What is a blockchain technology?

The blockchain is an undeniably brilliant invention, made by person or group of people that go by name Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then it has evolved into something more significant. But, the essential question, what everyone has been asking is: what is a blockchain? By allowing information to be transferred and not copied, blockchain creates a new revolution on the internet. Initially, it has been used in digital trading currencies, but now IT experts are trying to find the new uses and potential for this technology.

Often you can hear that bitcoin is called digital gold and for a good reason. To date, the entire value of the currency is close to $9 billion. On the other hand, the blockchains can make other types of digital value. Like with the internet, you don’ need to know how it works, to be able to use it. However, having the basic knowledge of this technology can help you progress further.

The blockchain isn’t only for bitcoin

The blockchain is a massive database, that is validated by a broad community, rather than one authority. It collects the records of all transactions and makes it public. Each block has a number of transactions recorded, and the chain feature connects them all. When the records are created, they are validated by a distributed network of computers and linked with the previous entry in the chain. In this way, they are making a chain of blocks or blockchain.

Considering that blockchain is controlled by a massive network of computers, it means that no one has the complete control over its history. This is an essential feature because no one can go back and alter the things. In this case, the blockchain is a public ladder that cannot be easily tampered with. Even though blockchain is often connected to digital currencies, many organization are trying to use it for other purposes. They are attempting to establish a voting system and implement its features into a health care system.

Where did the blockchain come from?

Although the blockchain technology has been efficiently used in the last decade, its origin goes back fat further. In 1976, a paper on New Directions in Cryptography argued about the idea of a mutual distributed ladder, which is what blockchain is now. But, it would take us a couple of decades and powerful computers to fully implement this technology and make these ideas useful.

To validate the blocks in the same way traditional transactions are approved, you need the help of blockchain employees, in this case, the assistance of powerful computers. Considering they need to have an excellent configuration, they are often expensive, consume a lot of electricity, and you need to keep them cool. This is one of the reasons why bitcoin acted as an excellent start to the introduction of blockchain technology. It will always reward the users who are taking part in this process, which is called mining. Every time people validate a transaction, they make money.

What are algorithms and how are they used?

Algorithms represent processes or set of rules which are followed in calculations or other math problems. They solve problems, primarily by computers. Algorithms are essential for website ranking in the world’s biggest search engine. They have the power to teach a robot to perform certain operations, and they are even involved in the stock market. In many ways, algorithms shape the life we know and make it easier for us. But, what are they precisely, where did they come from and how will they determine the human future? This would be a small guide through the world of algorithms to get you familiar with them.

The history of algorithms

The first time the term algorithm was used was back in 780 by a Persian mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. He was also an astronomer, geographer, and scholar. But, the origin of algorithms goes even further in the past. The first recorded mathematical algorithms were in 1600 BC when Babylonians developed them for factorization and finding square roots. However, the modern algorithms appeared in the late 1920s and were developed through 1930s. The first one who introduced the recursive functions was Godel-Herbrand-Kleene.

Features of algorithms

They must stop at a particular time – for example, if your task is to make a meal, then the algorithm is a meal recipe. Here you are instructed what to do, how to prepare, what ingredients to mix, what temperature to set and when to stop making, to cook a delicious dish. The same rule applies to algorithms.

It must have detailed step-by-step instructions – if your task is to locate some building, then the algorithm is a set of directions which will clearly explain where to go and what to do to find the building.

It must prove effectiveness – if your task is to build a toy car, then the algorithm is your instruction manual, which will guide you through this process. It will help you assemble the parts, and you will end up with a functional toy.

Dominant algorithms

In the digital world, everything is connected, from search engines, social networks to online marketing. In this case, the study of relations between different entities is essential. There are a lot of approaches and features of link analysis, and each of them can be an algorithm, although the bases are similar. For example, think about Facebook’s friend suggestions, YouTube video recommendations, Google’s page rank. Even though the parameters may be different, but the math behind them is the same. The algorithms are working behind our screens, and average users aren’t aware of it.

Data compression

From zip to mp3 and from JPEG to MPEG-2, these algorithms compress data and make systems more affordable, more efficient and more accessible to transmit. Data compression is often used in video games, videos, music, cloud computing, data storage, databases and any files you download to your computer. This type of algorithm will save you a lot of space and make your system run smoothly.