Solidity Journal

New plan: I will start mentioning what ‘my thoughts’ are on certain days.

In other words, on certain days, I will discuss the ‘lesson’ I learned that day, and on another post, I will discuss ‘my thoughts’.

My thoughts: At this point in studying Solidity, I finally ‘get it’. Part of me even feels as though I know enough to create most simple projects based on what I currently know while knowing enough to research what I don’t currently know.

More thoughts: I’m also motivated to learn other related programming languages to complement Solidity, such as:

>> Javascript
>> React.js
>> AI prompting
>> Rust (Solana)

Today was a moment of clarity. Because I had taken a two-year break, I forgot which command-line software I used. I remember downloading a few, but I couldn’t recall which one I preferred. I also couldn’t remember what Node.js was. I didn’t know the difference between Truffle, Mocha, Chocolatey, and a few more programs needed to create smart contracts.

So, I went to ChatGPT.com and typed a list of questions like:

“What is Powershell?”
“What is the difference between Powershell and Gitbash?”
“What is Chocolatey?”
“What is Mocha?”
“What is Node.js”

Then, I cut and pasted the answers into one document labeled Solidity – Related Software and Programs.

I also created a second document (MasterFile – Powershell Commands and other Commands) and copied and pasted a list of commands from Google searches.

Doing this allowed me to understand better how the programs interact with each other and their roles in creating a smart contract.

I was able to compile a smart contract using a series of commands in Git Bash (a command-line interface) as I followed Grider’s course, actually understanding the gist of what was happening.

Today was a marathon day! But it was very zen-like and peaceful.

Photo from Unsplash

Although, this is Day 16, it really represents Day 48 because I started on June 23rd.

Day 16 is really the number of  major study days, if that makes sense.

Rather than list the modules that I did (because I jumped around a bit), I mentioned that I was studying from 10AM up to 1AM (that’s 15 hours!), but there were a few breaks in between. So in terms of actual studying time, it might have been anywhere from 11 hours to 13.5 hours.

Although my overall plan involved learning Solidity first before moving on to other programming languages like Javascript, Web3, command line (if that’s a language), I decided to go back to the skipped modules in UD3 that talked about Javascript and command line.

I’m glad I did. Although I don’t know the difference between many of the command line programs (if that’s what they’re called) or terminals (which is what the instructor, Grider called them, I decided to use Git Bash,  because it was suggested inside of the course (UD3), to use Git Bash if you’re using windows

As far as a code editor, I decide to use Sublime Text.

To get a sense of the modules that were covered (even though I said I wasn’t going to list them, it was the green X’s.

I started with Mod80 through 85. Then Skipped to 95 where he said something like, “before moving on to the next module, make sure you know React. If you don’t go to the Appendix (Mod234 – 266) where he teaches React. I did that. Then it became apparent that I couldn’t fully follow it because I skipped modules that discussed Javascript and command line…soooooooo, I went BACK to the skipped modules that discussed that (starting at Mod33).

So the plan is to finish these skipped modules (up until Mod64) and then go BACK to the React Appendix (starting at Mod234).

I do notice on the sheet there is a second set of Skipped Modules (86  – 94). Not sure if I’m going to go through them first before finishing up with the Appendix. We’ll see.

Until, next time!

UD3: Module 69 through Module 79.

Today it really hit me that Stephen Grider (UD3) is great at breaking down the code and explaining things.

For example, I loved how he explained the difference between Mapping and Structs. He basically said that you would use Structs when you want to represent a singular thing (i.e. a car, a house, a desk, etc.). And you would use Mapping, to store a collection of things (i.e. a collection of cars, a collection of houses, etc.)

At any rate, I don’t think I would have been able to fully appreciate his impressive teaching style, if I hadn’t experienced at least three other Solidity instructors. And while the other instructors are good, I just feel that Grider is on another level.

This is Day 2 of Udemy Course #3 (by Stephen Grider). I ended up skipping more modules.

Unlike the first set of modules I skipped (that talked about the history of the blockchain and stuff like that), I do plan to come back and review these modules.

I watched 3 videos (modules) –> Module 30 through 32. And then from there, I skipped a bunch of modules (that talked about installing virtual environments) so that I could focus on the Solidity coding which resumed on Module 65.

Ok so today I started a new Udemy course. This is the third one (Ethereum and Solidity: The Complete Developer’s Guide – By Stephen Grider) and so far I like it the most.

I went through the first seven modules. Once I realized it was just a review of info I learned from other courses, I skipped to Module 20 which was the first module were Solidity code was discussed. And while the instructions were elementary for me, I decided to just use this as the starting point to get a sense of his teaching style, which again, I’m impressed with.

With that in mind, I will say that each instructor brings a new flavor. I would highly suggest going through each Udemy course. All three have been great. And I haven’t experienced one that I considered to be a waste of time.

Getting back to Course #3, today I made it up to Module 30.

Also, I’ll mentioned that a few days ago, I watched a YouTube Video were this guy talked about what he recommends learning to be a Solidity programmer and I found it to be insightful.

He suggested that you should:

Step 1: Learn basic web development such as: HTML, CSS, Javascript and then ReactJS.

Then, learn Solidity from books, Udemy courses (I strongly recommend!) and Youtube.

With that in mind, my plan is to learn the above (from Step 1) after I learn Solidity.