Get started with Blockchain in 2018

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You’re not too late if you don’t know what exactly is the blockchain technology. However, the sooner you start the better it’d be. So let’s get started right from the scratch.

Whether it is about bootstrapping blockchain career or knowing about it to expand the domain of your knowledge, it is essential is to know WHAT is blockchain and HOW does it work.

The very first video I saw on blockchain was something that got my basics right.

To get a brief bird’s eye view on blockchain, IBM series is amazing. IBM is doing commendable work on blockchain. It started an open source project: Hyperledger which is under The Linux Foundation now. We’ll talk about Hyperledger in a little while.

It’s network of machines or computers that are interconnected. Each one has same copy of the data. This is what we call ledger; kind of a record. Inside each block we have transactions. Transaction is how we interact with the blockchain from outside world. You submit the transaction to just one node from where they will forward it to other nodes so that transaction can be recorded inside a block. Each block contains hash of previous block this is how a chain of blocks is formed. As the chain becomes longer, it becomes stronger. A leader is the first one to add the block and then the block is appended to other nodes as well. The nodes will then vote. They will double check the work of who created the block. And vote whether it is valid or not. If not, process will restart.

Summary of the above video.

Other resources to learn the basics are:

1. You can download blockchain for dummies from-

IBM Registration Form_WW_Blockchain Dummies eBook_www-01.ibm.com

2. You may read about IBM Blockchain blog from-

IBM Blockchain - Enterprise Blockchain Solutions & Services_IBM Blockchain empowers businesses to digitize your transaction workflow through a highly secured, shared and…_www.ibm.com

This was all about the basics.

Now that you’re well versed with the basics, let’s see the applications of blockchain. Bitcoin is one of the applications of blockchain technology which was announced through the paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Surprisingly, there is no mention of the word “blockchain” in this paper.

Energy utility management app on Hyperledger: In a village, you know someone who has a streetlight or a solar panel on their house. You use your solar panel and save some money to power the street light.

Decentralized Energy Utility_Decentralized Energy Utility - Decentralized Organization of independent energy producers and consumers in an isolated…_devpost.com

Blockchain + IoT: Supply chain management becomes a major use case in this sector. Goods traverse all other the globe before they reach the end user. There is hand to hand exchange. Issues regarding food fraud are on a rise. Issues impacting food safety such as contamination, food-borne illness and waste are largely due to a lack of access to information and traceability. It can take weeks to identify the precise point of contamination, causing further illness, lost revenue and wasted product. Imagine a world where assets are monitored via IoT devices (ex. GPS, motion sensors, etc) on a blockchain network, enabling suppliers to not only track their assets, but also determine when damage occurred, who did the damage, temperature changes, etc.

I myself wrote an article on the same-

When IoT meets Blockchain ❤️_Internet of Things (IoT) is creating new opportunities and providing a competitive advantage for businesses in current…_hackernoon.com

You can certainly see thousands of more applications of blockchain on the internet.

Top 10 Companies of the Blockchain Industry in 2017_2017 was definitely the year of Blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has surged from more than $950 at the…_cointelegraph.com

In today’s world it is quite easy to get going with blockchain because all its are open-source.

Here are some sample applications with step by step guide:

Create a to-do list app using blockchain - IBM Code_Perform traditional data store transactions with blockchain in a to-do list app that enables you to browse, read, edit…_developer.ibm.com

Deploy an asset-transfer app using blockchain - IBM Code_Learn app development within a Hyperledger Fabric network by creating an asset-transfer app to transfer marbles between…_developer.ibm.com

Create a blockchain app to display and interact with a network through a web interface_The application presents a decentralized energy network in which residents who are producing energy through solar…_developer.ibm.com

To succeed as a Blockchain developer, you will want to familiarize yourself with Hyperledger Composer.

Hyperledger Composer is an application development framework which simplifies and expedites the creation of Hyperledger Fabric applications.

Hyperledger Fabric applications are a shared, immutable ledger for recording the history of transactions; it’s fostering a new generation of transactional applications.

Hyperledger Composer (Composer) is a set of APIs, a modeling language, and a programming model you can use to quickly define and deploy business networks and applications that allow participants to send transactions that exchange assets.

The Composer programming model is based on defining and deploying a business network definition, which contains a data model that defines the name and structure of assets, participants, and transactions in the business network.

The business network also specifies transaction processor functions (written in ES5 JavaScript) that are automatically run on a Hyperledger Fabric when transactions are submitted by clients.

Composer defines JavaScript APIs to submit transactions and to create, retrieve, update, and delete assets within asset registries. Composer helps you realize a business solution and deploy to a Fabric blockchain in no time. You should definitely make sure you add it to your skill set.

If you want to become a blockchain guru, the follwing Medium article from Blockchain Blog is a must read. You’ll know what all blockchain platforms do we have, what all technical trends are currently trending.

17 blockchain platforms — a brief introduction_Blockchain technology was announced through the paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” by…_medium.com

Getting Started as an Ethereum Web Developer_UPDATE: I have created a repo for you to play around with that showcases most of the stuff covered in this article._hackernoon.com

This has been a lot of knowledge, but the knowledge in the field of Blockchain is super dynamic. You need to constantly update yourself with new skills. New technologies are born quickly and evolve just as fast. Be sure you are quick to the game in making sure you are familiar with what changes may come for Blockchain.

On top of education, you need to also participate in the digital conversation. What social media profiles do you have? Are you adding value to conversations online? Are you participating in panel discussions about the future of Blockchain?

Technical eminence and education are how you will maintain relevance with this new technology. If you’re not joining conversations online now, you will want to get started as soon as you can.

I wish you the best of luck in your Blockchain journey and can’t wait to hear about your success in the future.

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