Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

By : Imran Bashir
Book Image

Mastering Blockchain - Second Edition

By: Imran Bashir

Overview of this book

Publisher's Note: This edition from 2018 is outdated and does not cover the latest insights on consensus algorithms, Ethereum 2.0, tokenization, and enterprise blockchains. A new and updated edition of this book that includes all the newest developments and improvements in Blockchain including the above topics is now available. A blockchain is a distributed ledger that is replicated across multiple nodes and enables immutable, transparent and cryptographically secure record-keeping of transactions. The blockchain technology is the backbone of cryptocurrencies, and it has applications in finance, government, media and almost all other industries. Mastering Blockchain, Second Edition has been thoroughly updated and revised to provide a detailed description of this leading technology and its implementation in the real world. This book begins with the technical foundations of blockchain technology, teaching you the fundamentals of distributed systems, 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 also explore different other blockchain solutions and get an introduction to business blockchain frameworks under Hyperledger, a collaborative effort for the advancement of blockchain technologies hosted by the Linux Foundation. You will also be shown how to implement blockchain solutions beyond currencies, Internet of Things with blockchain, blockchain scalability, and the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
14
Introducing Web3
17
Blockchain – Outside of Currencies
18
Scalability and Other Challenges

Setting up a private net

Private net allows the creation of an entirely new blockchain. This is different from testnet or mainnet in the sense that it uses its on-genesis block and network ID. In order to create private net, three components are needed:

  • Network ID.
  • The Genesis file.
  • Data directory to store blockchain data. Even though the data directory is not strictly required to be mentioned, if there is more than one blockchain already active on the system, then the data directory should be specified so that a separate directory is used for the new blockchain.

On the mainnet, the Geth Ethereum client is capable of discovering boot nodes by default as they are hardcoded in the Geth client, and connects automatically, but on a private net, Geth needs to be configured by specifying appropriate flags and configuration in order for it to be discoverable by other peers or to be...