In previous chapters, we learned about blockchain and what a smart contract is. A smart contract should be used only when it is required to use the programmable properties of the blockchain. We looked into the most famous contract-oriented language, Solidity. We also understood the basic syntax of the language and how to write smart contracts in Solidity. As we have learned the language, we now need to learn about some tools that are useful for developing Solidity contracts.

In this chapter, we will look at tools that are used to create, test, and deploy contracts. We will look at how to set up MetaMask and the Remix IDE and how to use them.

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• Setting up the MetaMask browser plugin
• Understanding transfers, networks, and accounts on the MetaMask plugin
• Using the Remix IDE for contract development
• Testing contracts with the Remix IDE
• Setting up a local instance of the Remix IDE