I first stumbled upon bitcoin in mid-2011. My immediate reaction was more or less "Pfft! Nerd money!" and I ignored it for another 6 months, failing to grasp its importance. This is a reaction which I have seen repeated among many of the smartest people I know, which gives me some consolation. The second time I came across bitcoin in a mailing list discussion, I decided to read the white paper written by Satoshi Nakamoto, to study the authoritative source and see what it was all about. I still remember the moment I finished reading those 9 pages, when I realized that bitcoin was not simply a digital currency, but a network of trust that could also provide the basis for so much more than just currencies. That realization: "This isn't money, it's a de-centralized trust network", started me on a 4-month journey to devour every scrap of information about bitcoin I could find. I became obsessed and enthralled, spending 12 or more hours each day glued to a screen, reading, writing, coding and learning as much as I could. I emerged from this state of fugue, more than 20 lbs lighter from lack of consistent meals, determined to dedicate myself to working on bitcoin.
Two years later, after creating a number of small startups to explore various bitcoin-related services and products, I decided that it was time to write my first book. Bitcoin was the topic that had driven me into a frenzy of creativity, consumed my thoughts and is the most exciting technology I have encountered since the Internet. It was now time to share my discovery of this amazing technolgy and my passion with a broader audience. This is the bitcoin book.
=== Intended Audience
This book is mostly intended for coders. If you can use a programming language, this book will teach you how how cryptographic currencies work, how to use them and how to develop software that works with them. The first few chapters are also suitable as an in-depth introduction to bitcoin for non-coders - technically-minded people or those trying to understand the inner workings of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. The examples are illustrated in Python and on the command-line of a Unix-like operating system such as Linux.
=== Early-Release Note
The early release version of the book is a *raw and rough draft* and will change regularly. New chapters will be added as they are drafted and there will be plenty of changes to the content, examples and diagrams. There will be factual and technical errors in the early release and some of the examples may not work or refer to obsolete versions of the code. Nevertheless, I hope you will enjoy the content and find it useful. I also hope that you will take the opportunity to "fork" the source code of the book and provide feedback by creating a pull request or submitting a patch. I present this work in the spirit of Cunningham's Law, named after the inventor of the wiki, Ward Cunningham:
.Cunningham's Law
_The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer_
I hope you can help me find and publish the "right answer" by the time this book is ready to print.
=== Conventions Used in This Book
The following typographical conventions are used in this book:
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=== Using Code Examples
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<remark>PROD: Please reach out to author to find out if they will be uploading code examples to oreilly.com or their own site (e.g., GitHub). If there is no code download, delete this whole section.</remark>
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Supplemental material (code examples, exercises, etc.) is available for download at link:$$http://examples.oreilly.com/<ISBN>-files/$$[].
This book is here to help you get your job done. In general, if example code is offered with this book, you may use it in your programs and documentation. You do not need to contact us for permission unless you’re reproducing a significant portion of the code. For example, writing a program that uses several chunks of code from this book does not require permission. Selling or distributing a CD-ROM of examples from O’Reilly books does require permission. Answering a question by citing this book and quoting example code does not require permission. Incorporating a significant amount of example code from this book into your product’s documentation does require permission.
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We have a web page for this book, where we list errata, examples, and any additional information. You can access this page at link:$$http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/<catalog page>$$[].
We have a web page for this book, where we list errata, examples, and any additional information. You can access this page at link:$$http://http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920032281.do$$[].
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<remark>Don't forget to update the link above.</remark>
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To comment or ask technical questions about this book, send email to pass:[<email>bookquestions@oreilly.com</email>].
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=== Acknowledgments
==== Quick Glossary
== Quick Glossary
This quick glossary contains many of the terms used in relation to bitcoin. These terms are used throughout the book, so bookmark this for a quick reference and clarification.
Andreas M. Antonopoulos
10 years ago