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Michael DeMond's avatar
Michael DeMond
Copper Contributor
Jun 29, 2018

"The" Blockchain

Hello Community,

 

I am digging through the Azure Blockchain workbench.  My question is around the messaging that is being presented.  I see "blockchain" used everywhere, but when digging into the samples, there is a https://github.com/Azure-Samples/blockchain/blob/master/blockchain-workbench/application-and-smart-contract-samples/hello-blockchain/HelloBlockchain.sol which --from my rather rudimentary understanding -- is actually the Ethereum blockchain.  Is there somewhere that describes this in more detail?  Is Ethererum the officially-supported blockchain of MSFT?  Or is it a custom blockchain based on Ethereum?  Or something different altogether? 🙂

 

It would seem that if Ethereum is the official backing blockchain that it would be more prevalent in the messaging so that those of us like myself don't have to bother taking up cycles in forums like these by getting more clarity on this.

 

Thank you for any clarification you can offer,

Michael

blockchain
Ethereum

5 Replies

  • Stuart Corrans's avatar
    Stuart Corrans
    Copper Contributor
    Jun 30, 2018

    Assuming that you're referring to the Azure BlockChain Workbench, then Ethereum (configured as Proof of Authority) is currently the only option at present, although the option to use a flavour of HyperLedger and Corda are apparantly in the works (on the Future Integration bit of the architecture diagram) https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/blockchain-workbench/blockchain-workbench-architecture
    The point of ABW I guess is to abstract away the specifics of the various private chain technologies, which will hopefully ease future migration, upgrades, and perhaps even switching between ledgers, as the industry matures over time.

    • Michael DeMond's avatar
      Michael DeMond
      Copper Contributor
      Jun 30, 2018

      OK this is good to know, Stuart.  Thank you for that information and context.

       

      I guess the tricky part here is that we're having to code in solidity rather than .NET/C#, which is what is throwing me off about being "abstracted."  If it were truly abstracted we would be using all MSFT technologies to interface with whatever was powering underneath.

       

      IMO. 😊

      • Stuart Corrans's avatar
        Stuart Corrans
        Copper Contributor
        Jun 30, 2018
        Good point re Solidity - it looks like MS "Enterprise Smart Contracts" https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-enterprise-smart-contracts/ might include an abstraction although this looks a bit fluffy at present.

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