a currency registry : a simple web site, that can register a new currency (from a node), with search capabilities. Such registry could be hosted by “ucoin.io”.
I was thinking about using elasticsearch as main framework, with a Java frontend node to manage authentication. Authentication could simply use a currency node (the currency Wot) to allow only currency member’s to post data.
Such currency registry could have additionnal features, like :
computed statistics on Wot, to speed up search on client software (distance between two memebers, etc.)
advanced search features on blockchain : download all trsnaction of a user, in one call, …)
“ask for certification” feature : for new member.
A client like uCoin-Apps must have such high level facilities to speed up navigation.
decentralized implemnetation (one or more registry node, with a peer-to-peer synchronization)
a name registry : like a DNS, this could be useful to retrieve a pubkey on a compagny, even if :
The compagny change it’s pubkey (e.g. password has to be changed for security reason).
The compagny use many free currencies : witch pubkey to use ?
For compagnies with a web site, with not to define a simple file format, to deploy like any other deploy ROBOTS.txt or sitemap.xml files ? for instance a ucoin.xml ?
For currencies and people registry, gnunet is doing some nice things. Their GNS (Gnu Name System) which purpose is to create a decentralized and anonymous DNS can be forked to create a CRS (Currency Registry System) and IRS (Identity Registry System) pretty easily I think.
Few days ago, I stopped my development on uCoin Apps (Android client), because I really need to download too many data on the smartphone : more than i really need.
Last days, I tried some solutions to solve that. I think ElasticSearch (ES). Thank you @vit for this suggestion !
This tool is really cool ! I could re-use my Java code to get the blockchain, then put it back into a ES node.
I have exactly all the blcokchain (same block) in JSON, and can knwon ask some part of it, using a simple and powerful query API.
It could be cool to have a ucoin architecture that include ElasticSearch :
+---------------------------------+
| uCoin Client |
+---------------------------------+
▲
| Clients send requests
| using common syntax (Basic Merkled API)
| e.g. /blockchain/parameters ...
| OR using ElasticSearch syntax API
| e.g. /_search?q=...
|
▼
+------------------------+ HTTP +--------------------+
| uCoin Node (Core API) | <------> | Another uCoin Node |
+------------------------+ +--------------------+
▲
| uCoin node delegate search queries
| and send new block for indexation in ES
+------------------------------------\
| |
▼ ▼
+-----------------------+ SYNC (port 9300) +-----------+
| ElasticSearch Node 1 | <-----------------> | ES Node N |
+-----------------------+ (internal network) +-----------+
This architecture :
use NodeJS / ucoin as front server
allow to define many Elastic Search nodes
avoid to deal with ElasticSearch security issue (a security module exists, but not it’s not free )
avoid synchronization issue on ES nodes dispath every where : sync is only done inside a private network (e.g behind a DMZ). Synchronization between remote nodes if done using the the uCoin basic API, then event are dispathed to ES sub-nodes.
allow (anyway) advance features, such as load balancing : Apache server could be configured as a front server, and could dispatch search requests (e.g. like “/search?q=”) directly to ES node. This will allow huge traffic, to many ES nodes, even if only one NodeJs instance is running.
+---------------------------------+
| uCoin Client |
+---------------------------------+
▲
|
▼
+---------------------------------+
| Apache frontend |
+---------------------------------+
▲
| Redirect requests on core API
| to NodeJS instance +---------------+
+---------------------->| uCoin NodeJS |
| +---------------+
| |
| delegate search queries | Ask
| to ES nodes | for new
+---------------------------\ | blocks
| | | indexation
▼ ▼ ▼
+----------------+ SYNC (port 9300) +-----------+
| ES Node 1 | <-----------------> | ES Node N |
+----------------+ (internal network) +-----------+
I’m glad ES can give you such facilities to query the blockchain. It seems very convenient and powerful.
I guess yes, this can be used to provide a higher API.
However, I think this API should not be provided by classical ucoin software in its core, but as a pluggable feature instead like what @kimamila proposed: ucoin could bind to an elastic search instance (or several?) and provide these features:
add an other API to the node endpoints list, providing high level requests (transactions of a key, …)
the node would ensure to feed ES correctly with new blocks
on call of a method of the new API, make request to the ES instances
If possible, I would prefer to consider we only have 1 ES node to bind to, and that behind the scene some load balancer would do the job of dispatching.
You are right, I do not know anything about ES right now.
Yes, 1 is enough : if you send data to one ES node, other nodes will be notified and synchronized, using a specific port (9300). We have nothing special to implement for that (just configuration).
I will try (with your help) to add events on ucoin (such as new block), using a plugin/extension point mechanism.
ES is very (very) easy to use, you will see.
)
