Blockchain Architecture

Blockchain architecture covers the fundamentals when it comes to understanding how the blockchain works internally. It is essential to be able to work on different projects that use different areas of Ethereum, because once you have a solid understanding about how everything works together, your mind will begin to see things differently. You will get a high-level overview of what happens in the blockchain when you use it and when you program for it. The moving parts of this complex ecosystem will begin to make so much sense once you go through this chapter, because you'll receive a high-level overview of how smart contracts work and how they are related to the underlying structure.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Beyond Ethereum
• The EEA
• Understanding the Ethereum blockchain
• A high-level overview of how smart contracts work
• Essential smart contract programming