Experiments with IoT and Blockchain

In the previous blog , I had described the origin of bitcoin and the various components of the Bitcoin network. Although conceptually Ethereum is very similar to Bitcoin, there are few differences. Unlike Bitcoin protocol, Ethereum was designed to be adaptable and flexible. The nodes in Bitcoin network are simple software programs that validate a transaction and store a transaction, however, the nodes in the Ethereum network are fully functional Ethereum Virtual Machines which are capable of executing scripts of different algorithmic complexities. Developers can develop programs which execute on EVM. These programs are written in a new javascript programming language called Solidity . Programs written in Solidity are compiled to EVM bytecode. The EVM acts as the runtime environment for these programs. These programs are completely sandboxed, and completely isolated. They don't have access to the file system, network or any other processes running on the same machine! Like i...

"If you are not profoundly shocked by quantum mechanics, you haven't really understood it!"         ~ Niels Bohr. Frankly, I didn't understand what Bohr meant by this quote on quantum mechanics. But ever since I have started to read and experiment with Ethereum and Blockchain, I have started to realize a parallel to Bohr's quote w.r.t this new technology. I do understand that many, would now be wondering "what the hell am I blabbering??". Let me attempt to explain to you my shock through a series of blogs, which will also help me to recollect my learning over time. To understand Ethereum and Blockchain, one has to understand its parent, the Bitcoin.  I first heard of Bitcoin back in 2014 while working on a European startup. Apparently then a Nigerian bus booking company had implemented Bitcoin API to accept payments for bus travel. Although I was intrigued by the term, once I started to read through it I was confused and apprehensive (Nigeria, ...