Abstract
This chapter introduces blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), smart contracts, and how they work. The relevance of these technologies will be discussed in brief for a set of use cases. DLT, blockchain, and smart contracts allow building a distinct set of applications, which we refer to as blockchain-based applications. For such applications, we will discuss the main architectural concerns, including processes for assessing the suitability of blockchain and for designing blockchain-based applications, what to handle on-chain and what to keep off-chain, as well as the main characteristics of blockchain as a base technology. Finally, we will give an overview of architectural design patterns for blockchain-based applications.
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Notes
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Weber, I. (2021). Introduction and Background: Blockchain and Smart Contracts. In: Koschmider, A., Schulte, S. (eds) Blockchain and Robotic Process Automation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81409-0_1
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