring to the test nets which are already running publicly, not one u would run locally: https://testnet.etherscan.io/ https://testnet.etherscan.io/
- Cakez0r 9y ago
  The metamask testnet faucet worked for me - https://faucet.metamask.io/ https://faucet.metamask.io/
  - earlybike 9y ago
    Thanks, this worked.
wayoflife 9y ago
For explanation of both, watch this Video: https://anders.com/blockchain/ https://anders.com/blockchain/ and then click on the "fork on github" link ;)
dvcoolster 9y ago
I loved Decypher.tv for getting going with Ethereum Smart Contracts as well as other requirements for a complete DApp
- coralreef 9y ago
  Seems expensive, currently $60 USD. Worth it?
  - gnazarkin 9y ago
    Yep. I went through all of them and they are great
aerovistae 9y ago
The book "Mastering Bitcoin" really helped me to understand the blockchain and bitcoin properly. It's available free online here~ http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.html http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.ht... The author is putting out a similar book called "Mastering Ethereum" in February, also through O'Reilly.
- mtrn 9y ago
  This book helped me understand the basics of bitcoin as well. Great read.
  - alfiedotwtf 9y ago
    Ditto. This book is excellent, and is in it's second print
- djb_hackernews 9y ago
  I just read the preface and have to ask... is this heavy on marketing, cheerleading and kool-aid? First the author makes it sound like the Nakamoto paper was sent from the heavens and then this: > I became obsessed and enthralled, spending 12 or more hours each day glued to a screen, reading, writing, coding, and learning as much as I could. I emerged from this state of fugue, more than 20 pounds lighter from lack of consistent meals, determined to dedicate myself to working on bitcoin. To me, this seems a little dramatic for what should be a technical topic.
  - mariusmg 9y ago
    It's the Hollywood version of the events.
  - cooervo 9y ago
    Once again the autistic, asocial programmer clise gets autoconfirmed.
    - cdelsolar 9y ago
rwieruch 9y ago
Checkout what https://twitter.com/iam_preethi https://twitter.com/iam_preethi is tweeting about these topics. Really liked her last article about Etherum: https://medium.com/@preethikasireddy/how-does-ethereum-work-anyway-22d1df506369 https://medium.com/@preethikasireddy/how-does-ethereum-work-...
renas 9y ago
Ethereum smart contracts in a nutshell for hackers http://linuxforme.com/ethereum-smart-contracts-in-a-nutshell-for-hackers.html http://linuxforme.com/ethereum-smart-contracts-in-a-nutshell...
vjdhama 9y ago
There's this course by the people who wrote `Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies` It covers the basics pretty well. http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/ http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/
- Asdfbla 9y ago
  I can second this. It's a book written by capable people who do some research in the area too and they don't unecessarily hype the technology like so many resources you find about cryptocurrencies.
- socrates1024 9y ago
  I'd definitely recommend this book, it's great! Comes with decent video lectures and such too. (disclosure: am a coauthor) Also, this course page has some useful links and lecture notes/slides (mostly geared towards graduate students and research) http://soc1024.ece.illinois.edu/teaching/ece598am/fall2016/ http://soc1024.ece.illinois.edu/teaching/ece598am/fall2016/
- supermdguy 9y ago
  I read the book, and it was incredible. It went in depth into the data structures of bitcoin, while also providing high level overviews of various cryptocurrency ideas. It really helped me to understand exactly what cryptocurrency is and how it works.
felipesabino 9y ago
I compiled some of the resources I used to start understanding it. It it a bit focused on ethereum, but I guess it is useful for starting to understand blockchain and smart contracts in general regardless --- Watching - "GOTO 2017 • Blockchain: The Slowest (and most Fascinating) Database in the World • Stefan Tilkov” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3rfBAP_fE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3rfBAP_fE Explains how the blockchain works and walks through most of the technical terms you will need to know - "Ethereum Vs. Bitcoin: What Sets Them Apart? | CNBC” https://youtu.be/0UBk1e5qnr4 https://youtu.be/0UBk1e5qnr4 Uses the blockchain explanation to give you an idea of how the smart contract idea differs Ethereum from Bitcoin - "Vitalik Buterin explains Ethereum" https://youtu.be/TDGq4aeevgY https://youtu.be/TDGq4aeevgY 3 minute macro explanation of what is Ethereum from its inventor Vitalik Buterin - "DEVCON1: Ethereum for Dummies - Dr. Gavin Wood” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LK0t_qaPo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LK0t_qaPo Ethereum's CTO Dr. Gavin Wood explains in a very macro way the Ethereum concept with an idea of how the “Global Computer” works and what is the “Ethereum Virtual Machine” - Devcon2: Ethereum in 25 Minutes https://youtu.be/66SaEDzlmP4 https://youtu.be/66SaEDzlmP4 Vitalik Buterin give and overview of the Ethereum protocol and shows what is an Ethereum transaction, what is Gas (and how computation time is actually paid for miners), how the state machine works and what you can do with it - DEVCON1: Ethereum in the Enterprise Environment - Taylor Gerring https://youtu.be/HXNWhXuMNpw https://youtu.be/HXNWhXuMNpw Expose core concepts about the blockchain and the Ethereum platform that are valuable to enterprise and how companies can leverage that using web technologies --- Reading - Coinbase - A beginner’s guide to Ethereum https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd486ceecf https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd... - Fat Protocols http://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols http://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols - The difference between App Coins and Protocol Tokens https://blog.0xproject.com/the-difference-between-app-coins-and-protocol-tokens-7281a428348c https://blog.0xproject.com/the-difference-between-app-coins-... - What’s the Difference Between an ‘ICO’ and a ‘Token Launch’? Coins vs. Tokens (What is a SNGLS token?) https://medium.com/@SingularDTV/whats-the-difference-between-an-ico-and-a-token-launch-7105edbb2112 https://medium.com/@SingularDTV/whats-the-difference-between... --- Source of links, links and more links - /r/ethereum - getting started https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/61y5ix/welcome_to_rethereum_the_reddit_front_page_of_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/61y5ix/welcome_to... - The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabo (Scroll to "Selected Links from the Episode”) https://tim.blog/2017/06/04/nick-szabo/ https://tim.blog/2017/06/04/nick-szabo/ - What The Fuck Is Ethereum? ("I am a total nerd" option) http://whatthefuckisethereum.com/#nerd http://whatthefuckisethereum.com/#nerd --- Extra reading - Money, blockchains, and social scalability http://unenumerated.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/money-blockchains-and-social-scalability.html http://unenumerated.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/money-blockchain... - Does your dapp need a token? https://medium.com/@simondlr/does-your-dapp-need-a-token-39412fd3c62c https://medium.com/@simondlr/does-your-dapp-need-a-token-394... - Ethereum documentation http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/index.html http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/index.html - Ethereum Wiki - FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/FAQ
b0ba1lle 9y ago
If you're looking for a toy implementation, I just released https://github.com/robinmonjo/coincoin https://github.com/robinmonjo/coincoin It focuses on Blockchain and Digital Transactions
notindexed 9y ago
http://lopp.net/bitcoin.html http://lopp.net/bitcoin.html
- statoshi 9y ago
  This is my site; I've probably spent at least 100 hours curating this list over the years :-)
theylon 9y ago
Blockgeeks is great for beginner material and to understand the basics. https://blockgeeks.com/ https://blockgeeks.com/
throwaway613834 9y ago
Could someone offer a quick explanation as to what kinds of things there even _are_ to learn about blockchains? I mean from a conceptual user perspective of "let's use blockchain for my next product", not from a Bitcoin-dev perspective of "how do we fix this thing in our blockchain implementation".
- indigochill 9y ago
