What to read about blockchain technologies: manuals, books and articles
We collected a digest of materials on the principles of the blockchain technology and the development of decentralized applications. It includes our own articles and resources on the topic, which were recommended by the residents of Hacker News, Quora and Reddit.
In the materials under the cat: what is the basis of the mining mechanisms in the bitcoin network, how the Merkle trees are arranged and how to write your blockchain application in Java.
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The author of the book is Andreas Antonopoulos (Andreas Antonopoulos), a blockchain consultant for a number of Fortune 500 organizations, the founder of several blockchain companies, as well as a non-replaceable leader of the Let's Talk Bitcoin podcast. He examines the principles of the Bitcoin network from a technical point of view, which will be of interest to software developers and architects. Additionally, Andreas focuses on technologies such as Segregated Witness and Lightning Network.
The book is praised for a large number of code examples and apt analogies. "Learning Bitcoin" was released "under the neck" O'Reilly and it can be found in the public domain . Andreas also wrote a similar material about Ethereum , dedicated to the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications ( DApp ).
This book was written by blockchain expert Michael Casey (Michael Casey), who is the lead researcher at the MIT Media Lab and chairman of the CoinDesk advisory board. Her presentation was held on March 20 with the support of Bitfury.
Here, simple words explain complex technical concepts that are the basis of the Bitcoin network. At the same time, the main focus of the book is the problems that impede the large-scale distribution of distributed registries in the world, in particular, the difficulty of scaling and the need to change the trusted institutions that humanity has relied on for centuries.
A book on how to create secure decentralized applications based on public-key cryptography and symmetric cryptosystems. Imran Bashir ( Imran Bashir ), software developer and architect, as well as an ITSM specialist, writes about working with Hyperledger frameworks and blockchain systems of the Linux Foundation initiative. Note that Imran has another book in which he focused on working with Ethereum and creating smart contracts.
This book can be considered as a guide to creating reliable and transparent applications on the blockchain. He was written by a team of technology experts and lawyers. Here are collected yuzkeys and best practices of working with blockchain technologies in the financial, state and technical sphere. From the book you will also learn how to deploy a blockchain system in the cloud and what is Web 3.0 (and how it works).
The Lightning Network technology multiplies the throughput of a bitcoin network by establishing direct payment channels between users. But there is a difficulty - with a large number of them, it is difficult to choose the shortest connection. To solve this problem, we at Bitfury proposed the Flare algorithm. Read: how it works, what data is used to build the route and how the optimal path is chosen.
The real owners of bitcoin addresses are usually unknown. But at the same time the public has all the information about transactions in the network. In this study, we describe how you can hide your operations with coins on the blockchain and, conversely, how to find the person who conducted the transaction if necessary.
How blockchain and AI systems can accelerate medical research. The research work describes new approaches to the assessment of personal medical records of patients and the organization of the health ecosystem as a whole.
What are Merkle trees and how they help to verify transactions of blockchain network users. We show how trees are implemented (with code and diagrams), and consider two alternatives: the Merkle prefix tree and the HashFusion mechanism proposed by Hewlett Packard.
Image of Lukas Benc CC
The article talks about what the work of miners is and how the SHA-256 hashing algorithm is related to this. Parse the process of calculating the hash on the schemes and with examples of Python-code.
Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are often considered synonymous. However, the applicability of technology goes far beyond the financial sphere. Material on where else the blockchain is used - registration of property rights, storage of medical data and the organization of electronic governments - and which projects are already developing in these areas.
When an attacker attacks the blockchain network, he tries to intervene in the process of building consensus in order to start writing his own data to the registry and rewriting the information already entered. We describe how a hacker can affect the system protected by the “Proof-of-Work” mechanism and how to “repel” such an attack.
The algorithm of ten steps, which will help to become a developer of blockchain applications. The author goes through all the necessary stages: from theoretical knowledge, which the blockchain developer should have, to work in the industry. Inside, a large number of references to third-party sources (including video lectures) are also collected to “reinforce” the learning process.
Manual in several parts. The first one is devoted to the issues of setting up the working environment, creating a simple blockchain and implementing the Proof-of-Work mining mechanism. In the second part, the author tells how to implement a simple wallet and send transactions to the blockchain. In fact, this is a guide for creating your own cryptomonet.
This is a collection of resources for developers, which should simplify work with various blockchains. It includes the official repositories, thematic threads on Reddit and all sorts of documentation for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Lisk, Steem and Ripple.
The Lightning Network is actively developing: people are already introducing its functionality into separate devices, such as a coffee maker . In this article, we share the latest statistics about the work of the Lightning Network, which our development team has gathered, how many nodes are online and how long the established communication channel lives.
Last week we launched a new ASIC chip for mining Bitfury Clarke. Five successful mining chip generations preceded the creation of the Bitfury Clarke ASIC, which has better performance. More about Bitfury Clarke in a special video and website .
h2> Video: conferences and guides
A record from the Consensus 2018 conference, where Bitfury's world ambassador Marc Taverner (Marc Taverner) presented a new Crystal analytic platform for tracking suspicious transactions in the blockchain. Mark tells how the system complicates the "work" of intruders, in particular, the creators of ransomware viruses like WannaCry.
