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.

IDpublic-key-cryptographyAliasAsymmetric Cryptography

Plain meaning

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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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Public Key Cryptography (public-key-cryptography)
Category: Programming Fundamentals
Definition: 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.
Aliases: Asymmetric Cryptography
Related: Ed25519, Keypair
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Branch

Ed25519

The elliptic curve digital signature algorithm used by Solana for all transaction signing. Ed25519 uses Curve25519 and produces 64-byte signatures with 32-byte public keys. Solana also provides an Ed25519 precompile program for on-chain signature verification within program logic.

Branch

Keypair

A pair of a 32-byte Ed25519 private key and its corresponding 32-byte public key. Keypairs are used to sign transactions and derive account addresses. They are stored as 64-byte arrays (private + public concatenated) in JSON files by the Solana CLI. The private key should never be shared or exposed.

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Programming Model

Ed25519

The elliptic curve digital signature algorithm used by Solana for all transaction signing. Ed25519 uses Curve25519 and produces 64-byte signatures with 32-byte public keys. Solana also provides an Ed25519 precompile program for on-chain signature verification within program logic.

Programming Model

Keypair

A pair of a 32-byte Ed25519 private key and its corresponding 32-byte public key. Keypairs are used to sign transactions and derive account addresses. They are stored as 64-byte arrays (private + public concatenated) in JSON files by the Solana CLI. The private key should never be shared or exposed.

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

Pipelining

Processing technique where multiple stages of a task execute in overlapping fashion, like an assembly line. Solana's validator pipeline processes transactions through fetch, SigVerify, banking, and broadcast stages simultaneously, achieving higher throughput than sequential processing. Essential to Solana's 400ms slot production.

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Programming Modeled25519

Ed25519

The elliptic curve digital signature algorithm used by Solana for all transaction signing. Ed25519 uses Curve25519 and produces 64-byte signatures with 32-byte public keys. Solana also provides an Ed25519 precompile program for on-chain signature verification within program logic.

Programming Modelkeypair

Keypair

A pair of a 32-byte Ed25519 private key and its corresponding 32-byte public key. Keypairs are used to sign transactions and derive account addresses. They are stored as 64-byte arrays (private + public concatenated) in JSON files by the Solana CLI. The private key should never be shared or exposed.

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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.