  Disclaimer: I've mostly absorbed this stuff through osmosis and lazy web searching, but I thought I'd take a shot with my understanding and someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. Blockchains are designed to solve a certain set of problems. Understanding those problems and their relation to your product will help you determine whether a blockchain is a reasonable solution. 1. Do you need a distributed ledger? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_ledger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_ledger) 2. Do you need proof of work? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system) 3. Does your distributed ledger need to record things such that one block follows the next, as opposed to blocks of data being saved independently of each other? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain) If the answer to all of the above is yes, using a blockchain probably makes sense. Otherwise, you probably want to use something other than a blockchain (for instance, if you just need a distributed ledger, just use a distributed ledger. No need to chain each block together unless that's actually useful for your product).
  - y7 9y ago
    Not all blockchains use proof of work. A better single question would be: do you need a distributed ledger with immutability guarantees (i.e. security against an adversary that might want to tamper with the history of your ledger).
  - throwaway613834 9y ago
    Those are in line with my understanding too, but I'm asking what is there to learn about blockchain technology, not what the use cases are. (That's actually also a question I have, but a separate question to me.) To me a blockchain is just a tree, where the "parent pointers" are just hashes of the parent nodes rather than their addresses. And I guess to pick one as the "correct" one, you just choose the one with (say) the longest chain. End of story? What else _is_ there to learn about this that people are looking for? (Btw, isn't this just a Merkle tree, which has been around since at least 1979? What's so revolutionary or even different in a blockchain?)
acoravos 9y ago
If blockchain concepts are new for you, here are my favorite starting places to learn: Why Bitcoin Matters (2011, NYT) - https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/?_r=0 https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/... What is blockchain, really? An intro for regular people. (2017, Medium) - https://medium.com/@wen_xs/what-is-blockchain-really-an-intro-for-regular-people-e51578d98a96 https://medium.com/@wen_xs/what-is-blockchain-really-an-intr... Re: “Smart contracts” - here’s a few 101 pieces on ethereum: A Beginner’s Guide to Ethereum (2017, Coinbase blog) - https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd486ceecf https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd... Ethereum is the Forefront of Digital Currency (2017, Coinbase blog) - https://blog.coinbase.com/ethereum-is-the-forefront-of-digital-currency-5300298f6c75 https://blog.coinbase.com/ethereum-is-the-forefront-of-digit... Dan Romero has compiled an excellent "reading list" for digital currencies: https://medium.com/@dwr/digital-currency-reading-list-6219f1623bfd https://medium.com/@dwr/digital-currency-reading-list-6219f1... And here's a 101 for developing a decentralized app (dApp): https://medium.com/@AndreaCoravos/dapps-101-how-do-i-start-developing-on-ethereum-da0d38ed973f https://medium.com/@AndreaCoravos/dapps-101-how-do-i-start-d...
andrewfromx 9y ago
shameless plug, but walk thru this example: https://simplecoin.life/ico https://simplecoin.life/ico
- MoBattah 9y ago
  Does this end after /ico12?
  - andrewfromx 9y ago
    yeah, it's not finished. Working on https://github.com/andrewarrow/simplecoin.life https://github.com/andrewarrow/simplecoin.life code and then I'll fix the rest of the site
    - MoBattah 9y ago
      Thank you for the response.
gtrubetskoy 9y ago
Start out with Bitcoin, and make sure you understand it well. For example it has its own stack-based language (mini smart contracts of sorts), you need to understand how that works, the different types of payments such as P2SH, etc. The O'Reilly book is good, you should also look at code in your preferred language, ideally the C++ in which Bitcoin core is written. Last but absolutely not least - you should buy some Bitcoin and send it to someone, or buy something with it. I'd also recommend going through the trouble of running Bitcoin-Qt and downloading the whole blockchain (which takes several days and requires lots of disk space). Once you understand all this, the smart contracts thing will be a lot clearer, and you might even have a different opinion on it.
- MoBattah 9y ago
  ....advising learning bitcoin....smart contracts...don't think these two belong in the same sentence.
  - Cakez0r 9y ago
    > For example it has its own stack-based language You can create "smart contracts" with bitcoin.
aaron_h 9y ago
I've posted all my research on the subject here: https://www.insp3ct.re/blog/blockchain-security-reference-guide/ https://www.insp3ct.re/blog/blockchain-security-reference-gu.... It's focused on the security side of blockchain & cryptocurrencies, but it starts out with a solid primer on how the technology works. I also did a conference talk at DerbyCon on the subject, which is included in the blog post. Should be really good to get you started.
gkrypt 9y ago
I have listed various different products, tools, and resources. If anyone is interested do checkout https://cryptostack.xyz https://cryptostack.xyz
earlybike 9y ago
Similar question: Which tutorial enables me to write and deploy my first smart contract in Solidity within 120 minutes?
- tommynicholas 9y ago
  http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ Not sure the Ethereum network can even deploy in 120 minutes these days, but you'll certainly have it built in that time :)
tommynicholas 9y ago
Compiled these resources while building my first smart contract. I can't promise they're the best, but I can promise I built something that works following these resources + learned a ton: https://blankslate.io/?note=48627 https://blankslate.io/?note=48627 (if you want just tutorials: http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/)
jashmenn 9y ago
I just started a new site for teaching this! I've found that smart contracts have a lot of jargon that can be opaque, but the concepts are familiar to web developers (and not that hard to learn). For example, in traditional webdev we use our browser to connect to an app server, which is connected to a centralized database. In Ethereum dev, every node has a copy of the entire database. To write distributed apps, you read from your local copy. That is, for a JavaScript DApp, you use the web3 JavaScript library to connect to a local node you have running on your own machine. Writes are little more involved, because you need the network to agree that your writes are valid. So to perform writes, you submit a transaction to the network. The result is reads are free and writes cost money. Solidity is tricky, but not that bad if you're careful. If you know JavaScript already, you can totally learn to program smart contracts. In any case, my site is here. I'll be making the first course free shortly: https://www.newline.co/ https://www.newline.co/
harrisreynolds 9y ago
We recently launched a site to help people go from zero to hero with Blockchain technology. Feel free to sign up for the weekly newsletter here: http://www.theblockchainhq.com/newsletter/ http://www.theblockchainhq.com/newsletter/ We plan on covering "Getting started with Blockchain development" very soon as there it still an opportunity here to make this much easier.
hdhzy 9y ago
Contracts page on Bitcoin Wiki [0] is classic, unfortunately to understand most of it one has to know how script and various extensions (lock time etc.) work. Generally I'd advise reverse engineering how Bitcoin works, something like this [1] in JavaScript. There is also high level description of some contract types [2] but it's basically the same content as on Bitcoin Wiki. [0]: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contract https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contract [1]: https://curiosity-driven.org/low-level-bitcoin https://curiosity-driven.org/low-level-bitcoin [2]: https://curiosity-driven.org/bitcoin-contracts https://curiosity-driven.org/bitcoin-contracts
agreen 9y ago
