Introduction to Blockchain Technology

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental concepts, network architectures, evolutionary history, types, key terms, cryptographic principles, and hashing in Blockchain technology based on lecture notes.

Blockchain

An immutable distributed ledger secured by cryptographic techniques and managed by a decentralized community over a peer-to-peer network.

Centralized Distributed System

A distributed system in which a single master node is responsible for breaking down tasks or data and distributing the load across client nodes.

Decentralized Distributed System

A subset of distributed systems where control and decision-making are spread across multiple nodes rather than relying on a single central master node.

Distributed System

A collection of multiple computers (nodes) communicating over a network that work together to achieve a common goal and appear as a single system to the user.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Network

A decentralized network architecture without a central server where data is stored across all participant nodes and each node can request and respond to services.

Bitcoin

The first cryptocurrency and blockchain implementation in the world, introduced in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto as an electronic peer-to-peer cash system.

LiteCoin

A cryptocurrency created in 2011 by Charlie Lee to improve upon Bitcoin technology by offering shorter transaction times, lower fees, and more concentrated miners.

Ethereum

A public blockchain platform launched in 2 July 2015 by Vitalik Buterin that introduced smart contracts, its own cryptocurrency Ether, and its own programming language Solidity.

Ripple

An open-source, blockchain-based digital payment network and protocol operating with its own cryptocurrency, XRP.

NEO

An open-source, decentralized blockchain platform developed in China focused on smart contracts to create and execute agreements without intermediaries.

IOTA

Internet of Things Application; a cryptocurrency platform developed for the IoT ecosystem designed to provide zero transaction fees and unique verification for smart devices.

Hyperledger

An umbrella project of open-source blockchain and distributed ledgers unveiled in 2015 by the Linux Foundation to advance cross-industry collaboration.

Block Structure

A basic unit of a blockchain containing transaction details, a previous block hash, a nonce, and its own unique 256-bit hash address.

Nonce

An arbitrary number given in cryptography used to differentiate a block's hash address when processed through a hashing algorithm.

Smart Contract

A self-executing contract with terms and conditions written directly into lines of code on a blockchain.

Public Blockchain

A permissionless distributed ledger where anyone can join, perform transactions, and participate in consensus.

Private Blockchain

A permissioned blockchain operating within a closed, restrictive environment under the control of a single organization.

Consortium Blockchain

Also known as a Federated blockchain; a decentralized network managed by multiple organizations where preset validator nodes control consensus.

Hybrid Blockchain

A blockchain architecture combining private and public features, allowing organizations flexible control over what data remains private versus public.

Four Types of Blockchain Technology

The classification of blockchain networks into Public Blockchain, Private Blockchain, Federated Blockchain, and Hybrid Blockchain.

Cryptography

The science of protecting information against security threats by ensuring confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.

Confidentiality

The cryptographic assurance that information is accessible only to authorized entities and kept secret from others.

Integrity

The cryptographic assurance that information can only be modified by authorized entities and cannot be forged or altered without detection.

Entity Authentication

The assurance that a specific entity is currently involved and actively participating in a communication session.

Data Origin Authentication

Also known as message authentication; provides assurance that the source of information is verified.

Non-repudiation

The cryptographic property ensuring that an entity or sender cannot later deny ownership of a previous commitment or sent message.

Plaintext

Original unencrypted information in the form of text messages, numeric data, or computer programs.

Ciphertext

The encrypted message produced after processing plaintext through an encryption algorithm using a key.

Cryptographic Hash Function

A deterministic, one-way function that converts input data of arbitrary length into a fixed-length string or message digest.

Avalanche Effect

A feature of cryptographic hash functions where any small change to the input message drastically changes the resulting output hash value.

Digital Signature

A set of algorithms used to verify the authenticity and integrity of digital messages by encrypting a message digest with the sender's private key.

Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA)

An algorithm designed by the NSA under the Digital Signature Standard (DSS) and standardized by NIST specifically for digitally signing messages.

Genesis Block

The first block mined and recorded in a blockchain network from which all subsequent blocks stem.

Solidity

The programming language specifically created for writing smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain platform.

Layered Architecture of Blockchain

The multi-tiered structure of blockchain comprising the Application/Presentation Layer, Consensus Layer, Network Layer, Data Layer, and Hardware/Infrastructure Layer.