Smartcontracts and Whitepaper for ICO

[myshaka]

Hello,

Hello, Im writing a course paper about blockchain and  Initial Coin Offerings, will you help me out please? Im at odds.
What is the backbone of any ICO? White paper and smartcontract? How is smartcontract glued to Ethereum and is it necessary for token emission? How does it work in a nutshell? What are the basics for starting an ICO, apart from marketing. Not enough info out there.
Thank you!

[blockoptions]

Better have a look at the Announcements (Altcoins) section https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=159.0 and you will find out how

[d5000]

What is the backbone of any ICO? White paper and smartcontract?

White paper = short text about how the token/contract is going to work.
Smart contract = is a computer program that uses the blockchain for data storage. It is the base for every "service" on smart contract platforms like Ethereum.

How is smartcontract glued to Ethereum and is it necessary for token emission? How does it work in a nutshell?

I guess a good start is to read about the ERC20 standard.

What are the basics for starting an ICO, apart from marketing. Not enough info out there.

Here are a couple of ponts - technical and social - that you should take into account.