Intro: 1. https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five-73b4257ac833 https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five... 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxwTx7o_B4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxwTx7o_B4 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_160oMzblY8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_160oMzblY8 5. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/244-the-quiet-master-of-cryptocurrency-nick-szabo/id863897795?i=1000386194955&mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/244-the-quiet-master-of-... 6. http://investorfieldguide.com/hashpower/ http://investorfieldguide.com/hashpower/ Build Your Own Blockchain: 1. https://dev.to/aunyks/lets-build-the-tiniest-blockchain https://dev.to/aunyks/lets-build-the-tiniest-blockchain 2. https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117428612f46 https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117... 3. https://github.com/jamesob/tinychain https://github.com/jamesob/tinychain Resource List for an Advanced Understanding (Multidisciplinary Approach): 1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UiMS4Br7LkTIRdEOPjCukOxG6gIdCJTOgXbeOPBHrcE/edit# https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UiMS4Br7LkTIRdEOPjCukOxG... --- Additionally, here is some advice from Balaji Srinivasan (source: https://www.producthunt.com/live/balaji-s-srinivasan https://www.producthunt.com/live/balaji-s-srinivasan): 1. First, I'd master database and cryptography fundamentals, with something like Dan Boneh's course for the latter 2. Then, I'd read the Bitcoin.org and Ethereum documentation 3. Then, you should write short Python or Go scripts to do things like printing out the blockchain, formatting and signing a transaction by hand, managing private keys, that type of thing. This will give you a feel for the raw data structures. 4. After doing all this, I'd take a look at application libraries like Ryan Shea and Muneeb Ali's new blockstack.org The reason I'd do it in this order is that you would learn fundamentals first before proceeding to the cutting edge.
pors 9y ago
I agree with the recommendation of "Mastering Bitcoin". I recently also started diving into blockchain related tech, and I blog about it here: http://decentralized.blog/ http://decentralized.blog/ So far mostly about IPFS, but soon more on the working of the different blockchains out there.
- coolandsmartrr 9y ago
  Thanks for your dissection of IPFS, really useful to understand! Looking forward to more
musgrove 9y ago
I manage a website and Facebook page dedicated to resources: http://blockchainsaw.com http://blockchainsaw.com and http://facebook.com/bitcoinresources http://facebook.com/bitcoinresources. The FB page is updated a lot throughout the day and contains more than Bitcoin stuff.
mmurthy 9y ago
I started this a few months ago where you can learn smart contract development by doing projects: https://www.zastrin.com https://www.zastrin.com
apo 9y ago
I recently published an intermediate-level e-book on Bitcoin: http://bitzuma.com/owning-bitcoin/ http://bitzuma.com/owning-bitcoin/ This is the book I wish had existed when I started learning about Bitcoin in 2011. It's a technical deep-dive for a non-expert audience. Only knowledge of high school algebra and a willingness to learn are assumed. Every technical term comes with a definition. Over 300 figures help visual learners understand complex technical topics. Hundreds of footnotes provide jumping-off points and links to online demos. Cross-links allow you to quickly review prior material in later chapters. There are eight chapters: 1. Bitcoin from Scratch (the view from 20,000 feet of Bitcoin and its subsystems) 2. Authentication (elliptic curve cryptography) 3. Authorization (Script, transactions, and contracts) 4. Network (block chain, consensus, hard/soft forks, governance, segwit, Lightning Network) 5. Privacy (what can and can't be discovered about users of a public block chain) 6. Security (what to protect and why) 7. Wallets (software for using Bitcoin) 8. Bitcoin in Practice (a complete system for using Bitcoin based on the content in the first seven chapters)
- MattSayar 9y ago
  Would you consider putting this on Google Play as well? I have a lot of Play credit I'd like to use on your book
  - apo 9y ago
    I wanted to, but Google Play Books has been closed to new publishers for some time.
Shrugs 9y ago
I second the references to "Mastering Bitcoin", and also add my blog post "Getting up to Speed on Ethereum" [1] that takes you from "I kinda understand bitcoin" to "I understand ethereum at a deep level and know about the big projects being built on top of it" over a few days. [1] https://medium.com/@mattcondon/getting-up-to-speed-on-ethereum-63ed28821bbe https://medium.com/@mattcondon/getting-up-to-speed-on-ethere...
swe445 9y ago
Check out the blockstack stuff. They have a to-do list tutorial available. Decentralized app development is kinda an etherem vs blockstack situation right now.
tonymarks 9y ago
Preethi Kasireddy has done a pretty good job with her blog: https://www.hashhack.it https://www.hashhack.it
mohapsat 9y ago
I recommend: - [Mastering Bitcoin] http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.html http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.ht... - [A complete guide to Bitcoin and Blockchains] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763LKCWK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763LKCWK - [[A complete guide to Ethereum] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763K72MG https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763K72MG
dabockster 9y ago
Related, how does the blockchain structure look on paper? As in a data structure? What fields does it have? I have a project idea, but I want to build the data structure from scratch as opposed to cargo culting something on top of Ethereum.
- mbrock 9y ago
  It looks basically just like a Git repository. Mining is like competing for a chance to merge a bunch of other people's commits (because you get a "commit fee" for each of them). And you always want to merge into the longest repository, because otherwise you're receiving those commit fees in a fork that's unlikely to be cared about.
josheth 9y ago
W3kit let’s you interact with smart contracts and deploy your own Ethereum node with ease. This way you can focus on writing and testing smart contracts and not the underlying infrastructure. The blog also has tutorials to get you started and teach Ethereum concepts. https://blog.w3k.it https://blog.w3k.it
arcaster 9y ago
Most of the grit of blockchain work is in the flows and practices used to build apps / dapps around existing blockchains. There aren't any books that you can read or comprehensive Medium blogs that cover this content. Core blockchain dev, i.e. at a protocol level requires serious chops, not the kind of thing you can just pick up in a few months. I'd recommend brushing up on broad blockchain concepts and not just intensely studying a single chain / platform. If you want to get into the industry your best bet is to find a company willing to hire you and let you learn hands on.
AdrienChey 9y ago
As a quick and visual introduction, I would recommend the great "Ever wonder how Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually work?" youtube video from 3Blue1Brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4&t=3s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4&t=3s
thebestia29 9y ago
It will be excellent to learn of that subject would be fabulous, if they had tutorials or videos pass lin link would be a good contribution
arkj 9y ago
Check out hyperledger and solidity. https://github.com/hyperledger/hyperledger/blob/master/hyperledger_Overview_Comparison_Guide.md https://github.com/hyperledger/hyperledger/blob/master/hyper... https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/solidity/ https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/solidity/ I found this visual tutorial on blockchain helpful. https://youtu.be/_160oMzblY8 https://youtu.be/_160oMzblY8
samlewis 9y ago
If you're interested in the nitty gritty of the mechanics of Bitcoin, check out my blog post: http://www.samlewis.me/2017/06/a-peek-under-bitcoins-hood/ http://www.samlewis.me/2017/06/a-peek-under-bitcoins-hood/
narulakeshav 9y ago
I recently created a platform that has my hand-picked resources for bitcoin, cryptocurrency, blockchain: https://symphosis.com https://symphosis.com It has resources for other concepts like Design, UX, JavaScript, Startups, etc.
ablaba 9y ago
“Tutorial: Blockchains and Databases” at the 43rd International Conference on Very Large Data Bases (VLDB) in Munich on 29 August 2017: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7lNUaak0bK1ZDhkak05VHA0d00/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7lNUaak0bK1ZDhkak05VHA0d00...

