Solidity lets you program on Ethereum, a blockchain-based virtual machine that allows the creation and execution of smart contracts, without requiring centralized or trusted parties.

Solidity is a statically typed, contract programming language that has similarities to Javascript and C. Like objects in OOP, each contract contains state variables, functions, and common data types. Contract-specific features include modifier (guard) clauses, event notifiers for listeners, and custom global variables.

Some Ethereum contract examples include crowdfunding, voting, and blind auctions.

Unlike other code, you may also need to add in design patterns like pausing, depreciation, and throttling usage to reduce risk. This document primarily discusses syntax, and so excludes many popular design patterns.

As Solidity and Ethereum are under active development, experimental or beta features are typically marked, and subject to change. Pull requests welcome.