Book Image

Learn Blockchain Programming with JavaScript

By : Eric Traub
Book Image

Learn Blockchain Programming with JavaScript

By: Eric Traub

Overview of this book

Learn Blockchain Programming with JavaScript begins by giving you a clear understanding of what blockchain technology is. You’ll then set up an environment to build your very own blockchain and you’ll add various functionalities to it. By adding functionalities to your blockchain such as the ability to mine new blocks, create transactions, and secure your blockchain through a proof-of-work you’ll gain an in-depth understanding of how blockchain technology functions. As you make your way through the chapters, you’ll learn how to build an API server to interact with your blockchain and how to host your blockchain on a decentralized network. You’ll also build a consensus algorithm and use it to verify data and keep the entire blockchain network synchronized. In the concluding chapters, you’ll finish building your blockchain prototype and gain a thorough understanding of why blockchain technology is so secure and valuable. By the end of this book, you'll understand how decentralized blockchain networks function and why decentralization is such an important feature for securing a blockchain.
Table of Contents (10 chapters)

Before we get building...

Before we get into building the blockchain, there are two crucial concepts that we need to familiarize ourselves with. These important concepts are as follows:

  • The JavaScript constructor function
  • The prototype object

An explanation of the JavaScript constructor function

Becoming familiar with the constructor function is important as we'll be using it to build our blockchain data structure. By now, you must be wondering what a constructor function is and what it actually does.

A constructor function is simply a function that creates an object class and allows you to easily create multiple instances of that particular class. What this actually means is that the constructor function allows you...