526 points by dnt404-1 9y ago

What resources are available to get into these two and related topics? Would be also better if there are papers/books that introduces to these concepts (and toy implementation)?

corbinpage 9y ago

These videos by Jordan Leigh are really great for Ethereum concepts and development. http://decypher.tv/series/ethereum-development http://decypher.tv/series/ethereum-development

mvleming 9y ago
I second this. Really great videos that balance breath vs depth well and that are easily digestible. The guy is also enjoyable to listen to. I am not associated with Jordan Leigh nor Decyper.TV in any way except as a customer.

grk 9y ago

If you want to stay updated on current news, I can recommend the http://blockchainweekly.net/ http://blockchainweekly.net/ newsletter.

ttyprintk 9y ago

Mastering Bitcoin, Second Edition https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook

hcaw 9y ago
I second this, it's a very good resource. Mastering Ethereum should be out early next year too.

animesh 9y ago

This article was on HN a few days ago. “Learn Blockchains by Building One” @van_flymen https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117428612f46 https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117...

submeta 9y ago
That's an excellent article. And a very hands-down approach using code examples in Python.

rainloft 9y ago

CS 251: Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies at Stanford https://crypto.stanford.edu/cs251/ https://crypto.stanford.edu/cs251/

dnt404-1 9y ago
Did you do it via self-study? How was the experience?
panzerboy 9y ago
Can this course be also followed online? If yes, how? I can see the list of lectures, but not the actual contents.

elorm 9y ago

Here you go https://github.com/xel/blockchain-stuff https://github.com/xel/blockchain-stuff

dnt404-1 9y ago
that's quite a good resource :)

markatkinson 9y ago

Might be worth learning about DAG, Tangle and IOTA too, here is their latest whitepaper: https://iota.org/IOTA_Whitepaper.pdf https://iota.org/IOTA_Whitepaper.pdf

thisisit 9y ago

https://blockchaintechblog.com/ https://blockchaintechblog.com/

roro5678 9y ago

What I am currently attending : https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency/home/welcome https://www.coursera.org/learn/cryptocurrency/home/welcome

dnt404-1 9y ago
I quickly checked the syllabus, however didn't find smart contracts? Do they go into that in some of the videos? How much time do you think this course takes?
- david_vc 9y ago
  No smart contracts - it's a Bitcoin course. Some of the authors also released a tutorial on Solidity and smart contracts, which you can find on Andrew Miller's webpage. The Coursera class took around 20 hours end to end.
kochthesecond 9y ago
Would also like to recommend this course. The lectures are good, the tasks are ok. It assumes familiarity with cryptographic hash functions and signatures, allowing to keep the focus on bitcoin. In some places it delves into some interesting variations of implementations, like Zcash.

