Mastering Blockchain
Table of Contents
Mastering Blockchain
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Why subscribe?
Customer Feedback
Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Downloading the example code
Downloading the color images of this book
Errata
Piracy
Questions
1. Blockchain 101
Distributed systems
CAP theorem
Byzantine Generals problem
Consensus
Consensus mechanisms
Types of consensus mechanism
The history of blockchain
Electronic cash
The concept of electronic cash
Introduction to blockchain
Various technical definitions of blockchains
Generic elements of a blockchain
Addresses
Transaction
Block
Peer-to-peer network
Scripting or programming language
Virtual machine
State machine
Nodes
Smart contracts
Features of a blockchain
Distributed consensus
Transaction verification
Platforms for smart contracts
Transferring value between peers
Generating cryptocurrency
Smart property
Provider of security
Immutability
Uniqueness
Smart contracts
Applications of blockchain technology
How blockchains accumulate blocks
Tiers of blockchain technology
Blockchain 1.0
Blockchain 2.0
Blockchain 3.0
Generation X (Blockchain X)
Types of blockchain
Public blockchains
Private blockchains
Semi-private blockchains
Sidechains
Permissioned ledger
Distributed ledger
Shared ledger
Fully private and proprietary blockchains
Tokenized blockchains
Tokenless blockchains
Consensus in blockchain
Proof of Work
Proof of Stake
Delegated Proof of Stake
Proof of Elapsed Time
Deposit-based consensus
Proof of importance
Federated consensus or federated Byzantine consensus
Reputation-based mechanisms
Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance
CAP theorem and blockchain
Benefits and limitations of blockchain
Decentralization
Transparency and trust
Immutability
High availability
Highly secure
Simplification of current paradigms
Faster dealings
Cost saving
Challenges and limitations of blockchain technology
Summary
2. Decentralization
Decentralization using blockchain
Methods of decentralization
Disintermediation
Through competition
Routes to decentralization
How to decentralize
Examples
Blockchain and full ecosystem decentralization
Storage
Communication
Computation
Smart contract
Decentralized organizations
Decentralized autonomous organizations
Decentralized autonomous corporations
Decentralized autonomous societies
Decentralized applications
Requirements of a decentralized application
Operations of a DAPP
Examples
KYC-Chain
OpenBazaar
Lazooz
Platforms for decentralization
Ethereum
Maidsafe
Lisk
Summary
3. Cryptography and Technical Foundations
Introduction
Mathematics
Set
