The Edge Programming Language

Edge is a proposed smart contract programming language that its author argues should replace the current state of the art, which the article describes as Solidity dominating the design space. The author contends that Solidity-like "Solidity 2.0" languages fall into a zero-sum adoption game, and that Edge instead starts from first principles with a simple type system that builds abstractions from type-checked opcodes up to generic contract objects. The article proposes typed data pointers for the seven EVM data locations, sized integers, structs, enums, generic types, traits, and modules. It cites a 2021 Trail of Bits report finding that around 90% of EVM smart contracts are at least 56% similar, with 7% completely identical.