GLOSSARY · BLOCKCHAIN & WEB3
Solidity
What Solidity is: the main language for writing smart contracts on Ethereum and EVM chains, what makes it different and the mistakes that cost real money.
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What is Solidity?
Solidity is a contract-oriented, statically typed programming language, with syntax inspired by JavaScript, C++ and Python, designed to write smart contracts that are executed on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It was proposed by Gavin Wood and Christian Reitwiessner and has become the standard language for developing smart contracts on EVM-compatible blockchains, such as Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and BNB Chain.
Solidity allows you to declare functions, variables, events, structures, enumerations, modifiers, interfaces, inheritance and visibility, facilitating the development of complex and modular contracts. These contracts govern tokens (ERC-20, ERC-721, ERC-1155), DeFi protocols, DAOs, NFT marketplaces, Web3 games, governance and digital identity systems. The Solidity code is transpiled to bytecode and deployed on blockchain, where it runs deterministically and permanently.
In addition to business logic, Solidity includes blockchain-specific tools such as msg.sender, msg.value, require, revert, block.timestamp, and access to persistent storage (storage, memory, calldata). It also supports external libraries such as OpenZeppelin, proxy upgrade mechanisms, immutable contracts, role control and advanced functions such as delegatecall, selfdestruct or fallback.
The language is actively maintained by the Ethereum Foundation and evolves with security, efficiency and functionality improvements (such as enums, immutable functions, custom types or Yul compilation). Mastery of Solidity is essential for creating secure, auditable decentralized applications adapted to the functional and legal requirements of the Web3 ecosystem.
Learn more: What are smart contracts and what are they used for?
Explained simply
Solidity is the language that programmers use to tell the blockchain what to do. It writes the rules of smart contracts, which are like agreements that are automatically enforced. Those instructions are understood and executed by Ethereum and other compatible blockchains. For example, it can be used to create a cryptocurrency, sell an NFT or manage an online vote without intermediaries.
Solidity: key points
- Language created to write smart contracts on Ethereum and EVM networks
- It has a syntax similar to JavaScript and C++
- It is statically typed and contract-oriented.
- It is used to create tokens, DAOs, NFTs, DeFi protocols, etc.
- Its code, once deployed, becomes immutable and public
Solidity: advantages
- Web3 industry standard for development on Ethereum
- Broad ecosystem and support: compatible with tools such as Hardhat, Truffle, Foundry
- Enables complex and modular contracts, with advanced logic
- Easy to audit and test with specialized libraries and tools
- Interoperability with libraries such as OpenZeppelin and Chainlink
Solidity: disadvantages
- High error sensitivity: a failure may result in loss of funds
- Technical learning curve if you have no previous programming experience
- The code is irreversible once deployed, which requires rigorous testing
- High gas cost if it's not properly optimized
- Vulnerable to common malpractices (reentrancy, overflows, lack of checks)
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