nikivi 9y ago

For blockchains : https://learn-anything.xyz/databases/distributed-databases/blockchain https://learn-anything.xyz/databases/distributed-databases/b... For smart contracts : https://learn-anything.xyz/distributed-computing/ethereum/smart-contracts https://learn-anything.xyz/distributed-computing/ethereum/sm...

jc123 9y ago

Solid material at "stackoverflow": https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com https://ethereum.stackexchange.com https://ethereum.stackexchange.com

ym705 9y ago

If you're interested in Ethereum Smart Contracts I wrote: http://ethereumdev.io/ http://ethereumdev.io/

sghiassy 9y ago
Clearly written articles, thx! I’m n00b in Smart Contracts but they seem like interfaces to reading/writing to a data store. If I didn’t totally botch what they are. Then I don’t really get why they’re “smart”. The pitfalls of regular programming, seem to apply to contracts. Seems like I could easily code a bug in a smart contract and have it t deployed to the network?? Or did I miss something?
- taternuts 9y ago
  You didn't miss anything, it's very easy to deploy a bug in a smart contract and why anyone using it for anything important should have their contracts be audited by a third party professional(s).
- elsurudo 9y ago
  It's really just a marketing name.

earlybike 9y ago

Also an important question: How to get quickly tokens for a ETH test network to be able to do anything. Last time I tried I wasn't successful because all these places where you could get some free tokens didn't work and the only thing possible was to mine them yourself which still took a day or two.

tree_of_item 9y ago
For a test network, can't you just modify the code to give yourself however many coins you want? Why would you need to mine?
- crypt1d 9y ago
  I assume OP is referring to the test nets which are already running publicly, not one u would run locally: https://testnet.etherscan.io/ https://testnet.etherscan.io/
Cakez0r 9y ago
The metamask testnet faucet worked for me - https://faucet.metamask.io/ https://faucet.metamask.io/
- earlybike 9y ago
  Thanks, this worked.

wayoflife 9y ago

For explanation of both, watch this Video: https://anders.com/blockchain/ https://anders.com/blockchain/ and then click on the "fork on github" link ;)

dvcoolster 9y ago

I loved Decypher.tv for getting going with Ethereum Smart Contracts as well as other requirements for a complete DApp

coralreef 9y ago
Seems expensive, currently $60 USD. Worth it?
- gnazarkin 9y ago
  Yep. I went through all of them and they are great

aerovistae 9y ago

The book "Mastering Bitcoin" really helped me to understand the blockchain and bitcoin properly. It's available free online here~ http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.html http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.ht... The author is putting out a similar book called "Mastering Ethereum" in February, also through O'Reilly.

mtrn 9y ago
This book helped me understand the basics of bitcoin as well. Great read.
- alfiedotwtf 9y ago
  Ditto. This book is excellent, and is in it's second print
djb_hackernews 9y ago
I just read the preface and have to ask... is this heavy on marketing, cheerleading and kool-aid? First the author makes it sound like the Nakamoto paper was sent from the heavens and then this: > I became obsessed and enthralled, spending 12 or more hours each day glued to a screen, reading, writing, coding, and learning as much as I could. I emerged from this state of fugue, more than 20 pounds lighter from lack of consistent meals, determined to dedicate myself to working on bitcoin. To me, this seems a little dramatic for what should be a technical topic.
- mariusmg 9y ago
  It's the Hollywood version of the events.
- cooervo 9y ago
  Once again the autistic, asocial programmer clise gets autoconfirmed.
  - cdelsolar 9y ago

rwieruch 9y ago

Checkout what https://twitter.com/iam_preethi https://twitter.com/iam_preethi is tweeting about these topics. Really liked her last article about Etherum: https://medium.com/@preethikasireddy/how-does-ethereum-work-anyway-22d1df506369 https://medium.com/@preethikasireddy/how-does-ethereum-work-...

renas 9y ago

Ethereum smart contracts in a nutshell for hackers http://linuxforme.com/ethereum-smart-contracts-in-a-nutshell-for-hackers.html http://linuxforme.com/ethereum-smart-contracts-in-a-nutshell...

vjdhama 9y ago

There's this course by the people who wrote `Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies` It covers the basics pretty well. http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/ http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/

Asdfbla 9y ago
I can second this. It's a book written by capable people who do some research in the area too and they don't unecessarily hype the technology like so many resources you find about cryptocurrencies.
socrates1024 9y ago
I'd definitely recommend this book, it's great! Comes with decent video lectures and such too. (disclosure: am a coauthor) Also, this course page has some useful links and lecture notes/slides (mostly geared towards graduate students and research) http://soc1024.ece.illinois.edu/teaching/ece598am/fall2016/ http://soc1024.ece.illinois.edu/teaching/ece598am/fall2016/
supermdguy 9y ago
I read the book, and it was incredible. It went in depth into the data structures of bitcoin, while also providing high level overviews of various cryptocurrency ideas. It really helped me to understand exactly what cryptocurrency is and how it works.

