Temporary forks and chain reorganizations (reorgs) are natural occurrences in decentralized blockchain systems. They arise due to the asynchronous nature of block propagation across the network. While temporary forks are short-lived and resolved quickly, chain reorganization refers to the process by which the blockchain discards one branch in favor of a longer or higher-priority chain.
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Author: Eric Ma
Eric is a systems guy. Eric is interested in building high-performance and scalable distributed systems and related technologies. The views or opinions expressed here are solely Eric's own and do not necessarily represent those of any third parties.Understanding TPM 2.0 and Platform Configuration Registers (PCRs)
Posted onThe Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 is a hardware-based security feature designed to enhance the integrity and security of computing systems. It is an international standard defined by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) and is implemented as a dedicated chip or firmware module on a computer’s motherboard. The TPM provides cryptographic functions, secure storage, and
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Private Key Sharding: A Technical Guide
Posted onPrivate key sharding is a technique used to distribute a private key into multiple parts, or “shards,” to enhance security and fault tolerance. This method is particularly useful in scenarios where a single point of failure must be avoided, such as in secure communications, cryptocurrency wallets, and distributed systems. What is Private Key Sharding? Private
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What is BTC SegWit and Its Impact on Transaction Fees
Posted onSegregated Witness (SegWit) is a protocol upgrade for Bitcoin that enhances its scalability and transaction efficiency. Introduced in 2017, SegWit addresses several limitations of the original Bitcoin protocol, including transaction malleability and block size constraints. Understanding SegWit What is SegWit? SegWit stands for “Segregated Witness,” referring to the separation of signature data from transaction data.
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Understanding Bitcoin Transaction Structure: Legacy and Witness Versions
Posted onBitcoin transactions are the backbone of the Bitcoin network, facilitating the transfer of value. Understanding their structure is essential for anyone interested in blockchain technology. This article delves into the details of both legacy and witness (SegWit) transaction structures. Basics of Bitcoin Transactions A Bitcoin transaction comprises inputs and outputs. Inputs are sources of funds,
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Proving Ownership of BTC Multisig Addresses
Posted onProving ownership of a Bitcoin (BTC) address is a crucial aspect in various scenarios. The post Proof of Ownership for BTC Addresses introduced the proof for non-multisig addresses. This guide explores how to prove ownership for different multisig BTC address types, including algorithm specifications and step-by-step methods. What is a Multisig Address? A Bitcoin multisig
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Proof of Ownership for BTC Addresses: A Detailed Guide
Posted onProving ownership of a Bitcoin (BTC) address is a crucial aspect in various scenarios, such as verifying identity in a transaction or demonstrating holdings without revealing private keys. This guide explores how to prove ownership for different BTC address types, including algorithm specifications and step-by-step methods. BTC Address Types P2PKH (Pay-to-Public-Key-Hash) P2SH (Pay-to-Script-Hash) P2WPKH (Pay-to-Witness-Public-Key-Hash)
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A Comprehensive Guide to PGP: Technical Deep Dive
Posted onPretty Good Privacy (PGP) is a robust encryption program that ensures privacy and authentication for data communication. Developed by Phil Zimmermann in 1991, it’s widely used for securing emails, files, and directories. This article explores the technical details of PGP, including its algorithms, key management, and detailed processes for encryption, decryption, and signing. Cryptographic Foundations
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Linear Consistency Model for Computer Systems
Posted onLinear consistency models are crucial in ensuring reliability and coherence in distributed computer systems. These models help manage how systems handle data and operations across multiple nodes, ensuring consistency without sacrificing performance. What is a Linear Consistency Model? In distributed computing, a linear consistency model ensures that operations on distributed data appear as if they
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Understanding Cloud Storage Consistency Models
Posted onCloud storage systems utilize various consistency models to balance performance, availability, and data accuracy. This article explores these models, their trade-offs, and examples of systems using them. We’ll also discuss the CAP theorem and its implications. Consistency Models Strong Consistency Definition: Guarantees that any read operation returns the most recent write for a given piece
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Comparing Paxos and Raft
Posted onPaxos and Raft are both consensus algorithms used to ensure consistency in distributed systems. While they solve similar problems, they have different approaches and design philosophies. Characteristics Paxos Roles: Proposers, Acceptors, Learners. Phases: Two main phases (Prepare/Promise and Propose/Accept). Leader Election: Not explicitly defined, often implemented using Multi-Paxos to handle multiple proposals efficiently. Use Cases:
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Understanding the Paxos Consensus Algorithm
Posted onThe Paxos consensus algorithm is a fundamental concept in distributed computing that ensures a group of distributed systems can agree on a single value, even in the presence of failures. Developed by Leslie Lamport, Paxos is widely used in systems where consistency and fault tolerance are critical, such as databases and distributed ledgers. Consensus Problem
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Understanding the Raft Consensus Protocol
Posted onThe Raft consensus protocol is a distributed consensus algorithm designed to be more understandable than other consensus algorithms like Paxos. It ensures that a cluster of servers can agree on the state of a system even in the presence of failures. Key Concepts Raft divides the consensus problem into three relatively independent subproblems: Leader Election:
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Extracting EC Public Keys with OpenSSL
Posted onIn the realm of cryptography, handling and managing keys is a crucial task. The command provided is a series of operations using OpenSSL and other command-line utilities to extract and format an elliptic curve (EC) public key. Let’s break down the command to understand its purpose and functionality. The Command Extracting EC Public Keys with
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Making Linux Keyboard Similar to macOS Keyboard
Posted onAs a daily macOS user, you might find it convenient to make your Linux PC keyboard function similarly to a macOS keyboard. By adapting your Linux keyboard to mimic macOS behavior, you can streamline your workflow and reduce the friction that comes with switching between different operating systems. The key change involves making the Alt
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Mapping Left Alt to Ctrl for Windows Keyboard to Be Similar to macOS
Posted onAs a dedicated macOS user, I often find myself missing the convenience of having a Command key located near my thumb for common shortcuts when using Windows. In the standard Windows keyboard layout, the key that occupies the same position as the Command key on macOS is the Alt key. However, the equivalent key on
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Converting Int to String in C++
Posted onIt is common to convert an integer (int) to a string (std::string) in C++ programs. Because of the long history of C++ which has several versions with extended libraries and supports almost all C standard library functions, there are many ways to convert an int to string in C++. This post introduces how to convert
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Linux User Group Management and Operations
Posted onLinux allows more than one users to log into the system to run processes/programs at the same time. In order to make this multi-user system work properly, Linux provides ways to isolate and protect users from each other and manage the permissions efficiently. One of the mechanism is user groups. Linux users may be grouped
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Add Inline Comments for Multi-line Command in Bash Script
Posted onIn Bash script, it is common that multiple small commands run together connected by pipes (|) and the whole command is quite long. For clarity, we may write the command in multiple lines. How to add comments for these long multi-line commands? In Bash, the content after # in a line is the comment. Using
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How to Match Multiple Lines using Regex in Perl One-liners
Posted onPerl one-liners with perl’s regular expression statement can be a very powerful text processing tools used as commands in a terminal or a script. By default, the input to the perl one-liner with -p or -n options is passed line by line. However, when we want to match multiple lines, it gets us some trouble.
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