Introduction

Welcome to this tutorial where we aim to explore the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). We will discuss its fundamentals, understand its compatibility with Ethereum, and learn how to interface it with JavaScript libraries. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a solid understanding of how BSC works and be able to start developing applications on this blockchain platform.

What will you learn
- Basics of Binance Smart Chain
- Interfacing BSC with JavaScript
- Developing applications on BSC

Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of blockchain technology
- Familiarity with JavaScript
- Basic understanding of Ethereum and Smart Contracts

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Understanding Binance Smart Chain

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a blockchain network built for running smart contract-based applications. BSC runs in parallel with Binance’s native Binance Chain (BC), which allows users to get the best of both worlds: the high transaction capacity of BC and the smart contract functionality of BSC.

1. Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum Compatibility

BSC is Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible. This means that it supports all the existing Ethereum tooling, including MetaMask, Remix, Truffle, and more. It uses the same address format as Ethereum, so you can switch between the two blockchains seamlessly.

1. Interfacing BSC with JavaScript libraries

Web3.js and ethers.js are the two most popular libraries to interact with Ethereum (and thus, BSC). They allow you to interact with a local or remote ethereum node using HTTP, IPC or WebSocket.

Code Examples

1. Connecting to BSC using Web3.js

// Import Web3 library
const Web3 = require('web3');

// BSC Testnet RPC
const RPC_URL = "https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.binance.org:8545/";

// Create a web3 instance
const web3 = new Web3(new Web3.providers.HttpProvider(RPC_URL));

// Display the connected network ID
web3.eth.net.getId().then(console.log);

In this example, we import the Web3 library and create an instance connected to the BSC Testnet RPC. We then log the connected network ID.

1. Querying Account Balance

// Account address
const account = "0xYourAccountAddress";

// Get account balance
web3.eth.getBalance(account, (err, wei) => {
    balance = web3.utils.fromWei(wei, 'ether');
    console.log(balance);
});

This code snippet queries the balance of a specific BSC account. It uses the getBalance function provided by web3.js, which returns the balance in Wei. We then convert this balance into Ether for readability.

Summary

In this tutorial, we've covered the fundamentals of Binance Smart Chain, its compatibility with Ethereum, and how to interface it with JavaScript libraries. You should now be well-equipped to start developing applications on the BSC platform!

Practice Exercises

1. Create a new BSC account using web3.js

2. Deploy a simple smart contract to BSC

3. Interact with the deployed smart contract

Further Learning

To dig deeper into Binance Smart Chain development, consider exploring these additional resources:
- BSC Developer Documentation
- Web3.js Documentation
- Ethers.js Documentation