felipesabino 9y ago

I compiled some of the resources I used to start understanding it. It it a bit focused on ethereum, but I guess it is useful for starting to understand blockchain and smart contracts in general regardless --- Watching - "GOTO 2017 • Blockchain: The Slowest (and most Fascinating) Database in the World • Stefan Tilkov” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3rfBAP_fE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li3rfBAP_fE Explains how the blockchain works and walks through most of the technical terms you will need to know - "Ethereum Vs. Bitcoin: What Sets Them Apart? | CNBC” https://youtu.be/0UBk1e5qnr4 https://youtu.be/0UBk1e5qnr4 Uses the blockchain explanation to give you an idea of how the smart contract idea differs Ethereum from Bitcoin - "Vitalik Buterin explains Ethereum" https://youtu.be/TDGq4aeevgY https://youtu.be/TDGq4aeevgY 3 minute macro explanation of what is Ethereum from its inventor Vitalik Buterin - "DEVCON1: Ethereum for Dummies - Dr. Gavin Wood” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LK0t_qaPo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_LK0t_qaPo Ethereum's CTO Dr. Gavin Wood explains in a very macro way the Ethereum concept with an idea of how the “Global Computer” works and what is the “Ethereum Virtual Machine” - Devcon2: Ethereum in 25 Minutes https://youtu.be/66SaEDzlmP4 https://youtu.be/66SaEDzlmP4 Vitalik Buterin give and overview of the Ethereum protocol and shows what is an Ethereum transaction, what is Gas (and how computation time is actually paid for miners), how the state machine works and what you can do with it - DEVCON1: Ethereum in the Enterprise Environment - Taylor Gerring https://youtu.be/HXNWhXuMNpw https://youtu.be/HXNWhXuMNpw Expose core concepts about the blockchain and the Ethereum platform that are valuable to enterprise and how companies can leverage that using web technologies --- Reading - Coinbase - A beginner’s guide to Ethereum https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd486ceecf https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd... - Fat Protocols http://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols http://www.usv.com/blog/fat-protocols - The difference between App Coins and Protocol Tokens https://blog.0xproject.com/the-difference-between-app-coins-and-protocol-tokens-7281a428348c https://blog.0xproject.com/the-difference-between-app-coins-... - What’s the Difference Between an ‘ICO’ and a ‘Token Launch’? Coins vs. Tokens (What is a SNGLS token?) https://medium.com/@SingularDTV/whats-the-difference-between-an-ico-and-a-token-launch-7105edbb2112 https://medium.com/@SingularDTV/whats-the-difference-between... --- Source of links, links and more links - /r/ethereum - getting started https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/61y5ix/welcome_to_rethereum_the_reddit_front_page_of_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ethereum/comments/61y5ix/welcome_to... - The Quiet Master of Cryptocurrency — Nick Szabo (Scroll to "Selected Links from the Episode”) https://tim.blog/2017/06/04/nick-szabo/ https://tim.blog/2017/06/04/nick-szabo/ - What The Fuck Is Ethereum? ("I am a total nerd" option) http://whatthefuckisethereum.com/#nerd http://whatthefuckisethereum.com/#nerd --- Extra reading - Money, blockchains, and social scalability http://unenumerated.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/money-blockchains-and-social-scalability.html http://unenumerated.blogspot.com.br/2017/02/money-blockchain... - Does your dapp need a token? https://medium.com/@simondlr/does-your-dapp-need-a-token-39412fd3c62c https://medium.com/@simondlr/does-your-dapp-need-a-token-394... - Ethereum documentation http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/index.html http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/index.html - Ethereum Wiki - FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/FAQ https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/FAQ

b0ba1lle 9y ago

If you're looking for a toy implementation, I just released https://github.com/robinmonjo/coincoin https://github.com/robinmonjo/coincoin It focuses on Blockchain and Digital Transactions

notindexed 9y ago

http://lopp.net/bitcoin.html http://lopp.net/bitcoin.html

statoshi 9y ago
This is my site; I've probably spent at least 100 hours curating this list over the years :-)

theylon 9y ago

Blockgeeks is great for beginner material and to understand the basics. https://blockgeeks.com/ https://blockgeeks.com/

throwaway613834 9y ago

Could someone offer a quick explanation as to what kinds of things there even _are_ to learn about blockchains? I mean from a conceptual user perspective of "let's use blockchain for my next product", not from a Bitcoin-dev perspective of "how do we fix this thing in our blockchain implementation".

indigochill 9y ago
Disclaimer: I've mostly absorbed this stuff through osmosis and lazy web searching, but I thought I'd take a shot with my understanding and someone can correct me if I'm mistaken. Blockchains are designed to solve a certain set of problems. Understanding those problems and their relation to your product will help you determine whether a blockchain is a reasonable solution. 1. Do you need a distributed ledger? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_ledger https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_ledger) 2. Do you need proof of work? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof-of-work_system) 3. Does your distributed ledger need to record things such that one block follows the next, as opposed to blocks of data being saved independently of each other? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain) If the answer to all of the above is yes, using a blockchain probably makes sense. Otherwise, you probably want to use something other than a blockchain (for instance, if you just need a distributed ledger, just use a distributed ledger. No need to chain each block together unless that's actually useful for your product).
- y7 9y ago
  Not all blockchains use proof of work. A better single question would be: do you need a distributed ledger with immutability guarantees (i.e. security against an adversary that might want to tamper with the history of your ledger).
- throwaway613834 9y ago
  Those are in line with my understanding too, but I'm asking what is there to learn about blockchain technology, not what the use cases are. (That's actually also a question I have, but a separate question to me.) To me a blockchain is just a tree, where the "parent pointers" are just hashes of the parent nodes rather than their addresses. And I guess to pick one as the "correct" one, you just choose the one with (say) the longest chain. End of story? What else _is_ there to learn about this that people are looking for? (Btw, isn't this just a Merkle tree, which has been around since at least 1979? What's so revolutionary or even different in a blockchain?)

acoravos 9y ago

If blockchain concepts are new for you, here are my favorite starting places to learn: Why Bitcoin Matters (2011, NYT) - https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/?_r=0 https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/why-bitcoin-matters/... What is blockchain, really? An intro for regular people. (2017, Medium) - https://medium.com/@wen_xs/what-is-blockchain-really-an-intro-for-regular-people-e51578d98a96 https://medium.com/@wen_xs/what-is-blockchain-really-an-intr... Re: “Smart contracts” - here’s a few 101 pieces on ethereum: A Beginner’s Guide to Ethereum (2017, Coinbase blog) - https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd486ceecf https://blog.coinbase.com/a-beginners-guide-to-ethereum-46dd... Ethereum is the Forefront of Digital Currency (2017, Coinbase blog) - https://blog.coinbase.com/ethereum-is-the-forefront-of-digital-currency-5300298f6c75 https://blog.coinbase.com/ethereum-is-the-forefront-of-digit... Dan Romero has compiled an excellent "reading list" for digital currencies: https://medium.com/@dwr/digital-currency-reading-list-6219f1623bfd https://medium.com/@dwr/digital-currency-reading-list-6219f1... And here's a 101 for developing a decentralized app (dApp): https://medium.com/@AndreaCoravos/dapps-101-how-do-i-start-developing-on-ethereum-da0d38ed973f https://medium.com/@AndreaCoravos/dapps-101-how-do-i-start-d...

