Smart Contracts on Near Protocol: A Developer’s Guide This article aims to guide you through the process of creating and deploying a Hello Worldprogram on Near Protocol. Let’s begin by addressing our initial question. What is a Smart Contract? So, the answer is very simple A Smart contract is piece of executable code stored in the account’s state that has its own storage, and performs transactions in the account’s name. They are written in Javascript or Rust and then compiled and deployed to an account so everyone can interact with them through their public methods. Why Smart Contracts Matter? Smart contracts enable to create fully decentralized applications which include — Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, where users create and vote on proposals. Art Marketplaces, where users create and commercialize digital art pieces. Decentralized exchanges, where users can trade different currencies. What are the advantages of NEAR Contracts? 1. Simple to Build. 2. Simple to Maintain. 3. Some Methods are Free to Call. Next, let’s explore the process of creating our initial Near Protocol program using Node.js. Setting up the environment Alright! before we start writing contracts, make sure that you have the following dependencies installed on your system. Node.js (^v16) A code editor (VS Code, preferably) Once all the requirements are installed, we can use the create-near-app package to quickly set up a NEAR project. To use the package: Create a new directory Open a new terminal in the directory Type the following command The command will ask you to select a: Preferred language (TypeScript) Preferred template (No frontend) Name for your application (hello-world…maybe) Once all that is said and done, the package will create a properly structured codebase, complete with a sample smart contract inside the contract/src directory. Now let’s write our first code For the code visit my medium article to learn more - https://medium.com/@roizlive69/smart-contracts-on-near-protocol-a-developers-guide-7d96a79c47c3