Blockchain Explorer
The Integra Blockchain Explorer is the visual component of the blockchain to show transactions and blocks that are written, similar to etherscan.io if you are familiar with Ethereum. This guide will show the variety of functions for Blockchain Explorer and other relevant information.
Overview
Blockchain Explorer is very unique when it comes to tools for building a blockchain authentication layer onto existing applications. It does not help in the development of smart documents or allow for customization in any way, however, it does provide the "proof" that a record was written to a transaction, which that transaction was written to a block and then the block is written to all nodes on the blockchain network. There are many useful tools and charts that blockchain explorer will provide for adding a blockchain authentication layer to any application.
Key Takeaways
Link to Transactions
The ability to link to the specific transaction where the hash was written on the blockchain and allowing users from the application to be able to view information about the transaction provides the "proof" that the hash has been written to the blockchain. This link can easily be embedded into applications. Every call to Register Identity will return a transaction ID (commonly abbreviated TxID). This TxId can be used to immediately show the transaction on the blockchain. The link to a specific transaction is shown below.
- Note that everything to the right of /#/tx/ will be the specific transaction Id.
Information Stored within Transaction
In addition to being a "proof" of existence, another key point is the actual information that is stored on the blockchain in the transaction. The payload hash actually stores the information of the transaction but before this is written to the blockchain, it is added to a block (which may have several other transactions) and this value is hashed. Using Explorer it is easy to see that no meaningful personal/business data is stored on the blockchain.
Token Information
The ability to search the blockchain using explorer to see all token transactions by IntegraId. This is extremely important on the main network due to tokens being required to call Register Identity. For more information about how to obtain tokens view the Tokens guide. There is also the ability to view DEBIT (consumptive), DEBIT, and ISSUED tokens along with a cumulative total of tokens. The token information for a given IntegraId can be reached by using the search bar on the Dashboard page. Select IntegraId from the dropdown and then enter the IntegraId to be queried. Similar to figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Search Explorer for tokens based on an IntegraId.
The other way is directly link to the URL for token results. The link can be directly linked to from any existing software by using the link below.
- Note that everything to the right of ?type=integra_id&q= will be the IntegraId.
Additional Information
Blockchain explorer has information about everything on the Integra Blockchain. There is useful information about blocks, transactions, tokens, and nodes. There are also useful graphs that can show blocks or transactions over various timeframes. In addition, there is the ability to break transactions down by the node that accepted the transaction. This area will also be clickable so you can see the dashboard per node. The other feature to note is the ability to copy transactions Ids, block ids, hashes, and integraId by clicking on the copy icon next to any of these numbers.
Live URL
https://explorer.integraledger.com/
Tech Notes
Integra Blockchain Explorer is based on Hyperledger Fabric Explorer code base with some changes to remove login and linking from external sources. The instance of Explorer, discussed in this guide, is pointing towards the Azure node and is using couchDB for the data source. As a node host on the network, customized logos, URLs and colors are available for the nodes' instance of blockchian Explorer and can be easily custom branded for any organization.
Updated about 2 years ago