Preface
This book has one goal: to provide a comprehensive introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of blockchain technology. This book contains all the material that is required to fully understand blockchain technology. After reading this book, readers will be able to develop a deep understanding of inner workings of blockchain technology and will be able to develop blockchain applications. This book covers all topics relevant to blockchain technology, including cryptography, cryptocurrenices, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and various other platforms and tools used for blockchain development.
It is recommended that readers have a basic understanding of computer science and basic programming experience in order to benefit fully from this book. However, if that is not the case then still this book can be read easily, as relevant background material is provided where necessary.
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Blockchain 101, introduces the basic concepts of distributed computing on which blockchain technology is based. It also covers history, definitions, features, types, and benefits of blockchains along with consensus mechanisms that are at the core of blockchain technology.
Chapter 2, Decentralization, covers the concepts of decentralization and its relationship with blockchain technology. Various methods and platforms that can be used to decentralize a process or system have also been introduced.
Chapter 3, Cryptography and Technical Foundations, introduces the theoretical foundations cryptography, which is necessary to fully understand blockchain technology. Concepts such as public and private key cryptography, with practical examples, are included. Finally, an introduction to financial markets is also included as there are many interesting use cases for blockchain technology in the financial sector.
Chapter 4, Bitcoin, covers Bitcoin, the first and largest blockchain. It introduces technical concepts related to bitcoin cryptocurrency in detail.
Chapter 5, Alternative Coins, introduces alternative cryptocurrencies that were introduced after the invention of Bitcoin. It also presents examples of different altcoins, their properties, and how they have been developed and implemented.Chapter 6, Smart Contracts, provides an in-depth discussion on smart contracts. Topics such as history, the definition of smart contracts, Ricardian contracts, Oracles, and the theoretical aspects of smart contracts are presented in this chapter.
Chapter 7, Ethereum 101, introduces the design and architecture of the Ethereum blockchain in detail. It covers various technical concepts related to the Ethereum blockchain that explains the underlying principles, features, and components of this platform in depth.
Chapter 8, Ethereum Development, provides a detailed practical introduction to development of decentralized applications and smart contracts using the Ethereum blockchain. An introduction to solidity and different relevant tools have also been included in this chapter.
Chapter 9, Hyperledger, presents a discussion about the hyperledger project from the Linux foundation, which includes different blockchain projects introduced by its members.
Chapter 10, Alternative Blockchains, introduces alternative blockchain solutions and platforms. It provides technical details and features of alternative blockchains.
Chapter 11, Blockchain – Outside of Currencies, provides a practical and detailed introduction to applications of blockchain technology in fields others than cryptocurrencies, including Internet of Things, government, media, and finance.
Chapter 12, Scalability and Other Challenges, is dedicated to a discussion of the challenges faced by blockchain technology and how to address them.
Chapter 13, Current Landscape and What’s Next, is aimed at providing information about the current landscape, projects, and research efforts related to blockchain technology. Also, some predictions based on the current state of blockchain technology have also been made.
What you need for this book
All examples in this book have been developed on Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS (Xenial). As such, it is recommended to use Ubuntu. However, any appropriate operating system, either Windows or Linux, can be used, but examples, especially those related to installation, may need to be changed accordingly.
Examples related to cryptography have been developed using the OpenSSL 1.0.2g 1 Mar 2016 command-line tool.
Ethereum solidity examples have been developed using Browser Solidity, available online at https://ethereum.github.io/browser-solidity/. Ethereum's homestead release is used to develop Ethereum-related examples. At the time of writing, this is the latest version available and can be downloaded from https://www.ethereum.org/.
Examples related to IoT have been developed using a Raspberry Pi kit by Vilros, but any latest model or kit can be used. Specifically, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B V 1.2 has been used to build a hardware example of IoT. Node.js V7.2.1 and npm V3.10.10 have been used to download related packages and run Node.js server for IoT examples.
The Truffle framework has been used in some examples of smart contract deployment, and is available at http://truffleframework.com/. Any latest version available via npm should be appropriate.
Who this book is for
This book is for anyone who wants to understand blockchain technology in depth. It can also be used as a reference by developers who are developing applications for blockchain. In addition, this book can also be used as a textbook for courses related to blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. It can also be used as a learning resource for various examinations and certifications related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows:
"This line of code simply uses console.log to print the coinbase by calling web3.eth.coinbase method."
A block of code is set as follows:
function difference(uint x) returns (uint y)
{
z=x-5;
y=z;
}
When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:
function difference(uint x) returns (uint y)
{
z=x-5;
y=z;
}
Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
$ geth --datadir .ethereum/PrivateNet/ --networkid 786 --rpc --rpccorsdomain 'http://192.168.0.17:9900'
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Clicking the Next button moves you to the next screen."
Note
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.
Tip
Tips and tricks appear like this.
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