Ethereum and Smart Contracts
Niaz Morshed Chowdhury · Auerbach Publications eBooks · 2019
This chapter aims to introduce smart contracts, and describes how Ethereum stands out from Bitcoin and opens a new world for the development of distributed applications. Ethereum extends the concept of blockchain one step further, and instead of only validating, storing, and replicating transaction data, it also allows users to write and run computer programs. Ethereum has a metric system of denominations used as units of Ether. The primary motivation of designing Ethereum was to extend the capabilities of Bitcoin, therefore, it incorporates many features and technologies that its predecessor utilised. The Ethereum blockchain did not follow that footstep; it instead ties up all exchanges with the account to recognise the transfers of value and information. The Ethereum platform defines every account by a pair of keys: a private key and a public key, where the latter is used to generate the address of the account.