We’re extremely excited to launch the public release of the Findora testnet after 4 months of testing and debugging, a further step towards the anticipated mainnet launch!
Back in August of this year, Findora released a test network to select partners and community members. The testnet contains an instance of the Findora transactional system operated by 100 + validators. The validators run a permissioned BFT consensus protocol to maintain a consistent log of transactions. They receive and process transactions and periodically publish updates to the public log of transactions.
The public log is minimal and mainly includes authenticated data-structure (ADS) metadata, such as Merkle roots, that commit the current state of the database. There is a separate query server that responds to client requests for data content, such as asset records or transactions. The query server’s responses are authenticated against the ADS metadata.
Testnet users and developers communicate with the system using four main tools: an asset management application, a command-line interface, a JavaScript library interface, and a raw web interface…
Web Interface: The system supports an industry standard RESTful web interface. It is divided into two main components. The Ledger API is used to communicate with the validators, either to submit transactions or obtain ADS metadata. The Query API is used to submit data queries to the query server, such as scanning for new transactions or obtaining all active asset records associated with an account. Users may alternatively communicate peer-to-peer all the necessary information about their transactions in a separate channel. Developers may also clone the query server and write their own version of the Query API.
Asset Management Application: The Asset Management Application provides a user-friendly web browser interface and enables users to perform basic transactions, including asset definition, issuance, and transfer. The application saves the user’s assets, transactions, and private information.
Command-line Tool: Findora’s more advanced transactional capabilities can be accessed using the command-line tool, including policies and selectively disclosable user identity/credentials. The command line can also be used to request information from the query server or validator logs.
JavaScript Library: The JavaScript library and the txn_cli command-line interface both provide convenient access to the same underlying RESTful web interface, but the library is intended for developers who are building applications to integrate with the transactional system. Applications include more advanced wallets, data exploration tools, GUIs for asset issuers and auditors, or financial services. For example, a developer could build a payment app like Venmo that uses the Findora system for handling the underlying digital-dollar issuance and transfer, a cap table management application like Carta that uses the Findora system for dynamically managing records of equity ownership, or peer-to-peer lending app that uses Findora for handling the lifecycle of a loan contract.
Visit http://testnet.findora.org/ to sign up to our public testnet.