andrewfromx 9y ago

shameless plug, but walk thru this example: https://simplecoin.life/ico https://simplecoin.life/ico

MoBattah 9y ago
Does this end after /ico12?
- andrewfromx 9y ago
  yeah, it's not finished. Working on https://github.com/andrewarrow/simplecoin.life https://github.com/andrewarrow/simplecoin.life code and then I'll fix the rest of the site
  - MoBattah 9y ago
    Thank you for the response.

gtrubetskoy 9y ago

Start out with Bitcoin, and make sure you understand it well. For example it has its own stack-based language (mini smart contracts of sorts), you need to understand how that works, the different types of payments such as P2SH, etc. The O'Reilly book is good, you should also look at code in your preferred language, ideally the C++ in which Bitcoin core is written. Last but absolutely not least - you should buy some Bitcoin and send it to someone, or buy something with it. I'd also recommend going through the trouble of running Bitcoin-Qt and downloading the whole blockchain (which takes several days and requires lots of disk space). Once you understand all this, the smart contracts thing will be a lot clearer, and you might even have a different opinion on it.

MoBattah 9y ago
....advising learning bitcoin....smart contracts...don't think these two belong in the same sentence.
- Cakez0r 9y ago
  > For example it has its own stack-based language You can create "smart contracts" with bitcoin.

aaron_h 9y ago

I've posted all my research on the subject here: https://www.insp3ct.re/blog/blockchain-security-reference-guide/ https://www.insp3ct.re/blog/blockchain-security-reference-gu.... It's focused on the security side of blockchain & cryptocurrencies, but it starts out with a solid primer on how the technology works. I also did a conference talk at DerbyCon on the subject, which is included in the blog post. Should be really good to get you started.

gkrypt 9y ago

I have listed various different products, tools, and resources. If anyone is interested do checkout https://cryptostack.xyz https://cryptostack.xyz

earlybike 9y ago

Similar question: Which tutorial enables me to write and deploy my first smart contract in Solidity within 120 minutes?

tommynicholas 9y ago
http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ Not sure the Ethereum network can even deploy in 120 minutes these days, but you'll certainly have it built in that time :)

tommynicholas 9y ago

Compiled these resources while building my first smart contract. I can't promise they're the best, but I can promise I built something that works following these resources + learned a ton: https://blankslate.io/?note=48627 https://blankslate.io/?note=48627 (if you want just tutorials: http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/ http://truffleframework.com/tutorials/)

jashmenn 9y ago

I just started a new site for teaching this! I've found that smart contracts have a lot of jargon that can be opaque, but the concepts are familiar to web developers (and not that hard to learn). For example, in traditional webdev we use our browser to connect to an app server, which is connected to a centralized database. In Ethereum dev, every node has a copy of the entire database. To write distributed apps, you read from your local copy. That is, for a JavaScript DApp, you use the web3 JavaScript library to connect to a local node you have running on your own machine. Writes are little more involved, because you need the network to agree that your writes are valid. So to perform writes, you submit a transaction to the network. The result is reads are free and writes cost money. Solidity is tricky, but not that bad if you're careful. If you know JavaScript already, you can totally learn to program smart contracts. In any case, my site is here. I'll be making the first course free shortly: https://www.newline.co/ https://www.newline.co/

harrisreynolds 9y ago

We recently launched a site to help people go from zero to hero with Blockchain technology. Feel free to sign up for the weekly newsletter here: http://www.theblockchainhq.com/newsletter/ http://www.theblockchainhq.com/newsletter/ We plan on covering "Getting started with Blockchain development" very soon as there it still an opportunity here to make this much easier.

hdhzy 9y ago

Contracts page on Bitcoin Wiki [0] is classic, unfortunately to understand most of it one has to know how script and various extensions (lock time etc.) work. Generally I'd advise reverse engineering how Bitcoin works, something like this [1] in JavaScript. There is also high level description of some contract types [2] but it's basically the same content as on Bitcoin Wiki. [0]: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contract https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Contract [1]: https://curiosity-driven.org/low-level-bitcoin https://curiosity-driven.org/low-level-bitcoin [2]: https://curiosity-driven.org/bitcoin-contracts https://curiosity-driven.org/bitcoin-contracts

agreen 9y ago

Intro: 1. https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five-73b4257ac833 https://medium.freecodecamp.org/explain-bitcoin-like-im-five... 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxwTx7o_B4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxwTx7o_B4 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_160oMzblY8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_160oMzblY8 5. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/244-the-quiet-master-of-cryptocurrency-nick-szabo/id863897795?i=1000386194955&mt=2 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/244-the-quiet-master-of-... 6. http://investorfieldguide.com/hashpower/ http://investorfieldguide.com/hashpower/ Build Your Own Blockchain: 1. https://dev.to/aunyks/lets-build-the-tiniest-blockchain https://dev.to/aunyks/lets-build-the-tiniest-blockchain 2. https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117428612f46 https://hackernoon.com/learn-blockchains-by-building-one-117... 3. https://github.com/jamesob/tinychain https://github.com/jamesob/tinychain Resource List for an Advanced Understanding (Multidisciplinary Approach): 1. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UiMS4Br7LkTIRdEOPjCukOxG6gIdCJTOgXbeOPBHrcE/edit# https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UiMS4Br7LkTIRdEOPjCukOxG... --- Additionally, here is some advice from Balaji Srinivasan (source: https://www.producthunt.com/live/balaji-s-srinivasan https://www.producthunt.com/live/balaji-s-srinivasan): 1. First, I'd master database and cryptography fundamentals, with something like Dan Boneh's course for the latter 2. Then, I'd read the Bitcoin.org and Ethereum documentation 3. Then, you should write short Python or Go scripts to do things like printing out the blockchain, formatting and signing a transaction by hand, managing private keys, that type of thing. This will give you a feel for the raw data structures. 4. After doing all this, I'd take a look at application libraries like Ryan Shea and Muneeb Ali's new blockstack.org The reason I'd do it in this order is that you would learn fundamentals first before proceeding to the cutting edge.