Panel discussion at the Blockchain Summit 2018 in Morocco. Experts from the blockchain industry have discussed how distributed registries can stimulate the development of the African market, which is considered one of the most promising. In particular, they talked about the organization of land registers and blockchain-based voting systems.
What the developer needs to know in order to successfully create decentralized applications, and where to find the necessary manuals and materials for this. The author of the channel tells you what documentation to read (for example, the document on smart contracts Ethereum) and why it is important to own JavaScript and ReactJS.
CTO in Ripple and one of the creators of the XRP network, David Schwartz ( David Schwartz ) tells about the difficulties faced by developers of applications based on open blockchains, and how to solve these difficulties C ++. The presentation is accompanied by slides with graphs, diagrams and code examples.
The core of our Exonum blockchain development framework is written in Rust. To make it easier to work with the tool, we wrote a binding library for it in Java. We speak about the reasons for this decision and the difficulties of implementing the idea in this article.
Describe the functions of the components of the asynchronous Tokio event handler. Let's talk about its architecture and components (futures and streams) and tell you how they are used in Exonum.
Where Rust was created, and who develops it today. Read why the language was called Rust, how its syntax changed, and why companies like Mozilla and Dropbox use this relatively young PL in production.
Official Exonum documentation. There you will find a guide to installing and configuring the framework, analyzing the features of the solution architecture and examples of developing applications (services) based on it.
Official Exonum repository. Inside: a library of kernel code, a test framework and configuration service. There is an example of creating your own cryptocurrency and demos with the development of a timestamping service .
The article can be used as a practical guide to creating your own cryptocurrency using Exonum. At the end of the tutorial, you will have two full-featured wallets, between which you can transfer digital currency.
In the materials under the cat: what is the basis of the mining mechanisms in the bitcoin network, how the Merkle trees are arranged and how to write your blockchain application in Java.
Image of ladislau.girona PD
')
Books and Studies
“Learning Bitcoin: how to develop an open blockchain”
The author of the book is Andreas Antonopoulos (Andreas Antonopoulos), a blockchain consultant for a number of Fortune 500 organizations, the founder of several blockchain companies, as well as a non-replaceable leader of the Let's Talk Bitcoin podcast. He examines the principles of the Bitcoin network from a technical point of view, which will be of interest to software developers and architects. Additionally, Andreas focuses on technologies such as Segregated Witness and Lightning Network.
The book is praised for a large number of code examples and apt analogies. "Learning Bitcoin" was released "under the neck" O'Reilly and it can be found in the public domain . Andreas also wrote a similar material about Ethereum , dedicated to the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications ( DApp ).
“The truth machine: the blockchain and the future of mankind”
This book was written by blockchain expert Michael Casey (Michael Casey), who is the lead researcher at the MIT Media Lab and chairman of the CoinDesk advisory board. Her presentation was held on March 20 with the support of Bitfury.
Here, simple words explain complex technical concepts that are the basis of the Bitcoin network. At the same time, the main focus of the book is the problems that impede the large-scale distribution of distributed registries in the world, in particular, the difficulty of scaling and the need to change the trusted institutions that humanity has relied on for centuries.
“We study blockchain: about distributed registries, decentralization and smart contracts”
A book on how to create secure decentralized applications based on public-key cryptography and symmetric cryptosystems. Imran Bashir ( Imran Bashir ), software developer and architect, as well as an ITSM specialist, writes about working with Hyperledger frameworks and blockchain systems of the Linux Foundation initiative. Note that Imran has another book in which he focused on working with Ethereum and creating smart contracts.
“Blockchain: A Practical Guide to Developing Technology and Business Solutions”
This book can be considered as a guide to creating reliable and transparent applications on the blockchain. He was written by a team of technology experts and lawyers. Here are collected yuzkeys and best practices of working with blockchain technologies in the financial, state and technical sphere. From the book you will also learn how to deploy a blockchain system in the cloud and what is Web 3.0 (and how it works).
Flare: Lightning Network Routing Approach
The Lightning Network technology multiplies the throughput of a bitcoin network by establishing direct payment channels between users. But there is a difficulty - with a large number of them, it is difficult to choose the shortest connection. To solve this problem, we at Bitfury proposed the Flare algorithm. Read: how it works, what data is used to build the route and how the optimal path is chosen.
Automatic clustering of addresses in the Bitcoin network
The real owners of bitcoin addresses are usually unknown. But at the same time the public has all the information about transactions in the network. In this study, we describe how you can hide your operations with coins on the blockchain and, conversely, how to find the person who conducted the transaction if necessary.
Blockchain and AI systems: how can they help the development of medicine
How blockchain and AI systems can accelerate medical research. The research work describes new approaches to the assessment of personal medical records of patients and the organization of the health ecosystem as a whole.
