The Google Developer Students Club (GDSC) at SiliconTech, the engineering institute of Silicon University, collaborated with CrewSphere ICP to organize a workshop on ‘Blockchain’ on 27 April 2024 as part of the Summer of Tech campaign.
Blockchain, a newly developed distributed ledger technology, stores verification data for transactional records in blocks that are cryptographically safeguarded against manipulation. Transaction information, a timestamp, and a hash of the preceding block are included in the blocks.
The objective of this workshop was to provide in-depth knowledge of blockchain technology along with the most recent applications in research and industry.
During the session, participants learned about the characteristics of hash functions, such as concealment, determinism, resilience to collisions, and puzzle-friendliness. They analyzed the functionality of a blockchain as a linked list of hashed data blocks that makes it difficult to tamper with computationally. The significance of digital signatures for confirming the sender’s identity and the substance of documents to prevent non-repudiation were also discussed in the session. Furthermore, the importance of RSA key generation and distribution techniques for secure communication was highlighted.
Different consensus techniques and their applications in various blockchain platforms including Ethereum, Hyperledger, and Bitcoin were also discussed. These mechanisms include Proof of Work (PoW), Proof of Stake (PoS), and Proof of Authority (PoA). Participants were given a brief code demonstration showcasing the implementation of fundamental blockchain features. This demonstration reinforced their understanding of blockchain concepts, providing practical insights into consensus mechanisms, block creation, and hashing.