pors 9y ago

I agree with the recommendation of "Mastering Bitcoin". I recently also started diving into blockchain related tech, and I blog about it here: http://decentralized.blog/ http://decentralized.blog/ So far mostly about IPFS, but soon more on the working of the different blockchains out there.

coolandsmartrr 9y ago
Thanks for your dissection of IPFS, really useful to understand! Looking forward to more

musgrove 9y ago

I manage a website and Facebook page dedicated to resources: http://blockchainsaw.com http://blockchainsaw.com and http://facebook.com/bitcoinresources http://facebook.com/bitcoinresources. The FB page is updated a lot throughout the day and contains more than Bitcoin stuff.

mmurthy 9y ago

I started this a few months ago where you can learn smart contract development by doing projects: https://www.zastrin.com https://www.zastrin.com

apo 9y ago

I recently published an intermediate-level e-book on Bitcoin: http://bitzuma.com/owning-bitcoin/ http://bitzuma.com/owning-bitcoin/ This is the book I wish had existed when I started learning about Bitcoin in 2011. It's a technical deep-dive for a non-expert audience. Only knowledge of high school algebra and a willingness to learn are assumed. Every technical term comes with a definition. Over 300 figures help visual learners understand complex technical topics. Hundreds of footnotes provide jumping-off points and links to online demos. Cross-links allow you to quickly review prior material in later chapters. There are eight chapters: 1. Bitcoin from Scratch (the view from 20,000 feet of Bitcoin and its subsystems) 2. Authentication (elliptic curve cryptography) 3. Authorization (Script, transactions, and contracts) 4. Network (block chain, consensus, hard/soft forks, governance, segwit, Lightning Network) 5. Privacy (what can and can't be discovered about users of a public block chain) 6. Security (what to protect and why) 7. Wallets (software for using Bitcoin) 8. Bitcoin in Practice (a complete system for using Bitcoin based on the content in the first seven chapters)

MattSayar 9y ago
Would you consider putting this on Google Play as well? I have a lot of Play credit I'd like to use on your book
- apo 9y ago
  I wanted to, but Google Play Books has been closed to new publishers for some time.

Shrugs 9y ago

I second the references to "Mastering Bitcoin", and also add my blog post "Getting up to Speed on Ethereum" [1] that takes you from "I kinda understand bitcoin" to "I understand ethereum at a deep level and know about the big projects being built on top of it" over a few days. [1] https://medium.com/@mattcondon/getting-up-to-speed-on-ethereum-63ed28821bbe https://medium.com/@mattcondon/getting-up-to-speed-on-ethere...

swe445 9y ago

Check out the blockstack stuff. They have a to-do list tutorial available. Decentralized app development is kinda an etherem vs blockstack situation right now.

tonymarks 9y ago

Preethi Kasireddy has done a pretty good job with her blog: https://www.hashhack.it https://www.hashhack.it

mohapsat 9y ago

I recommend: - [Mastering Bitcoin] http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.html http://chimera.labs.oreilly.com/books/1234000001802/index.ht... - [A complete guide to Bitcoin and Blockchains] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763LKCWK https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763LKCWK - [[A complete guide to Ethereum] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763K72MG https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0763K72MG

dabockster 9y ago

Related, how does the blockchain structure look on paper? As in a data structure? What fields does it have? I have a project idea, but I want to build the data structure from scratch as opposed to cargo culting something on top of Ethereum.

mbrock 9y ago
It looks basically just like a Git repository. Mining is like competing for a chance to merge a bunch of other people's commits (because you get a "commit fee" for each of them). And you always want to merge into the longest repository, because otherwise you're receiving those commit fees in a fork that's unlikely to be cared about.

josheth 9y ago

W3kit let’s you interact with smart contracts and deploy your own Ethereum node with ease. This way you can focus on writing and testing smart contracts and not the underlying infrastructure. The blog also has tutorials to get you started and teach Ethereum concepts. https://blog.w3k.it https://blog.w3k.it

arcaster 9y ago

Most of the grit of blockchain work is in the flows and practices used to build apps / dapps around existing blockchains. There aren't any books that you can read or comprehensive Medium blogs that cover this content. Core blockchain dev, i.e. at a protocol level requires serious chops, not the kind of thing you can just pick up in a few months. I'd recommend brushing up on broad blockchain concepts and not just intensely studying a single chain / platform. If you want to get into the industry your best bet is to find a company willing to hire you and let you learn hands on.

AdrienChey 9y ago

As a quick and visual introduction, I would recommend the great "Ever wonder how Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) actually work?" youtube video from 3Blue1Brown https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4&t=3s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4&t=3s

thebestia29 9y ago

It will be excellent to learn of that subject would be fabulous, if they had tutorials or videos pass lin link would be a good contribution

arkj 9y ago

Check out hyperledger and solidity. https://github.com/hyperledger/hyperledger/blob/master/hyperledger_Overview_Comparison_Guide.md https://github.com/hyperledger/hyperledger/blob/master/hyper... https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/solidity/ https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/solidity/ I found this visual tutorial on blockchain helpful. https://youtu.be/_160oMzblY8 https://youtu.be/_160oMzblY8

samlewis 9y ago

If you're interested in the nitty gritty of the mechanics of Bitcoin, check out my blog post: http://www.samlewis.me/2017/06/a-peek-under-bitcoins-hood/ http://www.samlewis.me/2017/06/a-peek-under-bitcoins-hood/

narulakeshav 9y ago

I recently created a platform that has my hand-picked resources for bitcoin, cryptocurrency, blockchain: https://symphosis.com https://symphosis.com It has resources for other concepts like Design, UX, JavaScript, Startups, etc.

ablaba 9y ago

“Tutorial: Blockchains and Databases” at the 43rd International Conference on Very Large Data Bases (VLDB) in Munich on 29 August 2017: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7lNUaak0bK1ZDhkak05VHA0d00/view https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7lNUaak0bK1ZDhkak05VHA0d00...