Author: Zen and the Art of Computer Programming
1 Introduction
Blockchain is the infrastructure of a financial system such as Bitcoin or other digital currencies. One of its unique features is its "immutability", that is, a record signed by any participant during the transaction will not be tampered with. Changes by others. Based on this feature, many blockchain applications such as decentralized exchanges, supply chain finance, traceability, smart contracts, etc. have been realized.
This article will analyze the underlying technology of blockchain from the following aspects, including but not limited to consensus mechanism, cryptography, data storage, network, smart contracts, etc., and introduce how to develop and deploy these technical products through actual case practice.
2. Consensus mechanism
2.1 What is a consensus mechanism?
In a distributed system, in order to maintain data consistency, availability and fault tolerance among multiple nodes, a consensus mechanism needs to be adopted. The consensus mechanism determines how multiple nodes reach an agreement to ensure the normal operation of the system. Consensus mechanisms can be divided into two broad categories:
- The first type of consensus mechanism (Proof-of-work): The original proof-of-work (PoW) protocol is currently the most commonly used consensus mechanism. The PoW protocol requires participants to solve complex mathematical problems through continuous calculations and verify the legitimacy of the system. The most famous public chain, Litecoin, uses this consensus mechanism.
- The second type of consensus mechanism (Proof-of-stake): It is also a consensus mechanism. Its concept is to grant the verification right of proof of work to nodes holding tokens under the system of token economy, thereby improving the fault tolerance of the system. Rate. The Delegated Proof of Stake (DPOS) in the Ethereum 2.0 plan belongs to the second type of consensus mechanism.
2.2 Proof of Work (POW) Principle
2.2.1 What is proof of work?
work