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Mastering Blockchain

Mastering Blockchain

3.3 (10)
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Mastering Blockchain

Mastering Blockchain

3.3 (10)

Overview of this book

Blockchain is a distributed database that enables permanent, transparent, and secure storage of data. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrency – in fact, it’s the shared public ledger upon which the entire Bitcoin network relies – and it’s gaining popularity with people who work in finance, government, and the arts. Blockhchain technology uses cryptography to keep data secure. This book gives a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world. This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain, teaching you the fundamentals of cryptography and how it keeps data secure. You will learn about the mechanisms behind cryptocurrencies and how to develop applications using Ethereum, a decentralized virtual machine. You will explore different blockchain solutions and get an exclusive preview into Hyperledger, an upcoming blockchain solution from IBM and the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain beyond currencies, scability with blockchain, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
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Preface
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Preface
What this book covers
What you need for this book
Who this book is for
Conventions
Reader feedback
Customer support
Free Chapter
1
1. Blockchain 101
1. Blockchain 101
Distributed systems
The history of blockchain
Introduction to blockchain
Types of blockchain
CAP theorem and blockchain
Benefits and limitations of blockchain
Summary
2
2. Decentralization
2. Decentralization
Decentralization using blockchain
Methods of decentralization
Routes to decentralization
Blockchain and full ecosystem decentralization
Smart contract
Decentralized organizations
Decentralized autonomous organizations
Decentralized autonomous corporations
Decentralized autonomous societies
Decentralized applications
Platforms for decentralization
Summary
3
3. Cryptography and Technical Foundations
3. Cryptography and Technical Foundations
Introduction
Cryptographic primitives
Asymmetric cryptography
Public and private keys
Financial markets and trading
Summary
4
4. Bitcoin
4. Bitcoin
Bitcoin
Transactions
Blockchain
Bitcoin payments
Summary
5
5. Alternative Coins
5. Alternative Coins
Theoretical foundations
Bitcoin limitations
Namecoin
Litecoin
Primecoin
Zcash
Summary
6
6. Smart Contracts
6. Smart Contracts
History
Definition
Ricardian contracts
Summary
7
7. Ethereum 101
7. Ethereum 101
Introduction
Ethereum blockchain
Elements of the Ethereum blockchain
Precompiled contracts
Accounts
Block
Ether
Messages
Mining
Clients and wallets
Trading and investment
The yellow paper
The Ethereum network
Applications developed on Ethereum
Scalability and security issues
Summary
8
8. Ethereum Development
8. Ethereum Development
Setting up a development environment
Development tools and clients
Introducing solidity
Introducing Web3
Summary
9
9. Hyperledger
9. Hyperledger
Projects
Hyperledger as a protocol
Fabric
Hyperledger Fabric
Sawtooth lake
Corda
Summary
10
10. Alternative Blockchains
10. Alternative Blockchains
Blockchains
Platforms
Summary
11
11. Blockchain-Outside of Currencies
11. Blockchain-Outside of Currencies
Internet of Things
Government
Health
Finance
Media
Summary
12
12. Scalability and Other Challenges
12. Scalability and Other Challenges
Scalability
Privacy
Security
Summary
13
13. Current Landscape and Whats Next
13. Current Landscape and Whats Next
Emerging trends
Improvement proposals
Other challenges
Dark side
Blockchain research
List of notable projects
Miscellaneous Tools
Convergence with other industries
Future
Summary

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.

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