The demand for developers is rising. To take advantage of the blockchain technology, developers have to write the codes with a lot of accuracy, regardless of the programming language they choose from the list of smart contract programming languages.
With the help of smart contracts, it is possible to carry out all kinds of transactions on the blockchain.
This article will throw light on the most suitable programming languages that aid in building smart contracts.
- Yul
It is a programming language that was designed as an intermediate language in the compilation of contracts written in Solidity or Vyper. It is statically typed.
Advantages
Yul is readable and offers high-level constructs such as loops, function calls, and if and switch statements.
Yul is also simple and flexible.
Disadvantages
Because it is compiled bytecode, the completion of the compilation process can be time-consuming
2. Clarity
Clarity is a relatively new programming language allowing people to deploy smart contracts to the Bitcoin blockchain by using the Stacks 2.0 network. Clarity was developed to address some of the issues plaguing Solidity such as security and predictability. Clarity is Turing incomplete.
Advantages
Being Turing incomplete allows a developer in theory to statically analyze the whole call graph of a smart contract.
It is interpreted, so there are no errors introduced by compiling.
As mentioned, it was designed to address some of the security issues that can happen with Solidity. For example, Clarity doesn’t allow reentrancy. There are checks performed for underflows and overflows also.
The syntax makes it easy to read and understand. So, you know exactly how the smart contract should execute.
Disadvantages
Being more recent as a programming language, the community is not as developed as Solidity. There are also not many blockchains that support it. Its design is also more constrained than Solidity.
Platforms Supporting Solidity
Stacks/Bitcoin, Algorand, Hiro PBP
3. Python
Python is a general-purpose, high-level, dynamically typed programming language.
Advantages
Python is one of the most popular programming languages. It is easy to learn, and numerous resources and libraries are available. Writing and debugging smart contracts in Python is a straightforward process and one can leverage platforms such as SmartPy used for smart contract development on Tezos.
Disadvantages
Python can be slower than some programming languages as C++. It is also not ideal for memory-consuming tasks and frequent runtime errors are being dynamically typed.
Platforms Supporting Python
Steem, Neo, Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum
4. Java
Java is a high-level object-oriented, class-based programming language. It is also general purpose, with a syntax influenced by C++ and C, and Java programmers are in high demand.
Advantages
Java is straightforward to learn, compile and debug. It is also possible to write reusable and modular codes using Java.
Disadvantages
Java programs can take longer to run compared to C or C++ programs. Java can also be memory-consuming.
Platforms Supporting Java
Neo, IBM Blockchain, Hyperledger Fabric, NEM, Ethereum, BitcoinJ
5. C++
Popular programming is generally used to build high-performance, cross-platform applications. It was built as an extension of C. It is mainly used for smart contracts on EOS through its WebAssembly virtual machine.
Advantages
The programming language and its syntax are well known. It is also versatile, with ample existing documentation and libraries for data structures, among others.
Disadvantages
Few blockchains use C++ for smart contracts. It is also less concise than Solidity. Development can also take longer times. C++ can also be difficult to learn. Memory management with pointers can also be tricky if not implemented correctly.
Platforms Supporting C++
EOS, Bitcoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Monero, Stellar, QTUM.
Conclusion
Choosing the right programming language for smart contract development can depend on many factors, such as the blockchain where it will be deployed, security, readability, community support, etc.
