Programming Languages for Blockchain Solutions Developing

Blockchain is becoming so popular that finally, we can safely say: technology has emerged from the “cryptocurrency boom” shadow. Today, news headlines are increasingly filled with messages about the technology distributed registry implementation in one or another area. Such success attracts the developers` attention of course. At the same time, the demand for professionals continues to grow. For example, according to the LinkedIn investigation, over the past year in the US need to blockchain developers has increased in 33 (!) Times.

If you are ambitious to break into the rating of top blockchain gurus, but still only at the beginning of your career, it is worth understanding the most popular programming languages, their advantages, and disadvantages, as well as to learn about their capabilities in the blockchain solutions development.

Perhaps we should start with C ++: this programming language is widespread among developers and has already managed to show its strengths. Every novice programmer used it at least once, it is studied both at student desks and at home.

C ++ was introduced in 1979 by programmer Bjarne Stroustrup. And nowadays it is actively used by a huge number of browsers, OS and even games developers. Thus, C ++ is one of the most popular programming languages, which is referred to as an average level of complexity languages, it is statically typed and in most cases compiled and multi-paradigm.

C ++ advantages:

• compiled language with static typing;
• low-level and high-level tools combination;
• object-oriented programming implementation;
• STL presence.

Many programmers turn to C ++ because of its performance and cross-platform. It is worth noting that C ++ has full access to memory, and the above-mentioned STL, in turn, opens up numerous possibilities when searching for additional functions, algorithms, and containers. The C ++ library is considered one of the best among those represented in other programming languages since each container has its own iteration group (there are 4 of them). Thus, C ++ can be used to create both private and public blockchains. It should also be noted that C ++ will perfectly cope with a large number of transactions optimization. It can be concluded that in general C ++ is a fairly common and low-level language, which allows writing high-performance programs. It can be used to write almost any application, including the various blockchain solutions creation.

The next PL, which we will consider, is Rust. It is gaining momentum in popularity, not only in traditional developments but also in blockchain systems. Its advantages have already been appreciated by such blockchain companies as Exonum, Sawtooth, and now we’ll see why.

Rust is a system language created by Mozilla. Its main advantages are high security and fast computer processing.

The Rust compiler ensures risk reduction when executing code, as it helps to eliminate potential and most frequent problems.

It is also worth noting that the Rust language has an active and friendly community, a well-developed communication and learning system.

The system programming language with increased security requirements is attracting more and more blockchain developers. It is worth considering its application on the example of the aforementioned Exonum project developed by Bitfury Group.

Exonum is an open framework for blockchains development, which provides an opportunity for both companies and government organizations to implement secure blockchain solutions. Exonum chose Rust, as the company considers it one of the safest PL, as well as the project representatives say in their blogs that Rust proved to be faster than Java, Go, C and C ++, while constantly improving.

Common JavaScript gained its fame due to its wide application (browser, server, IoT device, ML) and simple syntax.

It does well with asynchronous actions, which is why JavaScript can be used in blockchain operations.

The problem of network load arising from simultaneous blockchain clients actions is eliminated since JavaScript easily handles communication between all the different nodes of the chain.

At the same time, JavaScript is not as effective as C ++, if we consider it from the maximum performance side. JavaScript also doesn`t require compilation, and in the browser JavaScript code is interpreted as HTML tags.

And, of course, the presence of a huge number of libraries and information about JavaScript in the network make this programming language convenient for use from the point of view of entering the blockchain development process.

For nearly three decades, the high-level and dynamic programming language Python has opened up the possibilities for developing web applications, PC applications, machine learning, network servers, and, of course, blockchains.

Python is best implemented in the financial and IoT areas since its main advantage is its convenient use for processing large data sets.

Thanks to a huge number of frameworks, Python achieves excellent results in the web programming flexibility. Separately, it is worth highlighting the significant time savings when developing in Python, since its use eliminates the need to write bulky codes.

In addition, Python has a built-in testing environment, with which you can easily install a problem location and fix it in the shortest possible time.

It is worth noting the universality of this programming language within the blockchain industry since it can be used to create blockchains. For example, the Python solution has already been developed as part of the Hyperledger open source Sawtooth blockchain platform.

Solidity is a programming language designed to write smart contracts on the Ethereum Platform. The syntax is based on JavaScript, as well as several C ++ and Python concepts.

Developers, using Solidity, can write high-level code, which is then compiled into a low-level machine language.

It is worth noting that Solidity, like its predecessors, supports the inheritance in constructions properties, with the help of which programmers are open to creatу abstract classes with common definitions, as well as the use of member variables in objects and classes.

Solidity makes extensive use of ABI, an interface that facilitates the interaction between two binary applications, it provides the ability to determine whether the data returned by the function is correct and of the correct type. This factor refers to decisive in the format of use in intelligent abbreviations, as it provides a guarantee of the correct data type return in accordance with the check by the compiler.

The last language we cover in this article is Golang or Go.

Quite fast, statically typed and compiled language was developed in 2007 by Google programmers. Go supports type-safety, and dynamic data entry is also possible. Moreover, it is worth noting the extended standard functions library presence and built-in data types. Go allows the creation of flexible and modular code, and thanks to its multithreading mechanisms, the processes of distributing computations and network interaction are simplified. Golang has also convenient testing tools, and its advantage in the development efficiency form attracts many serious projects to it, codes of which can be easily found and analyzed on GitHub.

Conclusion

At the moment, there is no an universal programming language that can help create both cryptocurrencies on an ideally functioning blockchain with a secure smart contract at the same time. Each of the languages presented in this material can be used depending on what products you want to implement and in which blockchain they will be operated in.

If you chose Ethereum as a platform, use Solidity. However, if the task is to create your own blockchain, then you should refer to C ++, JavaScript, Rust, Golang or Python.

Programming Languages for Blockchain Solutions Developing was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.