# Smart contracts
zkSync is on track to introduce high-efficient, secure, Turing-complete, multi-language smart contracts.
# Table of contents
# Programming model
The zkSync smart contract programming model inherits that of Ethereum.
Both Zinc and Solidity languages are Turing-complete, so you can use unbounded loops, recursion, vectors and maps of arbitrary length, and so on. Local variables are stored on the stack or in the heap memory, whereas the contract storage is accessed globally. Contracts call one another via strongly-typed interfaces and have access to public storage fields.
# Composability
zkSync smart contracts are able to call one another, just like in the Ethereum ecosystem. Each call transaction tree is atomic, regardless of the number of contract instances involved.
Any DeFi project can be migrated to zkSync, since most of the existing Solidity code can be deployed without changes.
# Sync VM
The Sync VM is a high-efficient, Turing-complete, SNARK-friendly virtual machine for executing zkSync smart contracts.
State-of-the-art optimizations are applied to smart contract bytecode, whilst the virtual machine itself is optimized for high-load, allowing to execute transactions in a blink of an eye.
The machine is SNARK-friendly, that is, the execution trace can be proven in SNARKs. However, it does not require a circuit per program. A single circuit can be used instead, which needs to be audited only once.
The target proof system of the Sync VM is PLONK (opens new window).
# Zinc
Zinc (opens new window) is an emerging framework for developing smart contracts and SNARK circuits on the zkSync platform.
Existing ZKP frameworks lack functionality specific for smart contracts. Security and safety aspects are crucial for developing smart contracts since they deal with valuable financial assets. Modern smart contract languages, such as Simplicity or Libra's Move, deliberately made design choices that favor safety and formal verifiability of the code over generalistic expressiveness.
Zinc is created to fill the gap between the two worlds: to provide a smart contract language optimized for ZKP circuits, which is reliable and simple at the same time, and can be quickly learned by a large number of software developers.
The framework includes a simple, Turing-complete, safety-focused, general-purpose language, designed specifically for developing smart contracts and zero-knowledge proof circuits with a flat learning curve. Syntax and semantic closely follow Rust (opens new window).
The Zinc compiler uses LLVM as its middle-end and back-end, which provides an extremely powerful set of solutions for code optimization.
The language is under heavy development, thus many of its aspects will eventually be improved or changed. However, the basic principles, such as security and simplicity, will never be questioned.
# Learning Zinc
Zinc programming language has an official book (opens new window) which provides an introduction to its core principles and conventions.
# Getting help
You can ask questions and get assistance in our Gitter (opens new window) chat room.
If you would like to migrate an existing project to zkSync (opens new window) and require help, please send us an email at [email protected]
# Solidity
Solidity (opens new window) is a very popular general-purpose language with a huge codebase and number of DeFi projects, adopted by thousands of blockchain developers from all over the world.
It will be possible to deploy the most of Solidity projects almost without modifications. However, some features will likely be prohibited and should be omitted in order to keep the code compatible:
- ASM blocks with memory access
- facilitating calculations via overflows
- ABI contract calls
- general cases of undefined behavior
As a little extra, we are working on a Solidity-to-Zinc transpiler to simplify the migration process.
# Choosig the framework
| Zinc | Solidity |
| If you are going to start a new project, embrace Zinc today! | If you possess a large Solidity codebase, it is reasonable to wait for the Solidity support, and start migrating to Zinc after the mainnet release. |
# Roadmap
# Testnet
The testnet for smart contracts on zkSync is live with Curve Finance as the first resident dapp, launched in October 2020! Check out the intro post (opens new window).
Also, feel free to test arbitrary smart contracts using our Zandbox server.
This tutorial (opens new window) explains how to deploy a smart contract to the Rinkeby testnet.
# Mainnet
zkSync smart contracts are going mainnet in 2021.
Both Zinc and Solidity languages will be supported at the same time.