How did the Balance Variable Gets Updated

[satish860]

I am in Chapter 4 and working on the fund me project. I am wondering how is the address(this). Balance has the amount. I am making the assumption that it's part of the Programming internal which updates but not sure if that's correct.

Can anyone help me to understand the same?

[PatrickAlphaC]

You got it!

In solidity, you can do .balance on any address and get its balance.

So when you do address(this).balance you're getting the address of the contract you're in with the this keyword, and then the balance.

[satish860]

Thanks, Then I have another follow-up question.

Will that be a Secure? So If I know your address then I can check your balance and publish it too isnt.

[PatrickAlphaC]

So If I know your address then I can check your balance and publish it too isnt.

What do you mean by "publish it too isnt"?

[satish860]

I meant Publish like Put it somewhere. Let me explain it with a concept, If I know @PatrickAlphaC's address since you funded me and I can take the balance using your address property and know how much money you have isn't it? What If I am the malicious user who can publish an email that contains the account and balance details of everyone

[alwayscommit]

Blockchain offers pseudonymity along with transparency.

"Pseudonymity is the near-anonymous state in which a user has a consistent identifier that is not their real name: a pseudonym."

In Blockchain, it's the public address. You can look up anyone's balance if you have their public address. All the transactions/actions on-chain are transparent, unlike a bank account. You don't know how much money a corrupt government would have in their international bank accounts/individual accounts, but if a government operates on the blockchain, it'd enable transparency and allow the general public to verify how their taxes are being used to manage and develop the nation. (A very simplified example)

On a personal level, it isn't desirable. You wouldn't want me to know your balance, and likewise. I've not yet looked into privacy-driven blockchains and how they guarantee anonymity.

[PatrickAlphaC]

Great answer @alwayscommit