Smart contract development: Common mistakes to avoid

Building smart contracts for blockchain technology introduces unique challenges compared to traditional Web2 applications, primarily due to their immutability and the monetary value embedded in their code. The heightened importance of security in smart contract development is underscored by the numerous attacks and losses suffered in the Web3 space due to vulnerabilities like reentrancy attacks, arithmetic overflows and underflows, cross-function race conditions, transaction order dependence, and timestamp dependence. To mitigate such risks, developers are advised to employ the Check-Effect-Interaction pattern and leverage tools such as Solidity's SafeMath library for earlier versions, commit/reveal schemes, and oracles like Chainlink for reliable timestamp data. As the Web3 landscape evolves, continuous learning and adaptation from recent incidents remain crucial in enhancing the security of smart contracts.