Blockchain storing states and transactions
Blockchain: Foundations and Examples. Etherium based blockchains
Ivan Golovkin
What is Blockchain?
A blockchain is a logically related sequence of information blocks, each of which contains data about a group of transactions and a link to the previous block. This allows you to tie together all ever completed transactions. The structure is copied to all nodes (computers) of the system, which allows each participant to have reliable information about all transactions without any need to receive it from a centralized source.
Decentralization
The blockchain architecture is designed so that the database continues to grow as long as the nodes continue to offer and confirm new blocks, regardless of the number of participants joining or leaving the network. The very fact that the existence of a database does not depend on a certain central node turns it into an independent and almost completely resistant to forgery or destruction system. Integrity and authenticity of transactions entering the blockchain are guaranteed using cryptographic techniques to effectively detect any incorrectly added to the system or artificially modified transactions. This hidden from the user's eyes magic makes Bitcoin work possible.
Picture №1 Decentralization model
Appearance of the new blocks
In order to control the addition of new blocks with transactions to a common chain, the system uses a special mechanism, the essence of which is that each node offering a new block must solve a problem that will require considerable computing power from it. The complexity of this task is dynamically regulated in such a way that it takes about 10 minutes on average each time to solve it. This process is called mining.
Whenever a node solves a problem and proposes a new block with all the transactions included in it, it is awarded a number of new Bitcoins, which it can use to cover the costs associated with solving the problem (computing equipment, electricity and other transaction costs).
Picture №2 Appearance of the new block model
In addition to decentralization, the Blockchain architecture also allows for a high level of security. This combination is very useful when designing computer systems, because it allows you to scale applications and minimize the requirements for a central infrastructure. Despite the fact that the Bitcoin network was the first successful example of using the blockchain architecture, soon after its appearance, many developers began to study the possibility of using it to perform other types of transactions
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Peer to Peer Network
Despite all the advantages of decentralization and a high level of security of the blockchain, its use is convenient only for solving the problem of transferring the balance between two accounts. The Ethereum project was created to develop the necessary tools that could allow the blockchain to become a part of the general-purpose peer-to-peer computing network from the distributed transaction database. Ethereum is based on a virtual machine called Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which allows you to execute programmed instructions stored in the blockchain.
Picture №3 Peer-to peer model
Blockchain storing states and transactions
To add the ability to execute programs, the blockchain was modified in such a way that each block of it now contains not only data on the latest transactions, but also the current status of the programs, called smart contracts. Information on the status of contracts is updated with the addition of a new block according to the recorded transaction data. As a guarantee that the instructions provided to the programs will not be executed forever, a special restriction was introduced: the initiating contract party must pay special signs of monetary value, the number of which depends on the number of instructions and the level of consumption of the system’s memory contract.
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