4 ms·

The use of the term "contract" in computational blockchains like ethereum and binance smart chain is a bit of a misnomer. They aren't actual contracts in the s

by rmah 6y ago

The use of the term "contract" in computational blockchains like ethereum and binance smart chain is a bit of a misnomer. They aren't actual contracts in the sense that they are agreements between 2 or more parties. They are simply small scripts/programs that execute on the blockchain. Gotta say though, the choice of the term "smart contracts" was great marketing.

qqii 6y ago
Calling them simply scripts/programs is also a bit of a misnomer. It's easier to think of them as the rules to a game, like chess. The smart contact defines the pieces and valid moves. The EVM enforces the rules.
- rmah 6y ago
  A smart contract is literally code. It compiles to a bytecode that is executed on a turing-complete virtual machine (EVM) within a restricted environment (the blockchain).
  - qqii 6y ago
    Yes, but that doesn't capture the nature of the EVM, specifically addresses.
nostrademons 6y ago
It's pretty analogous, particularly with other colloquial uses of "contract" like "contract of an API" and "design by contract". A smart contract is simply a guarantee that "if you do this, the outcome on the blockchain will be that", where "this" is defined by the method signature and "that" is defined by the smart contract's code. A contract between two people is fundamentally an agreement that "If you do this, then I will do that", enforceable by law. It exists to allow trust: if you have no way of knowing what the other person is going to do in response, why would you ever do something like give them money or perform services for them? With smart contracts the legal system is replaced by a worldwide network of computers, and the actions that you can guarantee are restricted to quantities or properties represented on the blockchain. But the basic motivation and principal are the same: you want to provide guarantees about the future so that people can take mutually beneficial actions with them in mind.

by rmah 6y ago

qqii 6y ago

Calling them simply scripts/programs is also a bit of a misnomer. It's easier to think of them as the rules to a game, like chess. The smart contact defines the pieces and valid moves. The EVM enforces the rules.

rmah 6y ago
A smart contract is literally code. It compiles to a bytecode that is executed on a turing-complete virtual machine (EVM) within a restricted environment (the blockchain).
- qqii 6y ago
  Yes, but that doesn't capture the nature of the EVM, specifically addresses.

nostrademons 6y ago

It's pretty analogous, particularly with other colloquial uses of "contract" like "contract of an API" and "design by contract". A smart contract is simply a guarantee that "if you do this, the outcome on the blockchain will be that", where "this" is defined by the method signature and "that" is defined by the smart contract's code. A contract between two people is fundamentally an agreement that "If you do this, then I will do that", enforceable by law. It exists to allow trust: if you have no way of knowing what the other person is going to do in response, why would you ever do something like give them money or perform services for them? With smart contracts the legal system is replaced by a worldwide network of computers, and the actions that you can guarantee are restricted to quantities or properties represented on the blockchain. But the basic motivation and principal are the same: you want to provide guarantees about the future so that people can take mutually beneficial actions with them in mind.