Articles
How it works: Merkle trees in the bitcoin network
What are Merkle trees and how they help to verify transactions of blockchain network users. We show how trees are implemented (with code and diagrams), and consider two alternatives: the Merkle prefix tree and the HashFusion mechanism proposed by Hewlett Packard.
Image of Lukas Benc CC
Mining in blockchain networks: how it works
The article talks about what the work of miners is and how the SHA-256 hashing algorithm is related to this. Parse the process of calculating the hash on the schemes and with examples of Python-code.
In addition to cryptocurrency: what else is blockchain used for?
Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are often considered synonymous. However, the applicability of technology goes far beyond the financial sphere. Material on where else the blockchain is used - registration of property rights, storage of medical data and the organization of electronic governments - and which projects are already developing in these areas.
What threatens blockchain networks: we consider attacks and methods of protection
When an attacker attacks the blockchain network, he tries to intervene in the process of building consensus in order to start writing his own data to the registry and rewriting the information already entered. We describe how a hacker can affect the system protected by the “Proof-of-Work” mechanism and how to “repel” such an attack.
The most comprehensive guide to developing blockchains
The algorithm of ten steps, which will help to become a developer of blockchain applications. The author goes through all the necessary stages: from theoretical knowledge, which the blockchain developer should have, to work in the industry. Inside, a large number of references to third-party sources (including video lectures) are also collected to “reinforce” the learning process.
How to create your first Java blockchain
Manual in several parts. The first one is devoted to the issues of setting up the working environment, creating a simple blockchain and implementing the Proof-of-Work mining mechanism. In the second part, the author tells how to implement a simple wallet and send transactions to the blockchain. In fact, this is a guide for creating your own cryptomonet.
Blockchain: Deep Dive
This is a collection of resources for developers, which should simplify work with various blockchains. It includes the official repositories, thematic threads on Reddit and all sorts of documentation for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Lisk, Steem and Ripple.
Statistics: Lightning Network in the main Bitcoin network
The Lightning Network is actively developing: people are already introducing its functionality into separate devices, such as a coffee maker . In this article, we share the latest statistics about the work of the Lightning Network, which our development team has gathered, how many nodes are online and how long the established communication channel lives.
New Bitfury Mining Chip - What You Need To Know
Last week we launched a new ASIC chip for mining Bitfury Clarke. Five successful mining chip generations preceded the creation of the Bitfury Clarke ASIC, which has better performance. More about Bitfury Clarke in a special video and website .
h2> Video: conferences and guides
Meet Crystal Analytics: Bitfury Consensus 2018
A record from the Consensus 2018 conference, where Bitfury's world ambassador Marc Taverner (Marc Taverner) presented a new Crystal analytic platform for tracking suspicious transactions in the blockchain. Mark tells how the system complicates the "work" of intruders, in particular, the creators of ransomware viruses like WannaCry.
Beyond the West: Technology and blockchain in Africa
Panel discussion at the Blockchain Summit 2018 in Morocco. Experts from the blockchain industry have discussed how distributed registries can stimulate the development of the African market, which is considered one of the most promising. In particular, they talked about the organization of land registers and blockchain-based voting systems.
How to become a blockchain developer
What the developer needs to know in order to successfully create decentralized applications, and where to find the necessary manuals and materials for this. The author of the channel tells you what documentation to read (for example, the document on smart contracts Ethereum) and why it is important to own JavaScript and ReactJS.
How to develop blockchain applications in C ++
CTO in Ripple and one of the creators of the XRP network, David Schwartz ( David Schwartz ) tells about the difficulties faced by developers of applications based on open blockchains, and how to solve these difficulties C ++. The presentation is accompanied by slides with graphs, diagrams and code examples.
Work with Exonum
Exonum first buyding: why we chose Java
The core of our Exonum blockchain development framework is written in Rust. To make it easier to work with the tool, we wrote a binding library for it in Java. We speak about the reasons for this decision and the difficulties of implementing the idea in this article.
A look at Tokio: how this asynchronous event handler works
Describe the functions of the components of the asynchronous Tokio event handler. Let's talk about its architecture and components (futures and streams) and tell you how they are used in Exonum.
A brief history of Rust: from hobby to the most popular PL according to StackOverflow
Where Rust was created, and who develops it today. Read why the language was called Rust, how its syntax changed, and why companies like Mozilla and Dropbox use this relatively young PL in production.
Exonum documentation
Official Exonum documentation. There you will find a guide to installing and configuring the framework, analyzing the features of the solution architecture and examples of developing applications (services) based on it.
GitHub: Exonum
Official Exonum repository. Inside: a library of kernel code, a test framework and configuration service. There is an example of creating your own cryptocurrency and demos with the development of a timestamping service .
How to create a blockchain project on Exonum: a quick guide
The article can be used as a practical guide to creating your own cryptocurrency using Exonum. At the end of the tutorial, you will have two full-featured wallets, between which you can transfer digital currency.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/425131/
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