Compilers

Compilers are used to convert high-level contract source code into the format that the Ethereum execution environment understands. The Solidity compiler, solc, is the most common one in use, which is discussed next.

The Solidity compiler

solc converts from a high-level Solidity language into Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) bytecode so that it can be executed on the blockchain by the EVM.

Installation

solc can be installed on a Linux Ubuntu operating system using the following commands:

$ sudo apt-get install solc

If Personal Package Archives (PPAs) are not already installed, those can be installed by running the following commands:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ethereum/ethereum
$ sudo apt-get update

To install solc on macOS, execute the following commands:

$ brew tap ethereum/ethereum

This command will add the Ethereum repository to the list of brew formulas:

$ brew install solidity

This command will produce a long output and may take a few minutes to complete. If...