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https://github.com/ryanio/learn-about-ethereum

A guide to help start learning about Ethereum. This is an open document, if you'd like to contribute please just open a pull request :)
https://github.com/ryanio/learn-about-ethereum

ethereum

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A guide to help start learning about Ethereum. This is an open document, if you'd like to contribute please just open a pull request :)

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README 

          
# Learn about Ethereum



A guide to jump into learning about Ethereum.



## Reading



1. __[Ethereum Homepage](https://ethereum.org)__



    Official overview from the Ethereum Foundation



2. __[Ethereum Homestead Documentation: What is Ethereum?](http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/introduction/what-is-ethereum.html)__



    Community-run documentation - start here with the page _What is Ethereum?_



4. __[History of Ethereum](http://www.ethdocs.org/en/latest/introduction/history-of-ethereum.html)__



    Brief history of the beginnings of Ethereum



5. __[The "Yellow Paper"](http://paper.gavwood.com/)__



    Ethereum's formal techincal specification, the "yellow paper." Dense, but enjoyable and worth a quick skim



6. __[Introduction to Mining](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Mining)__



    Learn more about what mining exactly is in the context of Ethereum



7. [Ethereum Community-Maintained Wiki](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki)__

    

### Technical reading and documentation



1. Ethereum.org tutorials

  1. __[Create your own crypto-currency with Ethereum](https://www.ethereum.org/token)__

  2. __[Crowdsale: Raising funds without a third party](https://www.ethereum.org/crowdsale)__

  3. __[DAO: How to build a democracy on the blockchain](https://www.ethereum.org/dao)__



2. __[Solidity Technical Documentation: Introduction to Smart Contracts](https://solidity.readthedocs.io/en/develop/introduction-to-smart-contracts.html)__



3. __[Web3 Javascript API (Web3.js)](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/JavaScript-API)__



## Glossary



__Ethereum__: Public blockchain platform with smart contract functionality. Povides a decentralized virtual machine that can execute peer-to-peer contracts using a cryptocurrency called Ether (ETH)



__Ether (ETH)__: The instrinsic currency for Ethereum



__Blockchain__: A distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of ordered records called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block



__Gas__: The price for running a transaction or contract in Ethereum.



__Mining__: The computational work neccessary to validify and secure the Ethereum network. 



__Ethereum Wallet__: Gateway to hold ether and use smart contracts on Ethereum



__Ethereum browser__: Software to browse and use DApps on Ethereum



__DApp/Ðapp__: Decentralized app



__Wei__: Smallest subdenomination of Ether, the one in which all integer values of the currency are counted. 1 ether = 1018 Wei (1,000,000,000,000,000,000)



__Szabo__: Currency demoniation for 1015 Wei (1,000,000,000,000,000)



__Finney__: Currency demoniation for 1012 Wei  (1,000,000,000,000)



__Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)__: An organization that is run through rules encoded as computer programs called smart contracts.



__Ethereum Homestead Documentation ([ethdocs.org](http://www.ethdocs.org))__: Community-run non-official Ethereum documentation



__Ethereum Name Service (ENS)__: A distributed naming system for .eth via smart contracts



__Hard fork__: A hard fork is a change to the underlying Ethereum protocol, creating new rules to improve the system. All Ethereum clients need to upgrade; otherwise they will be stuck on an incompatible chain following the old rules.



__Smart contracts__: Pieces of code that live on the blockchain and execute commands exactly how they were told to. 



__Ethereum World Computer__: Vision of Ethereum to create a decentralized world computer. _Contracts_ provide decentralized logic, _Swarm_ provides decentralized storage, and _Whisper_ provides decentralized messaging.



__[Whisper](https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/Whisper)__: Decentralized communication protocol for DApps to communicate with each other.



__Swarm__: Distributed storage platform and content distribution service for DApps to serve content. 



__Proof-of-work (PoW)__: Algorithm for reaching consensus on the blockchain via mining to process transactions, considered expensive and inefficient. Ethereum network currently uses a _proof-of-work_ algorithm with plans to develop and move to a _proof-of-stake_ algorithm.



__Proof-of-stake (PoS)__: Algorithm for reaching consensus on the blockchain without mining. Agreement measured on the basis of how much digital currency agrees with the current state. Currently in research and development.



__ethOS__: Linux OS designed to mine Ethereum



__Frontier__: First major release of th Ethereum platform



__Homestead__: Second major version release of the Ethereum platform



__Metropolis__: Third major version release of the Ethereum platform



__Serenity__: Fourth major release of Ethereum. Intended to have two major feature sets: [abstraction](https://blog.ethereum.org/2015/07/05/on-abstraction/) and Casper



__Casper__: Proof-of-stake algorithm in development for Serenity



__Ethash__: Current proof-of-work algorithm for Ethereum



__Testnet__: A blockchain separate from the main Ethereum network designed for testing



__Ropsten Test Network__: Public testnet launched in November 2016 running the latest Homestead release of Ethereum



## Communities



__r/ethereum__: [reddit.com/r/ethereum](https://reddit.com/r/ethereum/)



__Ethereum Community Forum__: [forum.ethereum.org](https://forum.ethereum.org/)



__Meetups__: [meetup.com/topics/ethereum](https://www.meetup.com/topics/ethereum/)



## Notable People



__[Vitalik Buterin](https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin)__: Inventor of Ethereum, protocol developer and researcher



__[Gavin Wood](https://twitter.com/gavofyork)__: Primary core developer and lead C++ developer