Decentralized information contracts: The Graph example & why do i believe in it
A significant number of attempts are being made today to decentralize access to data on the web. It is also important that these capabilities become available at the user level in the form of services.
An example of a project that has done a lot on this field is The Graph. The Graph Protocol is a decentralized protocol for indexing requests to networks like Ethereum in the form of separated information enclaves called subgraphs. These are open APIs that make it possible to query blockchains for data, even for data that remains extremely difficult to accumulate.
In this small note, I do not want to bother you with possibly complex technical details, for example, how open APIs are created, which can also be characterized as decentralized information-type contracts.
But it's definitely worth answering why The Graph has a great future:
Based on complete contract architectures. API - how much is in this word! In fact, the concept of API (Application Programming Interface) is about the contract according to which program acts. “You can contact me, and I will definitely take the appropriate action (data transfer)” is not at all like the evasive type of communication that we can receive from commercial companies, financial and social institutions. Thus, it is important that the API implies the use of the contract concept.
A clearer and more predictable future. Technical contracts differ (try to) behave in a predictable way; they can be to some extent verifiable, that is, it is still easier for us to know what a program will do (than an institution or a person will do). The information obtained through the API can be available at any time for a sufficiently large number of requests at the same time (which suppresses the bureaucratization of data provision, and the very situation when you need to stay in queue to get an answer).
More freedom. However, the problem of a centralized source remains. So, we would not be very fond of centralized television and radio broadcasting, as well as print media, which have a monopoly on how quality, truthful data will be, and whether we will receive it at all. Access to decentralized APIs matters, the ability to choose between sources matter in principle.
And all this refers to The Graph.
Are you interested? It's time to read / listen to the smarter guys. Learn more about the project here.