Programming Fundamentals

ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman)

Key agreement protocol where two parties derive a shared secret using their private keys and each other's public keys on an elliptic curve. Used in Solana's confidential transfers to establish encryption keys between sender and recipient without exchanging secrets, enabling encrypted on-chain token amounts.

IDecdhAliasElliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman

Plain meaning

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Key agreement protocol where two parties derive a shared secret using their private keys and each other's public keys on an elliptic curve. Used in Solana's confidential transfers to establish encryption keys between sender and recipient without exchanging secrets, enabling encrypted on-chain token amounts.

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ECDH (Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman) (ecdh)
Category: Programming Fundamentals
Definition: Key agreement protocol where two parties derive a shared secret using their private keys and each other's public keys on an elliptic curve. Used in Solana's confidential transfers to establish encryption keys between sender and recipient without exchanging secrets, enabling encrypted on-chain token amounts.
Aliases: Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman
Related: Curve25519, Encryption, Public Key Cryptography
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Curve25519

An elliptic curve designed by Daniel Bernstein for efficient Diffie-Hellman key exchange. It operates on a Montgomery curve over a 255-bit prime field, offering 128-bit security. Solana uses the related Edwards form (Ed25519) for transaction signatures. Curve25519 is favored for its speed, constant-time implementation, and resistance to timing attacks.

Branch

Encryption

The process of converting plaintext data into ciphertext that can only be read with the correct decryption key. Symmetric encryption (AES) uses one key for both operations. Asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECIES) uses public/private key pairs. On Solana, encryption is used in confidential transfers (Twisted ElGamal), off-chain communication, and wallet security.

Branch

Public Key Cryptography

A cryptographic system using mathematically linked key pairs: a public key (shared freely) and a private key (kept secret). Used for digital signatures (sender signs with private key, anyone verifies with public key) and encryption (encrypt with public key, decrypt with private key). Solana uses Ed25519 for signatures and Curve25519/Ristretto255 for encryption.

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Programming Fundamentals

Curve25519

An elliptic curve designed by Daniel Bernstein for efficient Diffie-Hellman key exchange. It operates on a Montgomery curve over a 255-bit prime field, offering 128-bit security. Solana uses the related Edwards form (Ed25519) for transaction signatures. Curve25519 is favored for its speed, constant-time implementation, and resistance to timing attacks.

Programming Fundamentals

Encryption

The process of converting plaintext data into ciphertext that can only be read with the correct decryption key. Symmetric encryption (AES) uses one key for both operations. Asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECIES) uses public/private key pairs. On Solana, encryption is used in confidential transfers (Twisted ElGamal), off-chain communication, and wallet security.

Programming Fundamentals

Public Key Cryptography

A cryptographic system using mathematically linked key pairs: a public key (shared freely) and a private key (kept secret). Used for digital signatures (sender signs with private key, anyone verifies with public key) and encryption (encrypt with public key, decrypt with private key). Solana uses Ed25519 for signatures and Curve25519/Ristretto255 for encryption.

Programming Fundamentals

ELF Binary

Executable and Linkable Format — the binary format used for deployed Solana programs. Rust source code is compiled via cargo-build-sbf into an SBF-targeted ELF binary (.so file) that the Solana runtime loads and executes. The ELF format contains the program's compiled bytecode, symbol tables, and relocation information. ELF binaries are uploaded to buffer accounts during deployment and then written to the program data account.

Related terms

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Programming Fundamentalscurve25519

Curve25519

An elliptic curve designed by Daniel Bernstein for efficient Diffie-Hellman key exchange. It operates on a Montgomery curve over a 255-bit prime field, offering 128-bit security. Solana uses the related Edwards form (Ed25519) for transaction signatures. Curve25519 is favored for its speed, constant-time implementation, and resistance to timing attacks.

Programming Fundamentalsencryption

Encryption

The process of converting plaintext data into ciphertext that can only be read with the correct decryption key. Symmetric encryption (AES) uses one key for both operations. Asymmetric encryption (RSA, ECIES) uses public/private key pairs. On Solana, encryption is used in confidential transfers (Twisted ElGamal), off-chain communication, and wallet security.

Programming Fundamentalspublic-key-cryptography

Public Key Cryptography

A cryptographic system using mathematically linked key pairs: a public key (shared freely) and a private key (kept secret). Used for digital signatures (sender signs with private key, anyone verifies with public key) and encryption (encrypt with public key, decrypt with private key). Solana uses Ed25519 for signatures and Curve25519/Ristretto255 for encryption.

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Programming Fundamentals

Rust

A systems programming language emphasizing memory safety, zero-cost abstractions, and concurrency without a garbage collector. Rust uses an ownership model with borrow checking at compile time to prevent data races and null pointer bugs. It is the primary language for Solana program development (via Anchor or native solana-program crate) and the Agave validator client.

Programming Fundamentals

TypeScript

A statically typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript. TypeScript adds type annotations, interfaces, generics, and enums to catch errors at compile time. It is the standard language for Solana client-side development—wallet adapters, dApp frontends, test suites, and SDK interactions (web3.js, Anchor client) are typically written in TypeScript.

Programming Fundamentals

JavaScript

The ubiquitous scripting language for web development, running in browsers and Node.js. JavaScript is dynamically typed and event-driven. Most Solana dApp frontends and scripts use JavaScript/TypeScript with libraries like @solana/web3.js. Node.js enables server-side JS for backend services, indexers, and bot development.

Programming Fundamentals

Node.js

A JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 engine that enables server-side JavaScript execution. Node.js uses an event-driven, non-blocking I/O model. In the Solana ecosystem, Node.js is used for: running Anchor tests (Mocha/Jest), backend services, transaction bots, indexers, and CLI tools. npm/yarn/pnpm manage JavaScript package dependencies.