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Tact and TON terms

Tact Hello World

Tact and TON terms

In this guide, we will walk through the process of creating and deploying a simple smart contract using the Tact program language. The main goal is trying and touch the smart contract developing process and find out what you should learn next. You need to spend about one-two hours, depending on your background knowledge.

Did you notice something unclear, incorrect or get stuck with some issue in this guide? Please ask a question in the Telegram chat (opens in a new tab) or text me directly @iftryalexg (opens in a new tab). Guide will be updated ASAP and all unclear points will be clarified 🚒💦🔥.

Tact's facts #1

Five things you need to know in the beginning:

  • Smart contract is a computer program that stores and executes in blockchain.
  • Blockchain is a shared and structured way to keep data. Data stored in blockchain is impossible to edit and be replaced with fake.
  • TON Blockchain works on its own special program software, called the Ton Virtual Machine (TVM).
  • Tact is a computer language for developing smart contracts on the TON blockchain.
  • Tact uses JavaScript frameworks, so basic knowledge of them helps you learn it faster. However, if you are just a newcomer it is possible to learn from the scratch.

📚 Blockchain is like a digital notebook where important information is written down and shared with many people. Once something is written in the notebook, it can't be changed or erased. It's like a permanent record that everyone can trust. But instead of a notebook, it is stored on multiple servers. And instead of just one person writing in it, many people can write in it at the same time. This way, everyone can see and agree on the information that is written in the blockchain. And because it's placed on a multiple servers, it's safe and can't be lost or changed by accident.

Tactical practice #1

Set up your environment

Get ready to build your own blockchain creation! First, you'll need to gather a few tools to help you along the way.

  • Git is like a magic toolbox for developers. It helps you keep track of all the different parts of your project, so you can work on them together with your team. You can download it here (opens in a new tab).
  • NodeJS is a central tool in JavaScript world. We'll be using JavaScript and its special version called TypeScript to create our smart contract. You can download it here (opens in a new tab).
  • JavaScript IDE is like your own personal workshop. It's where you'll be building and designing your code, a text editor for code with highlighting. A popular choice is VS Code (opens in a new tab), for example. Get it now and let's get building!
  • Tact language extension for IDE makes it more comfortable to work. For example, in VS Code you can install an extension (opens in a new tab).

After the preparation of developer tools is done, download tact-guide-template project and open it in your IDE.

git clone https://github.com/ton-community/tact-guide-template
cd tact-guide-template
CookbookTact project structure