A practical map of the concepts behind Ethereum, smart contracts, and blockchain infrastructure.

Created and maintained by 0xSix9.

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What is this?

Blockchain Concepts Learning Roadmap is a structured, developer-oriented learning plan for understanding how Ethereum and EVM-based applications work beneath the surface.

The roadmap starts with EVM execution and contract interaction, then moves through storage, contract architecture, transactions, gas, RPC, Layer 2, cross-chain systems, MEV, consensus, and advanced cryptography.

This repository is designed as both a learning checklist and a growing technical reference. Every stage has its own index, and the complete roadmap keeps all concepts in one place.

Publication progress: ✅ Stage 01 — EVM Execution is content-complete: all 12 concept articles are published and reviewed. ✅ Stage 02 — ABI and Contract Interaction is content-complete: all 16 concept articles are published, including Precompiled Contracts. ✅ Stage 03 — Storage and Data Layout is content-complete: all 13 concept articles are published, including Storage Proofs. The individual unchecked concept boxes remain study checklists and are not automatically checked when articles are published. ✅ Stage 04 — Smart Contract Architecture is content-complete: all 17 concept articles are published, including Contract Composition, Inheritance, Interfaces and Libraries, Internal and External Calls, Proxy Contracts, Transparent Proxies, UUPS Proxies, Beacon Proxies, Minimal Proxies (Clones), Delegatecall-Based Proxy Architecture, Contract Upgradeability, Storage Compatibility, Initializers, Storage Collisions in Proxies, Diamond Pattern (EIP-2535), Deterministic Contract Deployment, and CREATE2 Address Derivation (17/17). ✅ Stage 05 — Advanced Transactions and Gas is content-complete: all 14 concept articles are published, including Transaction Lifecycle, Transaction Nonce, Transaction Types (EIP-2718), Access List Transactions (EIP-2930), Set Code Transactions (EIP-7702), Chain ID and Replay Protection, Intrinsic Gas, Gas Accounting, Gas Limit and Gas Used, Out-of-Gas, Transaction Receipts, Transaction Reverts, Transaction Replacement, and Gas Refunds (14/14). ✅ Stage 06 — Application Connectivity is content-complete: all 17 concept articles are published, covering JSON-RPC, Ethereum RPC Methods, Reading Blockchain State, Sending Transactions, Transaction Signing, eth_call, eth_estimateGas, eth_sendRawTransaction, Log and Event Filtering, WebSocket Subscriptions, Execution Clients, Archive Nodes, Full Nodes, Light Clients, Execution API, Consensus API, and Engine API (17/17). ✅ Stage 07 — Advanced Layer 2 and Cross-Chain is content-complete: all 19 concept articles are published, covering Fraud Proofs, Validity Proofs, Sequencers, Batch Submission, State Commitments, Settlement Layer, Challenge Periods, Forced Inclusion, Forced Withdrawals, Rollup Bridges, Blob Fee Market, Data Availability Sampling, PeerDAS, Validiums, Volitions, Based Rollups, Shared Sequencing, Cross-Chain Messaging, and Bridge Security Models (19/19).

Roadmap at a glance

Stage	Focus	Concepts	Priority	Article publication
✅ Stage 01 — EVM Execution	EVM execution fundamentals	12	P1	✅ Complete — 12/12 published
✅ Stage 02 — ABI and Contract Interaction	ABI, selectors, calls, events, errors, precompiles	16	P1	✅ Complete — 16/16 published
✅ Stage 03 — Storage and Data Layout	Storage slots, packing, mappings, proofs	13	P1	✅ Complete — 13/13 published
✅ Stage 04 — Smart Contract Architecture	Composition, proxies, upgradeability	17	P1	✅ Complete — 17/17 published
✅ Stage 05 — Advanced Transactions and Gas	Transaction mechanics and gas accounting	14	P2	✅ Complete — 14/14 published
✅ Stage 06 — Application Connectivity	RPC, clients, APIs, event subscriptions	17	P2	✅ Complete — 17/17 published
✅ Stage 07 — Advanced Layer 2 and Cross-Chain	Rollups, bridges, data availability	19	P3	✅ Complete — 19/19 published
Stage 08 — Mempool and MEV	Transaction ordering and MEV	16	P3	Checklist only
Stage 09 — Advanced Ethereum Consensus	Validators, fork choice, finality	18	P4	Checklist only
Stage 10 — Advanced Cryptography and Protocol Developments	Cryptography and future protocol designs	15	P4	Checklist only

157 roadmap entries across 10 stages. This count represents topics in the learning plan, not completed articles.

Learning priorities

Priority	Stages	Focus
P1	01–04	Core foundations: EVM execution, contract interaction, storage, and smart-contract architecture.
P2	05–06	Transactions, gas accounting, RPC, clients, and application connectivity.
P3	07–08	Layer 2, cross-chain architecture, mempool mechanics, transaction ordering, and MEV.
P4	09–10	Ethereum consensus, advanced cryptography, and protocol-level developments.

Priority describes the suggested learning order, not the overall importance of a topic. The first four stages establish the most direct foundations for smart-contract development; later stages broaden protocol and infrastructure understanding.

How to use the roadmap

1. Open a stage index and choose a concept.
2. Research it using primary sources before writing.
3. Explain the mechanism in your own words and connect it to developer use cases.
4. Add a diagram, code experiment, or trace when it genuinely improves understanding.
5. Record references and review dates, especially for protocol topics that evolve.
6. Mark a topic complete only after the article has been checked.

Status convention

A ✅ beside a stage indicates article-publication progress. The unchecked boxes beside individual concepts are separate study checklists and should be marked only after reviewing those concepts.

• ⬜ Not started — checklist only; no article yet.
• 🟡 In progress — research or drafting is underway.
• ✅ Reviewed — article is written and checked against its references.
• 🔄 Needs update — a specification, implementation, or source may have changed.

Repository structure

.
├── README.md
├── roadmap/
│   ├── roadmap.md
│   └── learning-priorities.md
├── concepts/
│   ├── 01-evm-execution/
│   ├── 02-abi-contract-interaction/
│   ├── 03-storage-data-layout/
│   ├── 04-smart-contract-architecture/
│   ├── 05-advanced-transactions-gas/
│   ├── 06-application-connectivity/
│   ├── 07-layer2-cross-chain/
│   ├── 08-mempool-mev/
│   ├── 09-ethereum-consensus/
│   └── 10-advanced-cryptography-protocol/
├── templates/
├── references/
├── assets/
│   ├── diagrams/
│   ├── images/
│   └── roadmap-overview.svg
└── .github/
    ├── ISSUE_TEMPLATE/
    └── PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md

Project principles

• Concept-first: explain mechanisms, not just definitions.
• Developer-oriented: connect ideas to implementation, debugging, architecture, gas, and security.
• Traceable: support technical claims with relevant sources.
• Visual where useful: diagram execution flows, data layouts, and protocol boundaries when they clarify the idea.
• Incremental: empty checklists are not presented as finished content.
• Maintainable: update documentation when relevant specifications or protocol behavior change.

Scope and accuracy

The roadmap is Ethereum/EVM-centered. Some ideas apply more broadly, but behavior can vary by chain, client, fork, standard, or version. Future articles should clearly distinguish protocol rules from client-specific behavior and common practice.

This is an independent educational project, not official Ethereum documentation, an audit, or a security guarantee.

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_{Learn the mechanism. Trace the execution. Understand the protocol.}