Blockchain is one of the most curious and researched technology in the World today. Most of the people around the World opine that the blockchain technology would be an innovational and may cause reform in lots of area.
The potential is based on the ability to enable reliable transactions between people in an unreliable environment without central parties. These characteristics generally call into question the position of current intermediaries, such as banks or stock exchanges, which generally guarantee reliable transactions. You can even imagine many other situations where the blockchain can change the position of intermediaries. The idea that technology can replace an entire system, for example most of the banking system, is fascinating, surprising and terrifying.
The information regarding the blockchain system is not homogeneous since blockchain technology is innovational and new and exercisers of the blockchain are mostly hosted by start-ups. The blockchain technology generally focused on finance, technical entrepreneurship and education. Therefore, this technology cannot be directly visible in our daily life. Additionally, second hurdle to understand blockchain is the math behind the technology since it relies on mathematical cryptography to establish trust. The target of the book of “Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps” written by Daniel Drescher is to ensure well-organized and conceptual access on what is a blockchain is and how it works. It allows you to understand how a blockchain works without a mathematical background. This allows the reader to understand the basic concepts of the blockchain. It is also the basis for developing detailed information. The book then prepares the reader to follow, assess and interpret the main topics of public debate. Furthermore, Drescher provides a solid starting point for learning more about blockchain-specific issues. Finally, the book implements many metaphors which are useful for expl aining the functioning of a blockchain technology.
The book of “Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps” consist of five major sections. These sections are; (i) Terminology and Technical Foundations, (ii) Why the Blockchain Is Needed (iii) How the Blockchain Works (iv) Limitations and How to Overcome Them (v) Using the Blockchain, Summary, and Outlook.
The first section of book introduces the main terminology and the distinction between centralized and decentralized peer-to-peer systems. The second section of book introduces why the blockchain is needed, what problem it solves, why solving this problem is important, and what potential the blockchain have. The third section is the centerpiece of this book and expl ains how the blockchain works internally. The fourth section focus on major limitations of the blockchain, expl ain their reasons, and sketch possible ways to overcome them. Final and fifth section mainly consider how the blockchain can be used in real life and what questions should to be addressed when selecting a blockchain application. The book of “Blockchain Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction in 25 Steps” expl ains blockchain technology in 25 steps. Initially, some relevant concepts concerning software systems in general and distributed peer-to-peer systems in particul ar are covered in step 1 to 3. The blockchain is introduced as a means of ensuring integrity of such systems. This is followed by a motivation why the blockchain is needed, e.g. for securely managing ownership in a distributed environment by a group of partially untrusted participants while avoiding problems like double-spending in step 4 to7.
Between step 8 to 21 the book covers the basic tasks which need to be performed to realize the blockchain and describes how this can be done. The steps follow a common layout starting usually with a motivating metaphor and ending with an outlook to the next step and a summary what has been covered in the current step. Each step expl ains its respective topic in such a way that the presented information is sufficient for a solid understanding of the blockchain.
As a conclusion, the author Daniel Drescher expl ains the blockchain in a sequence of short and focused steps in such a way that the presentation is precise but also accessible to a general audience. The reader is guided through the book via carefully chosen analogies from daily life, which is very helpful to remember the specific topic of each step.
