Overview of Smart Contract Languages

Smart contracts are automatically executed protocols on blockchain platforms that enable trustless direct transactions. They contain executable code, can interact with other contracts, and automatically execute when preset conditions are met.

The concept of smart contracts was proposed by Nick Szabo in the 1990s, but it wasn't until the emergence of Ethereum that it was widely applied. Ethereum supports the deployment and execution of smart contracts and is considered the second generation of blockchain.

Smart contract languages are used to write smart contracts, which are executed on blockchain virtual machines after compilation, following predefined logic. A good smart contract language should allow developers to express contract rules securely and efficiently, while providing tools to handle blockchain transactions and states.

Mainstream smart contracts languages

Currently, smart contract development is mainly focused on Ethereum and EVM-compatible blockchains. Solana has the most developers in the non-EVM compatible ecosystem, while Move is specifically designed for securely developing blockchain smart contracts.

EVM Series

EVM is the core of Ethereum, responsible for running smart contracts and processing transactions. Ethereum adopts a multi-layered architecture, including bytecode, intermediate language, and high-level language.

The most popular EVM high-level languages currently are Solidity and Vyper, as well as options like Yul, Yul+, Fe, and Huff.

Solidity was developed by the Ethereum team, is an object-oriented language, and is heavily influenced by C++, Python, and JavaScript. It provides multiple inheritance for code reuse and defines the ABI standard.

Vyper was developed by Vitalik Buterin's team, similar to Python, focusing on security, readability, and Gas efficiency. It does not adopt an object-oriented model and does not support inline assembly.

Yul is an assembly language with advanced control flow that can be used through inline assembly blocks in Solidity. Yul+ is an extended version of Yul.

Fe is a high-level language similar to Rust, which reuses code through a module-based system.

Huff is a low-level assembly language that allows for manual stack control and minimal abstraction of EVM instructions.

On Ethereum, Solidity accounts for the vast majority of smart contract development, around 90%. Vyper is next, while Fe is used less frequently. Yul/Yul+ and Huff are mainly used for gas optimization.

Solana Series

Solana is known for its PoH mechanism and high performance, making it one of the fastest-growing public chains in the past year.

Solana refers to smart contracts as on-chain programs, primarily written in Rust. It has its own SVM virtual machine and SBF bytecode, and does not use WASM runtime.

The key component Sealevel of SVM implements parallel processing of smart contracts. SBF is based on eBPF, featuring high performance, security, and portability.

Solana smart contracts development currently supports Rust and Solang. Rust is a general-purpose statically compiled language developed by Mozilla, focusing on performance and safety. Solang is a Solidity compiler based on LLVM, supporting the use of a modified version of Solidity on Solana.

Move series

Move was originally developed for Meta's Diem project, aiming to address the security issues of assets and transactions. Its features include first-class resource type protection, flexibility, and security verifiability.

Aptos and Sui are the main public chains based on Move. Aptos inherits Core Move, while Sui uses a customized Sui Move.

The Move compiler, verifier, and virtual machine are all specially designed. The verifier is the core security mechanism used to maintain a resource-centric programming model.

Move Prover is a formal verification tool for Move that can perform rigorous security verification of smart contracts.

Development Tools

For EVM-compatible chains, the main development tools include:

• Hardhat: used for compiling, deploying, testing, and debugging Ethereum applications
• OpenZeppelin: Provides a secure smart contracts library
• Foundry: A development framework centered around Solidity

The main development framework for Solana is Anchor, which is similar to Hardhat and simplifies the Solana development process.

Although the Move language has innovations in security design, its ecosystem and development tools are still not fully developed.

Summary

The evaluation of smart contract languages mainly considers usability, security, and ecological resources.

Solidity has the greatest influence, with a mature ecosystem of development tools and libraries.

Rust is widely used in the Solana ecosystem, with better security than Solidity, but the learning curve is steeper.

Move has innovations in its underlying security mechanisms, but the ecosystem is still in its early stages.