From the course: Blockchain: Beyond the Basics
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Understanding miners and proof of work - Blockchain Tutorial
From the course: Blockchain: Beyond the Basics
Understanding miners and proof of work
- I'm going to cover a series of terms and concepts that, on the face of it, don't seem connected. However, before too long, I think you'll find that all the pieces will fall into line. Let's start with a nonce. Until blockchain, I'd never heard the word. A nonce is a number that is used once for a specific purpose and never used again. As an example, in an era of big data, there's always a possibility that data entered into a database may have the same identifier. Adding a nonce to some identifier makes it additionally unique, thus making it harder for accidental duplication. I'll return to the role of a nonce in blockchain in just a moment. Next, let's take a look at what a hash function is. A hash function is a mathematical process that takes data of any size, performs an operation on it, and returns a unique hash: data of a fixed size. Whether the input text is a single letter or a Shakespearean soliloquy,…
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