
Storing Structured Data on the Blockchains - tmlee
http://neuroware.io/blog/storing-structured-data-on-the-blockchains
======
drcode
Looks intriguing, and I am glad to see more entries in this space!

...but what features does it have that don't exist with the ethereum system?
The ethereum blockchain has allowed storage of arbitrarily complicated nested
records and key-value maps since it launched last July.

[http://solidity.readthedocs.org/en/latest/types.html](http://solidity.readthedocs.org/en/latest/types.html)

~~~
m_smalley
Our main differentiation is that we are blockchain-agnostic, so can be used on
any blockchain or distributed ledger that is available via a web-accessible
API. Additionally, we also (like ethereum) provide field types, relationships,
and indexes - enabling full CRUD-like functionality to any blockchain. Not
trying to compete with Ethereum, just trying to bring some of its
functionality and flexibility to other blockchains...

------
skewart
Can someone explain a business use case for a blockchain-based data store?
What is a situation where someone is going to say "let's use a blockchain
solution instead of just replicating a traditional db across several data
centers."

I think the idea of using a blockchain to store generic structured data is
really interesting. I'm just not clear on exactly what advantages it has over
other ways of storing data. Is this not a solution looking for a problem?

~~~
johnnynomics
Blockchains aren't out to replace databases, but there's a few organisations
that could use them for certain use cases. Any processes where you're looking
to increase the transparency of your data, or perhaps increase its security,
or to try and lower the costs of data reconciliation could all benefit from
using a blockchain as its underlying storage engine.

~~~
tmlee
Some folks mentioned about lowering costs; I may misunderstood that context
but has there been any math done by any entity on how much of a cost-saving it
would be for organizations that chooses to switch to a blockchain data storage
solution?

~~~
johnnynomics
It depends on the organization, what they do with their data, and what value
they place on it - so the answer varies. We've done some back of the napkin
calculations this morning and at today's prices it would cost approx $1,000 to
store 1MB on the Bitcoin blockchain. That's a LOT, but depending on what you
want do with your data, it could be priceless. One benefit is that once that
data has been encoded its available for the life of the chain at no extra
cost, eliminating hosting overhead. You also get the added benefits of
increased transparency, automated auditing, reduction in human error, etc.

------
mathgenius
I've been reading about zippers lately and their use in functional programming
to allow update of immutable data structures. Does anyone know if ideas like
this have been developed for use with blockchains?

------
Kinnard
This looks like a very creatively elegant solution to a problem a lot of
people have been talking and thinking about as well as working on . . . Wish
it were open source.

~~~
yarrel
Yes sadly there's nothing in their GitHub project other than their site -
[https://github.com/Neuroware-IO](https://github.com/Neuroware-IO)

~~~
m_smalley
The framework that was used to create the MVP is already open-sourced
(Blockstrap) and once we have officially launched this new product, it's base
protocols will be open and available with working code. Still have some fine-
tuning to do and wasn't expecting to find our way on to Hacker News so soon
:-)

~~~
Kinnard
Don't you love it when that happens.

