About this course: This second course of the Blockchain specialization will help you design, code, deploy and execute a smart contract – the computational element of the blockchain technology. Smart contracts allow for implementing user-defined operations of arbitrary complexity that are not possible through plain cryptocurrency protocols. They allow users to implement conditions, rules and policies of the domain applications. Smart contracts are a powerful feature that, when properly designed and coded, can result in autonomous, efficient and transparent systems. You will design and program smart contracts in Solidity language, test and deploy them in the Remix development environment, and invoke them from a simple web interface that Remix provides. This course features best practices for designing solutions with smart contracts using Solidity and Remix IDE. Main concepts are delivered through videos, demos and hands-on exercises.
Who is this class for: This course is for anyone interested in designing and developing smart contracts. Along with other courses of the Blockchain specialization, it provides the foundation to design and develop decentralized applications (the focus of the third course) on the blockchain. Mastery of content from the first course (Blockchain Basics) of this specialization is a prerequisite.
Created by: University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Taught by: Bina Ramamurthy, Teaching Professor
Computer Science and Engineering Department
| Basic Info | Course 2 of 4 in the Blockchain Specialization |
| Level | Intermediate |
| Commitment | 4 weeks of study, 3 ½ hours per week |
| Language | English |
| Hardware Req | A laptop or a desktop of this specification: 64 bit machine with minimum 4Gb ram, 10Gb free space and Windows 7 or above , or ubuntu 16.04 or Mac os x 10.0+. |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Smart Contract Basics
The purpose of this module is to introduce the reasons for a smart contract and its critical role in transforming blockchain technology from enabling decentralized systems. We will explore the structure and basic concepts of a smart contract through examples, and illustrate Remix (remix.ethereum.org) web IDE for deploying and interacting with a smart contract.
5 videos, 5 readings, 4 practice quizzes
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Why Smart Contracts?
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Smart Contracts Defined (Part 1) (Remix IDE and Greeter Demos)
- Video: Smart Contracts Defined (Part 2) (Simple Storage Demo)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Smart Contracts Defined
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Processing Smart Contracts (Compile Artifacts Demo)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Processing Smart Contracts
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Deploying Smart Contracts
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Deploying Smart Contracts
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Reading: REQUIRED Quiz Resources and Directions: Smart Contract Basics - Week
Graded: Smart Contract Basics - Week 1
WEEK 2
Solidity
Our goal is to master the basics of Solidity, a high-level language that is a combination of Javascript, Java and C++. It is specially designed to write smart contracts and to target the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Learners will be able to follow demonstrations and practice using Solidity.
7 videos, 5 readings, 5 practice quizzes
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Solidity: Structure
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Basic Data Types & Statements (Bidder Data & Functions Demos)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Basic Data Types & Statements
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Specific Data Types (Part 1) (Coin Demo)
- Video: Specific Data Types (Part 2) (Coin Demo cont.)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Specific Data Types
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Data Structures (Part 1) (BallotV1 Demo)
- Video: Data Structures (Part 2) (StateTransV2 Demo)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Data Structures
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Access Modifiers & Applications
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Access Modifiers & Applications
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
Graded: Solidity - Week 2
WEEK 3
Putting it all Together
This module focuses on the development of the Ballot smart contract incrementally to illustrate various features including time dependencies, validation outside the function code using access modifiers, asserts and require declarations, and event logging.
8 videos, 4 readings, 4 practice quizzes
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Developing Smart Contracts
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Time Elements (Part 1)
- Video: Time Elements (Part 2) (BallotV2 Demo)
- Video: Time Elements (Part 3)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Time Elements
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Validation & Test (Part 1) (BallotV3 Demo)
- Video: Validation & Test (Part 2) (BallotV4 Demo)
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Validation & Test
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
- Video: Client Applications
- Video: Practitioner's Perspective: Shared Rules & Trust
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Client Applications
- Practice Quiz: Self-Check
Graded: Putting It All Together - Week 3
WEEK 4
Best Practices
This module will focus on best practices including evaluating whether a blockchain-based solution is suitable for your problem, designing Solidity smart contracts, and those relating to Remix IDE.
3 videos, 4 readings, 1 practice quiz
- Video: Designing Smart Contracts
- Video: Remix Web IDE
- Reading: (OPTIONAL) Resources: Best Practices
- Practice Quiz: Best Practices- Week 4
- Reading: (MANDATORY READING) Addendum: Solidity Version
- Reading: Assignment Description
- Reading: Smart Contracts: Key Takeaways
Graded: Design and Develop a Smart Contract
FAQs
How It Works
Coursework
Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.
Help from Your Peers
Connect with thousands of other learners and debate ideas, discuss course material, and get help mastering concepts.
Certificates
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Creators
University at Buffalo
The University at Buffalo (UB) team includes the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the most comprehensive public school of engineering in New York; the Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE), an engineering outreach center that supports the business community; and the Center for Educational Innovation, which elevates pedagogical advancement and improved learning. UB, a research-intensive public university, is the largest institution of the State University of New York system.
The State University of New York
The State University of New York, with 64 unique institutions, is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States. Educating nearly 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs both on campus and online, SUNY has nearly 3 million alumni around the globe.
Pricing
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| Access to course materials | Available |
| Access to graded materials | Available |
| Receive a final grade | Available |
| Earn a shareable Course Certificate | Available |
Ratings and Reviews
Nice exercises once again
Great course on smart contracts, very interactive.
Good place to learn Smart Contract using Solidity
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I think the assignments could have less template code in it and there should be a more quality driven way of evaluating the code. I agree the former is not really the intention of the course and the latter is time consuming. But the course would feel more comprehensive and practice driven with these two changes. Maybe alumni could be roped in as mentors or TAs to do the grading ?