What was initially exciting about blockchain technology was that it could allow the peer-to-peer transfer of digital currency to anyone in the world without banks and intermediaries. Today, that excitement will be further heightened by the realization that this peer-to-peer functionality can be applied to other non-cryptocurrency types of transactions, such as assets, deeds, music, artwork, contracts between businesses, and more.

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From bitcoin to blockchain

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Explore the real blockchain

Tx (transaction) on the right side of Figure 1 represents a message between two accounts (From and To) of a participant. Details of these transactions are recorded on the blockchain.

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What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a technology used to achieve consensus among all participants in a decentralized transaction system. The purpose of the blockchain is to verify and execute transactions proposed by the initiator, and to record these transaction information under the consensus of all participants.

As shown in Figure 2, the infrastructure of the blockchain exists in a distributed system, including software for a specific purpose, that is, an intermediary of trust between peers. The left side of Figure 2 is a distributed (client/server) system that performs operations. The system can verify and record data information on the blockchain.

In blockchain programming, instead of replacing existing systems, consensus is enhanced by validating code. To further understand blockchain programming, let's take a look at the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchain stacks.

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Figure three

Figure 3 also shows the three levels of programming:

Protocol level programming - This layer involves the software required to deploy and operate the blockchain itself, similar to the operating system software of today's computers.

Smart contract level programming - at this level the rules for verification can be designed and programmed and specify the data and messages to be recorded on the underlying blockchain. Smart contracts are the engines that drive the blockchain on behalf of user applications.

Application Level Programming - This level involves programming using web application frameworks and user interface design concepts outside of blockchain protocols.

Dapp is a variety of distributed applications derived from the underlying blockchain technology, and is a form of service provision in the blockchain world. Dapp embeds an important code element - smart contract. For any given smart contract, an exact copy of its code will be transmitted in a special transaction and deployed in the nodes of the blockchain network.

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blockchain programming

During the evolution from sequential programming to structured programming, functional programming, object-oriented programming (OOP), web and database programming, and big data programming, programmers experience changes in methodologies, artifacts, and architectures. Similarly, blockchain programming is another paradigm shift. Four fundamental concepts play an important role in blockchain programming.

Decentralized infrastructure - special computing hardware and software stacks that support blockchain protocols, smart contracts and applications (Dapps). The main components of this infrastructure are the nodes and networks that connect the blockchain.

Distributed Ledger Technology - On top of the infrastructure is a ledger where transactions and data are recorded simultaneously in the ledgers of all stakeholders. It is a distributed ledger where all stakeholders record the same facts. It is immutable because each block is linked to the signature of the previous block, making it tamper-proof.

Disintermediation Protocol - Participants in a decentralized system follow the same blockchain protocol to connect and be able to communicate and transact with each other. The protocol is a set of rules that every participant is bound to abide by.

Decentralized infrastructure

Decentralized infrastructure

The blockchain infrastructure is decentralized in nature, just like the railways and roads connecting cities, you can think of Dapp as trains and cars. What is a decentralized system? A decentralized system is a distributed system with the following characteristics:

1. Participants communicate point-to-point and have ownership of assets, whether digital or non-digital.

2. Participants can join or leave the system at their own will.

3. Participants can deploy their own networks outside traditional trust boundaries.

4. Decision rights are made by all participants rather than a central authority.

5. Use blockchain automation software to act as an intermediary of trust.

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Figure four

Figure 4 shows the logical architecture of a single blockchain node. In a decentralized network, a node can support multiple accounts to represent the identities of participants in the network, and an account is the unique identifier of a transaction entity.

Blockchain nodes host the elements represented by the stack in Figure 4. It is the basis for blockchain application development. The bottom two layers are mostly the standard hardware and software of the computing system. The third layer is the blockchain protocol layer, which contains the components of the blockchain. The second layer hosts the application logic, and this layer addresses data access, validation, and logging. The top layer is the user-facing interface, where web programming can take place, for example, using HTML and JavaScript-related frameworks, and these elements make up the Dapp and its user interface (UI) layer.

Dapp is not like the handle games we usually play, it only supports a single user. Instead, a large number of participants are connected through its network of nodes, each node can host multiple accounts and identify different participants. A node can also host multiple Dapps, for example, one for a decentralized management system and another for a decentralized payment system.

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Figure five

Network identifiers are used to identify nodes in a blockchain network. For example, Network ID #1 is the Ethereum public network; Network ID #4 is another public network called Rinkeby. When deploying a smart contract on a network, its identifier must be used to specify the network. Participants on a given network share a unified distributed ledger to record their transactions.

interstellar observation

interstellar observation

The technology of the blockchain is unlimited, just like you would not think that the Internet technology is so advanced today. Technology is constantly breaking through, and we need to continue to give new ideas and new ideas.

As a non-tamperable distributed database, the blockchain will greatly reduce the cost of trust and improve the current production efficiency by using technologies such as point-to-point transmission and encryption algorithms. At the same time, blockchain technology, as the carrier of the value Internet, has a high probability of overturning the current information Internet technology. Science and technology are primary productive forces, and the blockchain industry will become an important field of competition among countries.