There are many programming languages that allow you to write smart contracts. In this article, we’ll explore some top programming languages used to build smart contracts.

First Let's understand what is a smart contract.

Smart Contract

A smart contract is a computer program that is used to exchange assets including money, property, or shares without the need of any intermediate to function. The code and the agreements are contained therein exist over a distributed, decentralized blockchain network e.g. Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin, etc.

For example, if you want to purchase a piece of land using a smart contract, your land ownership documents will be sent to you immediately after your payment is completed. You don’t need to trust a third-party site to transfer the ownership after making payments.

Use Cases

1. Government Voting
2. Supply Chain Management
3. Insurance Claim
4. Record Storing
5. Trading Activities

So, here is a list of top smart contract languages, Let’s get into it.

1. Solidity

Solidity is an object-oriented, high-level language for implementing smart contracts. Solidity was first developed by Gavin Wood, Christian Reitwiessner, Yoichi Hirai, and several of Ethereum’s core contributors to enable the development of smart contracts that functioned on Ethereum.

Influenced by C++, Python, and JavaScript, and is designed to target the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), Solidity is the first blockchain programming language that one must learn. Especially when you want to develop dApps or are looking to get into the ICO development game.
Major platforms that support the Solidity language.

1. Ethereum
2. Polkadot
3. Binance Smart Chain
4. Tron
5. Uniswap

2. RUST

Rust is an ideal smart contract language: It is type-safe, memory safe, and free of undefined behaviors. It generates small binaries because it doesn’t include extra bloat, like a garbage collector, and advanced optimizations and tree shaking remove dead code. Through compiler flags, Rust can automatically protect against integer overflow. In the space-constrained blockchain world size is important. The Rust compiler is a great help for that, since it reorders struct fields in order to make each type as small as possible. Thus Rust data structures are very compact, in many cases even more compact than in C.

Though a newbie in the Blockchain ecosystem, Rust is also being widely considered for building innovative, immutable, and secure solutions.

Rust language enables open-source developers to create quick and effective Blockchain frameworks. It also serves them with a highly-capable mechanism of managing mutable states, amazing code optimization, better memory options, and concurrency-based opportunities.
Major platforms that support the RUST language.

1. Solana
2. Polkadot
3. OpenEthereum
4. Zero-chain
5. Bitcoin Cash

3. VYPER

Vyper is a contract-oriented, pythonic programming language that targets the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

It was designed to improve upon Solidity, another smart contract language for Ethereum, by limiting unsafe practices and enhancing readability; Vyper seeks to optimize the security and auditability of smart contracts.

Vyper provides the following features:

• Bounds and overflow checking: On array accesses and arithmetic.
• Support for signed integers and decimal fixed-point numbers
• Decidability: It is possible to compute a precise upper bound for the gas consumption of any Vyper function call.
• Strong typing
• Small and understandable compiler code
• Limited support for pure functions: Anything marked constant is not allowed to change the state. Vyper does not strive to be a 100% replacement for everything that can be done in Solidity; it will deliberately forbid things or make things harder if it deems fit to do so for the goal of increasing security.

4. JavaScript

JavaScript is a general-purpose programming language, and it’s found a place in the blockchain space. Because JavaScript is an entry-level language, most blockchains tend to create a JavaScript wrapper or library to allow developers to easily jump into the ecosystem.
The popularity of one of the renowned smart contract languages, Solidity, largely rests on its similarities to JavaScript.
The notable value advantages of JavaScript as one of the smart contract programming languages include the following,

• JavaScript ensures easier and faster entry to the market due to the ease of using solutions based on JavaScript.
• The design of JavaScript allows the benefit of improved scalability which can enhance the functionality of smart contracts effectively.
• Most important of all, JavaScript assures limited hassles in the integration of required resources.
• As a result, JavaScript can be one of the top contenders among the smart contract languages outlined in this list.

5. Python

Blockchain Programming in Python has not only ruled the world of app development, IoT app development, and network servers’ development, but is also proving to be an asset in the Blockchain-as-a-service arena.

Features

• Blockchain programming in Python language is easy to learn
• Access to dynamic architecture
• Perfect for both base and scripting approaches,
• Open-source support
• Blockchain coding in python is efficient for prototyping

Python is the 2nd most popular programming language. Some of the popular blockchains developed using Python are Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric, Steem, and NEO.

6. Yul

Yul is another entry among popular smart contract programming languages. As a matter of fact, it is an intermediate language that you can compile to bytecode for addressing the needs of different backends.
The Solidity compiler has an experimental implementation that uses Yul as an intermediate language. Yul is used in stand-alone mode and for inline assembly inside Solidity.

Yul bears planned support for EVM and ewasm (Ethereum flavored WebAssembly). It is designed to be a usable common denominator of both platforms.

Yul is a great target for high-level optimization stages that can benefit both EVM and ewasm platforms equally.
Most Ethereum-based projects most likely already use Yul.

7. Golang

Golang is an open sourced programming language loosely based on the syntax of the C programming language. Golang is an easy language for developers to learn and current estimates place Golang developers at more than 800,000 worldwide.

This programming language was created by Google. It is one language that can allow different processes to run at the same time, meaning that it allows for concurrent programming.

Most of HyperLedger’s chaincode built using HyperLedger Fabrics for smart contracts are being written in Golang. FLETA also supports Golang as a smart contract programming language.

8. Clarity

Clarity is a new language that brings smart contracts to Bitcoin. It is a decidable language, meaning you can know, with certainty, from the code itself what the program will do.

Clarity is interpreted (not compiled) & the source code is published on the blockchain. Clarity gives developers a safe way to build complex smart contracts. The Clarity open-source project is supported by the Stacks ecosystem, Hiro PBC, & Algorand.

Features

• Predictable: The Clarity language uses precise and unambiguous syntax that allows developers to predict exactly how their contracts will be executed.
• Secure: The Clarity language allows users to supply their conditions for transactions that ensure that a contract may never unexpectedly transfer a token owned by a user.
• No compiler: Contracts written in Clarity are broadcasted on the blockchain exactly as they are written by developers. ## Conclusion So, these were some of the programming languages that can be considered for entering the Blockchain world and making the best of the flourishing opportunity. Which programming language from the above list you should use is dependent on the blockchain you want to work on. For Ethereum blockchain, for example, Solidity is the top choice for most developers.

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