-
Game Theory
Game theory is a branch of mathematics that studies strategic interactions between decision-makers (often referred to as players) in situations where the outcome for each participant depends not only on their own decisions but also on the decisions of others. It analyzes how individuals or groups make choices in competitive or cooperative environments, aiming to…
-
Lossless and Lossy Compression
Lossless and Lossy Compression in the context of data compression refers to different methods of reducing the size of data. While these techniques are commonly used in digital storage and communication, they are also relevant to blockchain systems like Cardano when optimizing data storage and network efficiency. Let’s break down the two types of compression…
-
Ouroboros mini-protocols
Ouroboros mini-protocols are a set of specialized communication protocols designed to support the operation of Ouroboros, the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism used by Cardano. These mini-protocols manage various aspects of communication between nodes, such as block propagation, transaction submission, and chain synchronization, ensuring efficient and secure consensus across the network. By breaking down the interactions…
-
Mini-protocols
Mini-protocols on Cardano are lightweight, specialized communication protocols designed to facilitate specific tasks between nodes in the network. These protocols break down the communication between nodes into simpler, modular components, each responsible for a particular aspect of the interaction, such as transaction propagation, block validation, or stake delegation. This modular approach helps to optimize the…
-
Eventual Consistency
Eventual consistency is a consistency model used in distributed systems to ensure that, given enough time, all copies of the data across the system will become consistent, even if temporary inconsistencies occur. It guarantees that, after a period of time and in the absence of further updates, all nodes in the system will converge to…
-
Amortization
In computer science, amortization refers to analyzing the average performance or cost of an operation over a series of repeated operations. Instead of evaluating the worst-case scenario for every individual operation, amortization spreads out the cost of expensive operations across multiple less costly ones, providing a more accurate estimate of performance over time. Example of…
-
k-parameter
The k-parameter on Cardano is a key parameter in its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism that influences the optimal number of stake pools in the network. It is used to promote decentralization by encouraging ADA holders to delegate their stake to a larger number of independent stake pools, thus preventing centralization around a few dominant pools.…
-
Concurrency & Parallelism
As the Cardano blockchain continues to grow and evolve, two key concepts that play an important role in improving performance and scalability are concurrency and parallelism. These are critical for optimizing how transactions are processed, especially as more decentralized applications (dApps) and users interact with the network. However, concurrency and parallelism are often misunderstood, so…
-
Big-O Notation
Big-O Notation is a way of describing how the performance (time or space) of an algorithm scales as the size of the input data increases. It tells us how quickly the run-time or memory usage grows as the input size gets larger. Big-O notation focuses on the worst-case scenario to give us an upper bound…
-
Orders of Approximation
Orders of Approximation refer to the different levels of accuracy or precision used when estimating or calculating a value. In mathematics, physics, and computing, the first-order approximation is a rough estimate, while higher-order approximations provide more detailed and precise calculations. As you increase the “order” of approximation, you account for more factors and nuances in…
