Decentralized Applications

Decentralized Applications

by Siraj Raval
Released July 2016
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781491924549

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Book description

Take advantage of Bitcoin’s underlying technology, the blockchain, to build massively scalable, decentralized applications known as dapps. In this practical guide, author Siraj Raval explains why dapps will become more widely used—and profitable—than today’s most popular web apps. You’ll learn how the blockchain’s cryptographically stored ledger, scarce-asset model, and peer-to-peer (P2P) technology provide a more flexible, better-incentivized structure than current software models.

Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. Conventions Used in This Book
    2. Using Code Examples
    3. Safari® Books Online
    4. How to Contact Us
  2. 1. What Is a Decentralized Application?
    1. Preliminaries: What Is Bitcoin?
    2. What Is a Decentralized Application?
      1. Feature 1: Open Source
      2. Feature 2: Internal Currency
      3. Feature 3: Decentralized Consensus
      4. Feature 4: No Central Point of Failure
    3. The History of Decentralized Applications
      1. PopcornTime
      2. OpenBazaar
      3. FireChat
      4. Lighthouse
      5. Gems
    4. Enabling Technologies
      1. Defining the Terms
    5. Getting Started
  3. 2. A Flourishing Dapp Ecosystem
    1. Decentralized Data
      1. Option 1: Storing Data Directly in the Bitcoin Blockchain
      2. Option 2: Storing Data in a Distributed Hash Table
    2. Decentralized Wealth
    3. Decentralized Identity
    4. Decentralized Computing
    5. Decentralized Bandwidth
    6. Decentralized Markets for Decentralized Assets
    7. Practical Decentralization
  4. 3. Building Your First Dapp
    1. Go
      1. Centralized Architecture
      2. Decentralized Architecture: Introduction to IPFS
    2. What Are We Building?
      1. Setup
      2. Routing
      3. Data Storage and Retrieval
      4. Passing and Displaying Data to the Frontend
    3. Dapp Economics
    4. Remaining Problems
      1. Private Networks
      2. Human-Readable Names
      3. Showing Only Peers on Mikro, Not IPFS in General
      4. Tamper-Free Payments
  5. 4. OpenBazaar
    1. Why Make OpenBazaar?
    2. What Is OpenBazaar?
    3. How Does OpenBazaar Work?
      1. Merchant
      2. Buyer
      3. Notary
    4. How to Install OpenBazaar
      1. Possible Errors
      2. Identity
      3. Reputation
    5. What Could OpenBazaar Have Done Better?
  6. 5. Lighthouse
    1. Functionality
    2. SPV Wallets
    3. Identity
  7. 6. La’Zooz
    1. What Is La’Zooz?
      1. Distribution Protocol
      2. DAO Structure
    2. UX
      1. Architecture
      2. Contracts
      3. Improvements
    3. Conclusion
  8. Index

Product information

  • Title: Decentralized Applications
  • Author(s): Siraj Raval
  • Release date: July 2016
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781491924549