Hyperledger’s Three Modules & Why They’re Important
In addition to a number of frameworks that Hyperledger has already created for users, Hyperledger has also created three modules that currently support the Fabric framework.
First off, what is a module? According to this definition at Techopedia, a module is “a software component or part of a program that contains one or more routines.” The definition goes on to explain that modules are important because they “make a programmer’s job easy by allowing the programmer to focus on only one area of the functionality of the software application” because another area, the block of code that establishes the routine, is already complete.
In other words, if you’re building a house you don’t also have to build the tools to build the house too. You can buy or borrow the hammers, the plumbing, the electric cables you need and use them to perform the routine tasks they are capable of to build your unique house. Likewise in coding, when creating a new application you can use established modules — your hammers, plumbing, and electric cables — to help you build your applications and write your programs.
To this end, Hyperledger has created three modules: Cello, Explorer, and Composer. As the Hyperledger edX course notes, “The Hyperledger modules…are auxiliary softwares used for things like deploying and maintaining blockchains, examining the data on the ledgers, as well as tools to design, prototype, and extend blockchain networks.” That’s a good, broad overview.
Now let’s take a closer look at each of these modules beginning with Cello.
What is the Cello module?
If you are a small business or running lean, you probably do not have the resources to hire a blockchain developer. This is where Cello comes in. Initially contributed to by IBM with sponsors from Soramitsu, Huawei, and Intel, Cello provides Blockchain-as-a-Service. This means users do not have to struggle with creating, managing, and terminating blockchains. Cello provides those services.
In addition, Cello provides its users with a dashboard so they can search the blockchain for data, create blockchains, and manage them. Going a step further, if you believe your business is going to need a group of distributed ledger networks, Cello can meet that need as well through its dashboard. Where are these blockchains kept? In a cloud designated by Cello which most likely means by IBM.
As of this writing, Cello is not live: It is still in incubation.
What is the Explorer module?
Hyperledger Explorer is a tool for “visualizing blockchain operations.” In other words, Explorer gives a face to the blockchain, the information on it, and how the blockchain is working. Without a tool like Explorer it is difficult to see each block, to query information that is on a block, or to see other key data about your blockchain. It is a blockchain dashboard.
But wait, didn’t you just say that Cello provides a blockchain dashboard? Good catch. I did: Cello uses a Makefile to leverage the Explorer dashboard. So the dashboard you see in Cello comes from Explorer.
To quote the people at Hyperledger, Explorer is “[d]esigned to …view, invoke, deploy, or query:
- Blocks;
- Transactions and associated data;
- Network information (name, status, list of nodes);
- Smart contracts (chain codes and transaction families);
- Other relevant information stored in the ledger.”
Hyperledger Explorer includes such key components as a web server, a web user interface (UI), web sockets, a database, a security repository, and a blockchain implementation.
The difference between having a tool like Explorer and not is akin to looking at a box score or a player’s playing card versus seeing the player play in person. With a box score or playing card you can clearly see what the player did that day or year which is what the Explorer dashboard can tell you about what’s on your blockchain. Seeing a player play well once and thinking, “Boy, that guy can play!” is like selectively remembering there’s a lot of good stuff on your blockchain, but not remembering everything clearly.
Taken a step further, not only can Explorer help you draw better conclusions and made better decisions based on data, but now everyone on your team has access to the same playing card (ie, the same data) as they can all access the data through Explorer on their individual computers.
Contributed to by DTCC, Intel, and IBM, Explorer is not live as of this writing: It is still in incubation.
What is the Composer module?
If the ready-made Cello — the Blockchain-as-a-Service module discussed above — is too off-the-shelf for you and coding out your own blockchain is too difficult or expensive, the Composer module may be the way to go. Hyperledger Composer provides a suite of tools that:
- Model your business blockchain network;
- Generate REST APIs for interacting with your blockchain network;
- Generate a skeleton Angular application.
Built in Javascript, Hyperledger Composer has “created a modelling language that allows you to define the assets, participants, and transactions that make up your business network using business vocabulary.” At the moment, one can only model a business blockchain network through Composer, not through Cello, but integration with Composer for Cello is under consideration, if not under development.
According to the edX course, Hyperledger Composer’s benefits are:
- Faster creation of blockchain applications, eliminating the massive effort required to build blockchain applications from scratch;
- Reduced risk with well-tested, efficient design that aligns understanding across business and technical analysts; and
- Greater flexibility as the higher-level abstractions make it far simpler to iterate.
Oxchains, a Chinese company that focuses on verifying smart contracts on the blockchain, and IBM contributed to the Composer project.
At the time of this writing, Composer is still in incubation.
Hyperledger Modules’ Big Picture
What’s important to note here is that not only are all three modules are still in incubation, but of the multiple frameworks they only look to work with the Hyperledger Fabric framework. In the future, the three modules may work with multiple or all of the frameworks.
It’s worth repeating that it is early days not just with blockchain technology, but Hyperledger blockchain technology as well. Hopefully, both will continue to iterate to become more efficient and to address more of its users’ issues as it learns over time what works and what does not.
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