Ethereum is considered to be the most sensible and sustainable cryptocurrencies of them all. There is a long-term scope and usage of this cryptocurrency and that is why the price of this system is zooming just like Bitcoin. Technically speaking, Ethereum is an open source yet blockchain based system that functions with smart contact. Ethereum is not really a cryptocurrency but a computing platform. The cryptocurrency created based on this platform is Ether.
If you are comparing with Bitcoin, you should compare with Ether and not Ethereum. Therefore, you can understand that it is somewhat bigger than Bitcoin in its scope and development. Ethereum is not written in a single programming language which is one of the principal beauties of the language. Before going into the programming language, you should know about the different components as they are written in different languages.
Different Components Of Ethereum –
EVM – Ethereum backbone is its decentralized virtual machine called Ethereum Virtual Machine(EVM). It is a runtime environment that is capable of executing scripts. The Ethereum network consists of over 27,500 nodes, and each node runs EVM implementation. The interesting part is that EVM has been developed using a whole host of programming languages. They are C++, Python, Ruby, Go, Java, JavaScript, Rust and much more. It is like developing a website where you have to use multiple languages to get the desired output.
Smart Contracts – The main feature of Ethereum for which it rose to the stage of extreme popular is its smart contract feature. It is this feature that has expanded its applications to a whole new dimension. It is due to the smart contract feature that Ethereum is considered to be the most stable and scalable cryptocurrency technology of them all. Technically speaking, smart contracts are compiled to bytecode in EVM and then deployed to blockchain of Ethereum for execution. In this feature as well, there are so many languages available in which smart contract can be written and has been written. For example, the first language that is mostly used is Solidity which is more like a library and has a lot of similarities with C and JavaScript. Other than that, it can be written in LLL which is more like Lisp and in Viper which is more like Python.
All the applications of Ethereum called DApps or Decentralized applications are based on Ethereum Virtual Machine and its smart contract features. The platform is being used extensively these days in the development of enterprise software and the interested parties include some big names like Microsoft, IBM, Deloitte, Barclays, Credit Suisse, UBS just to name a few. There are huge possibilities of its usage in the internet of things which is taking over the world thick and fast. For all project related transactions, Ethereum is the most popular cryptocurrency technology thanks to its smart contract features.
Ethereum is specifically popular for its application is crowdfunding platforms. Other than that, it is widely used in digital signature algorithms and securitized tokens. Not just that, it is suitable for digital rights management, online gambling, financial exchanges, system identification, and much more.
Official and Unofficial Programming Languages Ethereum Is Written In –
Ethereum has an official document that talks about the languages used in the development of the technological platform. To be precise, there has been a mention of four languages namely Go, C++, Python, and Java. But unofficially, the developers have talked about the use of Rust, Ruby, JavaScript, and Haskell. Since it is an open source technology, the use of programming language is not restricted to one or few official languages. EVM is using bytecode instructions, and it does not recommend the use of one single language. But by general consensus, Solidity is the high-level language that most of the clients prefer to use. The reason is that Solidity has the most advanced compiler.
If you are wondering by the company has been restricted to the use of so many languages, the answer lies in its application. Ethereum was designed to accommodate programmers of all backgrounds. There is only a set of protocols to follow, and programmers with knowledge of the popular programming languages can work their way out comfortably. If you are looking for the programming language Ethereum is written in, you need to understand that Ethereum is a whole new ballgame and it is a protocol-specific platform unlike most of the applications or cryptocurrencies you have known so far. It is due to its robustness that it is considered to be the long-lasting cryptocurrencies of them all.
Ethereum is developed to replace Bitcoin because Bitcoin needs a scripting language for developing applications. Ethereum breaks the barrier and creates a platform with a rather general scripting language for every developer to use seamlessly. With that thought, it turns out to be better with a protocol system and opening up with scope for most of the popular programming languages.