Seminar: Blockchain Programming

Abstract: 

The goal of this Seminar is to give students first-hand experience in programming decentralised applications on the most popular blockchain protocols, including - but not limited to - Bitcoin, Ethereum and Polkadot.

Students will be given theoretical and technical guidance as well as technical infrastructure - forks of several before mentioned blockchain protocols, so that they can work on a project on their own deploying or developing decentralised applications on platforms akin to the original ones.

Examples include implementation of Decentralised Finance protocols (like Uniswap, SushiSwap or Aave) using smart contract functionalities on either Ethereum or Polkadot blockchains; deployment of second layer solutions; forking and development of own blockchains; deployment of monitoring tools. Theoretical and technical concepts will be covered in sufficient detail so that students can start working on their own projects. While prior programming knowledge and experience is necessary, not necessarily in the field of blockchain technologies. During their project work, students will be guided to critically assess all relevant technical aspects of their proposed application, to plan the development and deployment of their application, and to assess its usability in comparison to more traditional centralised solutions as well as in the wider context of existing decentralised blockchain applications.

Instructors:

Prof. Dr. Claudio J. Tessone (theory and practice)

Dr. Matija Piškorec (theory and practice)piskorec@ifi.uzh.ch

Tao Yan (Practice)

Type:
Lecture

Target Audience:
MSc Students in Information Systems, Software Systems, Data Science.

Frequency:
Each Spring semester

ECTS: 3

Content:

Theoretical and practical introduction to programming decentralized applications on the most popular blockchain protocols.

Language:
English

Prerequisites:
Solid programming skills in any of the popular general purpose programming languages (C++, Java, Python) are a necessary requirement (or the willingness to develop this knowledge priorto the lecture). No prior knowledge of blockchain programming is needded. Optional experience in Web technologies (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) for building Web applications.

Grading:
Oral exam (40%) and written project report (60%).

Dates and Location:
20.2. 13:00-14:00, 27.2. 13:00-16:00, 5.3. 13:00-16:00
Location: BIN 2.A.01
Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Registration:
Don’t forget to officially register yourself using the registration tools at the University of Zurich.

The syllabus is available for download here. (PDF, 466 KB)

OLAT element:

OLAT for Blockchain Programming (H24)