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Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

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Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#1
Hi HN!

I am looking to get comfortable using Blockchain technology over the coming year. What computer science concepts should I be comfortable with/seek to master?

A bit about me: I am a self taught developer with a background that is general IT. I mostly use HTML, CSS, Python and of late I have been dipping my toes in JavaScript as well as Node.js.

Re: Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#2
Merkle trees and hash functions mostly. Any advanced data structure course curriculum will likely do. Or go the out of the box route and toy around with AWS hyperledger and the like.

Pick up a marketing course while you're at it, the number of people using Blockchain technology for technically sound reasons is pretty small.

Re: Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#3
Some level of cryptography (hash functions and signatures), some distributed computing (consensus algorithms, P2P networking), some tech/economics (game theory, mechanism design).

If you start with Ethereum, the js ecosystem around it is by far the most advanced in the blockchain space and you can hit the ground running pretty fast building dApps while you learn more about the protocols that make them interesting.

Re: Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#5
Mastering Bitcoin https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook

An awesome curated list of Cryptoeconomic research and learning materials https://github.com/jpantunes/awesome-cryptoeconomics

A collection about awesome blockchains https://github.com/openblockchains/awesome-blockchains

Building Blockchain in Go https://jeiwan.net/posts/building-blockchain-in-go-part-1/

Re: Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#6
post #4

Some recommended reading: https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook https://github.com/ethereumbook/ethereumbook Jimmy Song's "Programming Bitcoin"

+1 for the Jimmy Song book. The guy does an amazing job of laying out difficult concepts in a very accessible way without too much dumbing-down.

Re: Ask HN: What computer science concepts should I learn to work with Blockchain?

#10
post #5

Mastering Bitcoin https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook An awesome curated list of Cryptoeconomic research and learning materials https://github.com/jpantunes/awesome-cryptoeconomics A collection about awesome blockchains https://github.com/openblockchains/awesome-blockchains Building Blockchain in Go https://jeiwan.net/posts/building-blockchain-in-go-part-1/

Thanks a lot for the links! Out of curiosity, why use Go instead of say Python?
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