Ethereum Development Tutorial: A Comprehensive Guide

Introduction

This tutorial provides a step-by-step guide to Ethereum development in an Ubuntu 16.04 environment. We'll cover everything from initial setup to deploying smart contracts, ensuring you gain hands-on experience with key tools like Truffle, TestRPC, and Solidity.

Environment Configuration

Key Terminologies

• Ethereum: An open-source blockchain platform enabling smart contracts.
• TestRPC: A local memory-simulated Ethereum environment for development.
• Geth: The official Go-based Ethereum client for interacting with the mainnet.
• Truffle: The most popular development framework for Ethereum.
• Solc: The Solidity compiler for smart contracts.
• Node.js: JavaScript runtime environment for backend tools.
• Web3.js: Ethereum JavaScript API for interacting with the blockchain.

Step 1: Install Node.js and npm (v6.x+)

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install nodejs

Step 2: Install Solidity Compiler

sudo npm install -g solc solc-cli

Step 3: Install Truffle Suite

sudo npm install -g truffle

Step 4: Set Up TestRPC

sudo npm install -g ethereumjs-testrpc

Step 5: Install Geth

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ethereum/ethereum
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install solc ethereum

Getting Started

1. Verify Truffle Installation

truffle version

2. Test TestRPC Environment

testrpc

Outputs 10 test accounts with private keys and HD wallet details.

3. Initialize a Truffle Project

mkdir ethtest && cd ethtest
truffle init

Creates contracts/, migrations/, and test/ directories.

👉 Learn more about Truffle project structure

4. Write Your First Smart Contract

Create SimpleStorage.sol in contracts/:

pragma solidity ^0.4.0;
contract SimpleStorage {
    uint storedData;
    function set(uint x) { storedData = x; }
    function get() constant returns (uint) { return storedData; }
}

5. Compile Contracts

truffle compile

Generates JSON artifacts in build/contracts/.

6. Deploy Contracts

• Keep TestRPC running in a separate terminal.

• Configure truffle.js:

  module.exports = {
  networks: {
    development: {
      host: "localhost",
      port: 8545,
      network_id: "*"
    }
  }
  };

• Run migration:

  truffle migrate

7. Interactive Console

truffle console
> var ss = SimpleStorage.at("0x...")
> ss.get.call()

8. Advanced Deployment

For live networks:

live: {
  host: "localhost",
  port: 8545,
  network_id: "*",
  gas: 3000000
}

truffle migrate --network live

FAQ Section

Q1: Why is my Truffle migration failing?

A: Ensure TestRPC is running and truffle.js is correctly configured with the right network ID and port.

Q2: How do I reset deployments?

A: Use truffle migrate --reset --network live to force redeployment.

Q3: What's the purpose of Migrations.sol?

A: It tracks which migrations have been run on-chain.

Q4: Can I use this with Node.js?

A: Yes! Install dependencies:

npm init
npm install truffle-contract web3

👉 Explore advanced Node.js integration

Troubleshooting

• Port 8080 Errors: Ensure no other service is using this port before truffle serve.
• Gas Limit Issues: Adjust gas in truffle.js for complex contracts.

Conclusion