Data Lakes Explained
As the blockchain revolution expands, it only gains speed.
It seems as if, from every corner, new and exciting solutions are being created and tested. The only thing that can keep pace with the growth of Web3 is the amount of data being created.
This is a good thing! The creation of more data means the opening of more possibilities for development and innovation. After all, data is the beating heart of Web3. Without it, we’d have nothing — no dApps, no DEXs, or anything at all. What’s really unique is the way blockchain technology has democratized access to data: it’s open and available to anyone interested.
Yet, at the same time, Web3 data doesn’t often come without some kind of hassle. Let’s face it: blockchain data is a mess. And the mess leads to questions like…
How am I supposed to get all — and only — the data I want? Why can’t the data I need be streamlined? Why can’t it be made easily and efficiently accessible?
No matter how many new, exciting, and innovative ideas come along, without easy answers to these simple questions, the future of Web3 will become stunted. You cannot understate just how crucial data is. In order for traction to be gained, the problems that these questions represent will need reliable solutions.
We at PARSIQ recognize this all too well. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to take all of the hassle out of Web3 data management.
In the past, we’ve described how our Tsunami API provides instant Web3 data, covering how it works, and the types of problems it solves. This post is the first of a mini series in which we’ll turn our attention to another one of our flagship products, namely Data Lakes.
An easy source of custom-tailored blockchain data, our Data Lakes make it easier than ever to take control — and take full advantage — of the data you (or any dApp or protocol) need to not just expand, but also keep up and lead the future of Web3!
So…grab your towel and sunglasses! Let’s take a dip into Data Lakes!
What is a Data Lake?
Great. Let’s start with the basics!
Data Lakes are a solution to simplify your data needs — from infrastructure to workflows, and analytics to development. In the simplest terms, a Data Lake is a central repository where the data that you need can be delivered, stored, processed, and analyzed in its native format. This includes raw block data, as well as specific data relating to things like transactions, particular applications, financial data, price history, etc.
To better understand what this means, and how it simplifies the jobs of developers, let’s consider the general problems that Data Lakes solve.
The creation of data never ceases!
As blockchains continue to grow, so does the amount of data being produced. Of course, the need for this data will grow as well. Yet, a massive obstacle standing in the way, is the simple fact that there is so much of it.
What am I supposed to do with all this data? And how am I supposed to organize it in a scalable way?
These questions cut to the heart of some very widespread problems. Not only is gathering all of the relevant information into one place a challenge, but it’s also no simple feat to come up with the means for easily searching that data according to their own specific needs.
If data is the beating heart of blockchain development; and if you want your platform to thrive (and who doesn’t!?); then, you’ll need tried and trustworthy solutions to these problems.
Enter: Data Lakes!
Data Lakes provide an easily accessible source of custom-tailored Web3 data. This means not just the collection of the data you’re looking for, but also the ability to customize that data to fit your specific needs.
PARSIQ’s Data Lakes are pools of specific and specialized data, dedicated to each individual decentralized app or DeFi protocol with which the lake is associated. For example, a developer may need specific data related to, say Uniswap or AAVE. Supported by PARSIQ Data Lakes, all of the historical and real-time data related to these protocols will be easily and instantly available!
How do Data Lakes relate to other sources of data, like the Tsunami API?
Excellent question!
The Tsunami API is an API that provides instant historical and real-time data from the entirety of a blockchain. With the Tsunami API, in other words, you have super quick access to any and all data on that chain. But you’ll still be stuck with the problems described above: this is a lot of data! What are you supposed to do with it all?
With Data Lakes, the flexibility is even greater than with the Tsunami API. This is because the data involved only includes information that is of interest to a platform, or data that has been generated by them. Put in the simplest terms: Data Lakes are smaller, localized reservoirs of data that ‘makes sense’ to the projects to which the lake belongs.
So, a helpful way of thinking about the relationship between Data Lakes and the Tsunami API is like this: Data Lakes complement and refine the Tsunami API by providing custom-tailored data for each of the dApps or protocols supported by a lake.
In order to render the data open and readily available, we have to conduct a deep dive into the custom logic of the dApp or protocol. This allows the data to be made even more easily usable than anything on the Tsunami API.
There is also an extremely important point to be noted for developers. Involved in the customization process, Web3 platforms will be able to define the conditions of the type of data or statistics they require. Having done that, the data can be provided. Or, if aggregated data is desired — for instance, TVL, liquidity, pool size of various token pairs, etc. — that can easily be provided as well.
Data availability and speed of access have always been a top priority for PARSIQ. The kind of custom, concrete data support for Web3 offered by Data Lakes isn’t available anywhere else on the market. We’re proud to be an industry leader, offering something that’s, at once, unique and essential.
Curious to hear more about a concrete example of how all of this improves the lives of developers? Check out this post on how the PARSIQ Network Simplifies dApp Analytics.
Now that we’ve learned a little bit about what Data Lakes are, we’re ready to learn even more!
Be sure to stay tuned for our future posts in this series, where we’ll compare Data Lakes to their closest alternative (Subgraphs from The Graph) as well as explain what types of Data Lakes can exist and who can use them!
Are you or your team ready to get started using Data Lakes?
Check out our docs here: https://network-docs.parsiq.net/
Or, contact our team by visiting: https://parsiq.net/lakes
About
PARSIQ is a full-suite data network for building the backend of all Web3 dApps & protocols. The Tsunami API provides blockchain protocols and their clients (e.g. protocol-oriented dApps) with real-time data and historical data querying abilities.
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