"The" Blockchain

[Michael DeMond]

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 solidity contract 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

[#2]

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.

[#3]

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. :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:

[#4]

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.

[#5]

Yeah to be honest I get the feeling that they threw a bunch of stuff together out there and are just waiting to see what sticks. :face_with_tears_of_joy:  But I also think that's how Azure has always operated and so far so good, right? 

FWIW, I am looking at an Coinbase's commerce solution which supports four coins.  It so happens that there is a .NET api that supports 3 out of those 4.  Guess which one is left out?  Yep, good 'ol ETH.  So, it might not be a bad thing that ETH is the chosen platform here as I will be able to use it to tie in the remaining piece.

In any case, thanks again for the information, Stuart.  Please feel free to add anything else that you (or anyone else!) might encounter. :thumbs_up:

[#6]

Ahhh and then on top of all that, there is, STRATIS:

https://academy.stratisplatform.com/

Goodbye solidity. ;)