Learn the Blockchain Basics With Sovryn: An Outline

Learn the Blockchain Basics with Sovryn is a technological series about blockchain technology, written in plain English, with the aim to foster basic knowledge in blockchain newcomers.

A Foreword 

You are about to learn how blockchain works.

It will not be an easy journey, but we will handle that together. Article after article,  block after block, we will lengthen our chain of knowledge and gain insight into the philosophy behind the technology.

Hello Sovryn mutants and space explorers and welcome to the Sovryn Dojo of blockchain arts, your training awaits!

Manual

: You have to read these articles from top to bottom. After all, that is how literature works, right? (Unless it is an instruction manual, in which case no one reads them at all)

Episode Index

Blockchain Basics

Part 1: Determinism

The first part of this series describes Determinism.

In this article, we will explore one fundamental principle that every blockchain follows, determinism.

The term determinism means that if we enact the same operational steps in a specific order, we reach exactly the same result as anybody else who follows the exact process. This property makes blockchains powerful.

Part 2 : "Mining", "Miners", and the Proof of Work Algorithm

Prerequisites

Before you start reading, watch this! 

Bitcoin visual demo by Anders Brownworth

Much like lines on a page are designed to be filled with words, a space in each block in a blockchain is designed to be filled with transaction information. A page has space limits (the number of rows or the paper size) just as a block in a blockchain does (the maximum number of bytes per block). 

A block can have a maximum serialized size of 1 megabyte of…

Part 3 : Hashing Function

With the third part of our journey, we will uncover the purpose of the hashing function, share a ride on the Avalanche effect, discover the widespread use of hashes across the blockchain field, and compare two commonly used hashing algorithms in a clash of cryptographic titans.

Part 4: The 51% Attack

This article acts as a bookend to the first block of knowledge offered by this Academy.

In previous episodes, we covered the fundamentals of the Proof of Work algorithm, the responsibilities of miners and hashes and hashing functions.

In this episode we will cover two potential risks of PoW blockchains that are related but are frequently misrepresented.

1) The double-spend fraud, which allows an attacker to use their funds…

Part 5: Why Blockchains fork?

Forking is only one way of updating a blockchain, but it's an important one in the tricky context of decentralized networks.

Another interesting use of forking is to have your own copy of a particular blockchain and be able to do whatever you want with it.

A fork is a word commonly used in the world of open-source software development to describe a project splitting into two (or more) versions of itself, usually following a disagreement on the path to take...

Part 6: What are Transactions?

An easy explanation with a funny example to get you up to speed with the subcategory of transactions on a blockchain.

What is a blockchain transaction?

To all readers who have reached this far in their studies: Congratulations! If you are new to this series you can begin with Episode 1, Determinism.

We have prepared this episode with easy explanations to get you up to speed with the subcategory of transactions on a blockchain. Enjoy reading.

We will begin with a recap of relevant content from previous chapters:

A Full Node

• A full node is a program that fully validates transactions and blocks.…
  

Part 7: Exploring Bitcoin Blocks

A guide to the initial elements of a blockchain explorer and the different parts of a Bitcoin block.

In this section, we will guide you through the initial process of tracking transactions in a blockchain explorer and describe the individual elements of Bitcoin blocks. Following this part, you will have an introductory experience with blockchain explorers and individual blocks.

Blockchain space explorers, I’ll see you in the block!

Part 8: Blockchain Contracts

This episode focuses on smart contracts. After reading through the article, you will have a basic understanding of smart contract functionality, use cases, composition, and history. I want to provide you with an edge in knowledge that will set you apart from the standard smart contract crowd; this part also describes Live contracts.

Smart Contracts, their history, use cases, symbiosis with Smart Oracles and so much more...

Part 9: Blockchain Around the World

The blockchain is a cryptography-focused architecture based on the internet protocol, powered by networked computer servers that do not need to be set up by developers.

The blockchain is a cryptography-focused architecture based on the internet protocol, powered by networked computer servers that do not need to be set up by developers.

That is, however, just one of its many attractive features. In addition, blockchain is a software approach designed to bind this hardware together and dedicate it to the consensus, a universal validity check system that, among others, uses the Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) methods for validation, and is the primary…

...To be continued...

Until then, stay sovryn!

Mickey Maler
Sovryn Wiki

Author - Mickey Maler

Proofread - The Sovryn Gimp

Technical consultations - John Light

Ilustrations - Fineline and Danubastidas

This series is mirrored on the Sovryn Wiki here.