Getting Started with Enterprise Blockchain

Getting Started with Enterprise Blockchain

by Michael Bradley, David Gorman, Matt Lucas, Matthew Golby-Kirk
Released July 2019
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9781492052708

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Book description

Blockchains have many uses beyond cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. These shared, distributed ledgers also enable businesses to record transactions between parties in an efficient, verifiable, and permanent manner—unlike traditional methods. Using a blockchain in business can still pose numerous challenges, however. This ebook explains how developers can establish a blockchain network to handle business-to-business transactions while maintaining privacy and confidentiality.

Members of IBM’s global blockchain team show you how to start using these open, distributed ledgers to add value to your business networks. Unlike simple ledgers and contracts, blockchains offer irrefutable proof that all parties involved in a transaction agree to the details—creating a source of truth that today’s conventional business-to-business systems lack.

You’ll learn:

  • How blockchains for business provide a shared, distributed ledger with smart contracts
  • How to identify and implement the scenarios for which blockchain is most suited
  • What developers need to know about enterprise blockchain
  • The important design and architectural considerations when building a blockchain-based platform
  • How chaincode encapsulates business logic to define assets and the terms of transactions
  • How to implement a blockchain application based on a commercial paper case study
  • What the future holds for blockchain

Table of contents

  1. Foreword
  2. Preface
    1. Who Is This Book For?
    2. How Is This Book Organized?
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. O’Reilly Online Learning
    5. How to Contact Us
    6. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Introduction to Blockchain
    1. Business Networks
      1. Ted the Businessman
    2. The Ledger
    3. Transactions and Contracts
    4. The Problems with Ledgers and Contracts
    5. Enter the Blockchain
      1. A Car Example
    6. Blockchain and Trust
    7. Blockchain and Bitcoin
      1. The Bitcoin Network
    8. The Requirements of Blockchain for Business
      1. The Assets That Are Tracked
      2. Knowing Each Transaction’s Participants
      3. The Rules Around Privacy and Confidentiality
      4. How Transactions Are Endorsed
      5. How the Network Is Governed
    9. Blockchain Technology
      1. The Hyperledger Project
    10. IBM and Blockchain
    11. Summary
  4. 2. Identifying When to Use Blockchain
    1. Identifying Issues in the Business Network
    2. What Are the Benefits of a Blockchain-Based Solution? 
    3. Assets, Participants, and Transactions
      1. Assets
      2. Participants
      3. Transactions
    4. The Blockchain Fit
    5. Choosing a First Scenario
    6. Transforming the Business Network
    7. Growing the Business Network
    8. Ten Questions to Explore the Scenario in More Detail
    9. Commercial Paper: An Example Scenario
      1. Commercial Paper Assets
      2. Commercial Paper Participants
      3. Commercial Paper Transactions
      4. Consensus
      5. Provenance
      6. Immutability
      7. Finality
    10. Summary
  5. 3. Designing a Blockchain Network
    1. Governance Model
    2. Network Members and Consumers
    3. Architecture and Design Considerations
      1. Participant Types
      2. Network Roles
      3. Assets
      4. Transactions
      5. Endorsements
      6. Deployment
      7. Network Access
      8. Regulations
      9. Nonfunctional Requirements
    4. Security Considerations
    5. Governance, Administration, and Operation Considerations
    6. Data Considerations
      1. Jurisdiction
      2. Data Privacy
      3. Channels
      4. Private Data Collections
      5. Encryption
      6. Identity
    7. Onboarding
    8. Summary
  6. 4. Developing a Blockchain Network
    1. Smart Contracts
    2. Channel Ledger
      1. Blockchain Structure
      2. World State
    3. Client Application
      1. Connection Profile
      2. Credentials
      3. SDK
    4. Code, Debug
    5. Smart Contract Features
    6. Tutorials and Patterns
    7. Summary
  7. 5. A Blockchain Example: Commercial Paper
    1. What Is Commercial Paper?
    2. Understanding the Commercial Paper Tutorial
    3. Running the Commercial Paper Tutorial
    4. Extending the Commercial Paper Tutorial
    5. Writing the New getPaper Transaction
    6. Writing the New getPaper.js Application
    7. Upgrading the Smart Contract
    8. Invoking the New getPaper.js Application
    9. Testing with New Paper
    10. Summary
  8. 6. What’s Next in Blockchain
    1. Blockchain Technology
      1. Standardization
      2. Stability
      3. Simplification
      4. The Next Generation of Blockchain Features
    2. Blockchain Applications
      1. Blockchains for Business
      2. Blockchains for the Good of Society
    3. Summary

Product information

  • Title: Getting Started with Enterprise Blockchain
  • Author(s): Michael Bradley, David Gorman, Matt Lucas, Matthew Golby-Kirk
  • Release date: July 2019
  • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
  • ISBN: 9781492052708