Simply put, distributed ledger is a data storage technology, is a decentralized distributed database, such as our early use of Taobao software, our information is actually stored in a large database in Ali, the information is more centralized, once this centralized database problems will occur downtime can not be used and other serious consequences. Later, Ali realized that there are potential risks to the data, so the data is dispersed into multiple databases **** the same storage data. Even if one of the problems, other databases can replace him to continue to run, to ensure that the normal work of the entire Taobao network, and this decentralized storage data technology is distributed database.
The distributed ledger used by the blockchain is even more special, it is also a distributed database, and the difference between him and the distributed database used by Ali is that the blockchain is decentralized, Ali is centralized, like the centralized database used by Ali, the data is stored in a large database centralized giant to maintain their own users do not have access to come in, the users have to access their centralized database in order to view the historical data. historical data have to access their central server to send a request, once these centralized giant want to do something with your data, you can not do anything.
The distributed ledger is a decentralized database due to one database connected to form a large distributed database, each database has the same permissions, you can view all the data stored. It is like everyone manually a ledger, each transaction, everyone will **** the same record. After a period of time, we get together, to the ledger, once there is who tampered with the history of the record immediately can be found by everyone, and this ledger is completely open to everyone, if you want to participate in it, as long as through the blockchain network of the license can become one of the nodes.
The role of distributed ledger in blockchain is not only to make the data have multiple backups and effectively prevent data loss, but also to give the blockchain decentralized characteristics, to prevent the data are concentrated in the hands of giants, and the giants take your data to do evil, in short, the distributed ledger is like the soul of the blockchain. In a big data era like today's, centralized giant data for evil abounds. I hope that the blockchain can be like a warrior to fight through the thorns to put an end to the current data chaos.