Talking Computers

If you're not familiar with code at all, there are a few basics we have to cover. Software code is a set of statements that tell the thing running the code what to do... There are many many different languages, but they all share some general characteristics. For us, we're looking at "Solidity" code, which is the most common programming language used to develop Smart Contracts on Ethereum. It compiles to low level machine code that runs on the Ethereum Virtual Machine ("EVM"). We can think of the EVM as a virtualized computer that makes sure EVM code runs exactly the same on all machines participating in the network.

Open the CryptoPunksMarket.sol code for the CryptoPunksMarket in a separate window to follow along!

There are two dedicated code-reader apps you can use right in your browser:

Alternatively you can download the code to your computer and open it in a text editor.

Section Overview

1. FunctionsFunctions are the core building blocks of smart contracts. Most importantly, they make up our entry points to stuff our users aught to be able to do...2. Variables and Data TypesIn order to understand the CryptoPunks Marketplace we first have to get an undertanding of the different types of data points used.3. Statements and ExpressionsAny complex algorithm is just many simple instructions, lined up.