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This reference provides detailed translations from Ethereum concepts to their Canton equivalents. Use this as a quick reference when you encounter familiar terms and need to understand their Canton counterpart.

Core Protocol Concepts

Identity & Accounts

Party vs. Address Deep Dive

Implications:
  • Don’t create parties frivolously (unlike Ethereum addresses)
  • Party creation requires interaction with a validator
  • Parties are not pseudonymous in the same way as Ethereum addresses

Smart Contract Concepts

State Model Comparison

Ethereum: Mutable State
Canton: Immutable Contracts

Transaction Concepts

Transaction Visibility

Authorization Concepts

Authorization Example

Ethereum: Runtime Check
Canton: Compile-Time Declaration

Event & Data Concepts

Network Concepts

Environment Comparison

Development Tooling

Common Patterns

What Doesn’t Translate

Some Ethereum concepts have no direct Canton equivalent:

Next Steps

Privacy Differences

Deep dive into Canton’s privacy model vs. Ethereum.

Smart Contract Paradigm

Understand the Daml vs. Solidity programming model.