The idea behind this program is to provide a service to notarize a document.
This can then be used as proof that at a certain time in the past, the claimant has had access to a certain piece of information.
A Complete Guide to Understanding This Blockchain Concept
For example, if someone has come up with an idea, he or she can then create a hash of that document and save it on the blockchain.
Due to the immutable nature of blockchain, it can serve as permanent proof that a certain idea (documents) existed at a certain time.
There are many ways in which this can be achieved, but the key idea is the same and it works on the principle that hash functions provide a digest of the text or document and are unique.
This can be achieved in several ways by using different hash functions; the key idea is to create a hash of the document or text string and save it on the blockchain.
Once the text is hashed and saved, further requests to save that same text can be disallowed by comparing the hash of the document with the already stored hash.
For this example, browser solidity, Truffle, and TestNet (already running Network ID 786, created earlier) will be used.
Why This Matters for Blockchain Technology
This can be done using any appropriate text editor or integrated development environment such as the Remix IDE or Visual Studio Code.
The Remix IDE can also be used as that too provides a simulated environment for the test.
This example will provide you with the opportunity to learn how a contract project can be developed from an idea into a solidity contract source code and finally to deployment.
Let’s look at the code line by line: pragma solidity ^0.4.0; This statement ensures that the minimum compiler version is 0.4.0 and the maximum version cannot be greater than 0.4.9.
Key Points to Remember
- An example project – Proof of Idea The idea behind this program is to provide a service to notarize a document.
- This can then be used as proof that at a certain time in the past, the claimant has had access to a certain piece of information.
- For example, if someone has come up with an idea, he or she can then create a hash of that document and save it on the blockchain.
- Due to the immutable nature of blockchain, it can serve as permanent proof that a certain idea (documents) existed at a certain time.
Going Deeper: Advanced Concepts
This ensures compatibility between programs: contract PatentIdea { This statement is the start of the contract with the name PatentIdea: mapping (bytes32 => bool) private hashes; In the code line above, a mapping is defined, which maps bytes32 to Boolean, and this is basically a hashmap (dictionary) of bytes32 mapping to a Boolean value: bool alreadyStored; This is a variable declared with the alreadyStored name, which is a Boolean type and can have a true or false value.
This variable is used to hold the return value from the SaveIdeaHash function: event ideahashed(bool); An event is declared as well, which will be used to capture the failure or success of the hashing function (SaveIdeaHash).
When the event is triggered, it will return a true or false Boolean value.
A function named saveHash is declared, which takes the hash variable of type bytes32 as parameters and saves it in the hash map.
Conclusion
An example project – Proof of Idea represents one of the many innovative layers that make blockchain technology so powerful and transformative. As distributed systems continue to evolve, a solid understanding of these core concepts becomes increasingly valuable — not just for developers, but for anyone building, investing in, or working alongside blockchain-powered systems.
Whether you are just starting your blockchain journey or deepening existing expertise, mastering these fundamentals gives you the tools to think clearly about decentralized systems and make smarter decisions in this rapidly evolving space.