What is a smart contract?

It is a piece of code that executes in the blockchain. It is useful when you want to have a decentralized application, for example, to avoid censorship.

How can help me this article?

This short guide is recommended for programmers how want started with smart contracts and wants to do small tests like a ‘Hello world’. You should know a little bit what is a blockchain network, a wallet and a smart contract.

How to start coding?

The first step in a new technology is to create our first “Hello world”. If you would like to do a test you can check this tutorial out (Spanish). You can use the example that it shows on the Remix or clone the same from Github.

How to get eth on a test network?

You can try to use the same network as the video, RInkeby, but it didn’t work for me! Therefore we will use Ropsten.

First, enter to https://faucet.ropsten.be/ and paste your address (which it needs to be from that network)

Second, hold on for a few minutes and you will receive some eth!

Visual Studio Code

Let’s say that you have got the code done with that youtube video example, but it codes all of it in a web IDE! We want to code it in Visual Studio Code!

First of all, you need to install the plug-in “Ethereum Remix”.

Second, you need to install Ganache that it should act as a blockchain to development:

npm install ganache@alpha –global

Third, run it:

ganache

Ready! You’ll see something like the following screenshot, pay attention to the port at the bottom:

Fourth, put the Ganache address in the input box and deploy it:

You are ready to code smart contracts on localhost and develop incredible things on the blockchain!