March 2018
Beginner to intermediate
656 pages
20h 9m
English
Content preview from Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition
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Definition
There is no consensus on a standard definition of smart contracts. It is essential to define what a smart contract is, and the following is my attempt to provide a generalized definition of a smart contract:
A smart contract is a secure and unstoppable computer program representing an agreement that is automatically executable and enforceable.
Dissecting this definition further reveals that a smart contract is, in fact, a computer program that is written in a language that a computer or target machine can understand. Also, it encompasses agreements between parties in the form of business logic. Another fundamental idea is that smart contracts are automatically executed when certain conditions are met. They are enforceable, which ...