What Is A Blockchain?
Blockchain - A decentralized computation and information sharing platform that enables multiple authoritative domains, who do not trust each other, to cooperate, collaborate and coordinate in a rational decision making process.
Suppose you and I are doing a history project and we have to submit a report on an historical monument. We know the traditional process of sharing documents i.e via microsoft word. I send a writeup of the project to you, you review it and edit, sending new edited document to me. This process continues for some time. You can imagine how cumbersome a process like that will be. This can even lead to misunderstanding or miscommunication between you and me.
Now we do have come up with a modern process of document sharing i.e via Google Doc. The document is shared on a free cloud service provided by Google. Here you and I can edit simultaneously on our history project and avoid different edits of same project. But, there is one flaw to this process - the environment is still centralized. Now you may think that how can the centralized system harm? The chances are less but still this process has got problems of possibility of single point of failure. For example, what if you or I do not have sufficient bandwidth to load Google doc, then you or me won't be able to edit the writeup. It also has possibility of server crash.
What if we could make document sharing decentralized or distributed? Let me first differentiate between centralized, decentralized and distributed networks.
Centralized means complete reliance of network on single point, which is not safe.
Decentralized network promotes multiple points of coordination, ruling out possibility of single point of failure, the network can still continue operating.
Distributed network ensures everyone collectively execute the job.
Therefore I present to you a plausibly ideal solution - Everyone edits on their own local copy of the document and the Internet takes care of ensuring consistency. Hence, here blockchain can be seen as the Internet database that supports decentralization with strong consistency support.
Let us now understand the Blockchain network which has decentralized network of nodes. A node can be any electronic device, like computer, phone or printer; as long as it's connected to the Internet and has an IP address. Every node maintains a local copy of the global datasheet. The network ensures consistency among local copies such that the local copies at every node are identical and the local copies are always updated based on the global information.
We call this a 'Public Ledger' - database of 'historical information' available to everyone; which may be used for future computation. Blockchain works like a 'Public Ledger'. But it has number of different aspects.
* Protocols for Commitment - Ensuring every valid transaction from nodes are committed and included in the blockchain within finite time.
* Consensus - ensuring local copies are consistent and updated.
* Security - Data needs to be tamper proof as nodes may act maliciously or get compromised.
* Privacy and Authentication
Formal Definition of Blockchain : A Blockchain is " an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in verifiable and permanent way"
Suppose you and I are doing a history project and we have to submit a report on an historical monument. We know the traditional process of sharing documents i.e via microsoft word. I send a writeup of the project to you, you review it and edit, sending new edited document to me. This process continues for some time. You can imagine how cumbersome a process like that will be. This can even lead to misunderstanding or miscommunication between you and me.
Now we do have come up with a modern process of document sharing i.e via Google Doc. The document is shared on a free cloud service provided by Google. Here you and I can edit simultaneously on our history project and avoid different edits of same project. But, there is one flaw to this process - the environment is still centralized. Now you may think that how can the centralized system harm? The chances are less but still this process has got problems of possibility of single point of failure. For example, what if you or I do not have sufficient bandwidth to load Google doc, then you or me won't be able to edit the writeup. It also has possibility of server crash.
What if we could make document sharing decentralized or distributed? Let me first differentiate between centralized, decentralized and distributed networks.
Centralized means complete reliance of network on single point, which is not safe.
Decentralized network promotes multiple points of coordination, ruling out possibility of single point of failure, the network can still continue operating.
Distributed network ensures everyone collectively execute the job.
Therefore I present to you a plausibly ideal solution - Everyone edits on their own local copy of the document and the Internet takes care of ensuring consistency. Hence, here blockchain can be seen as the Internet database that supports decentralization with strong consistency support.
Let us now understand the Blockchain network which has decentralized network of nodes. A node can be any electronic device, like computer, phone or printer; as long as it's connected to the Internet and has an IP address. Every node maintains a local copy of the global datasheet. The network ensures consistency among local copies such that the local copies at every node are identical and the local copies are always updated based on the global information.
We call this a 'Public Ledger' - database of 'historical information' available to everyone; which may be used for future computation. Blockchain works like a 'Public Ledger'. But it has number of different aspects.
* Protocols for Commitment - Ensuring every valid transaction from nodes are committed and included in the blockchain within finite time.
* Consensus - ensuring local copies are consistent and updated.
* Security - Data needs to be tamper proof as nodes may act maliciously or get compromised.
* Privacy and Authentication
Formal Definition of Blockchain : A Blockchain is " an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in verifiable and permanent way"
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