A web application that indexes and displays blockchain data in a human-readable format. Explorers show transaction details, account balances, program interactions, and network statistics. Solana explorers include Solana Explorer (explorer.solana.com), Solscan, SolanaFM, and XRAY. Ethereum uses Etherscan. Essential tools for debugging and verification.
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A web application that indexes and displays blockchain data in a human-readable format. Explorers show transaction details, account balances, program interactions, and network statistics. Solana explorers include Solana Explorer (explorer.solana.com), Solscan, SolanaFM, and XRAY. Ethereum uses Etherscan. Essential tools for debugging and verification.
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Block Explorer (block-explorer) Category: Blockchain General Definition: A web application that indexes and displays blockchain data in a human-readable format. Explorers show transaction details, account balances, program interactions, and network statistics. Solana explorers include Solana Explorer (explorer.solana.com), Solscan, SolanaFM, and XRAY. Ethereum uses Etherscan. Essential tools for debugging and verification. Related: Transaction, RPC (Remote Procedure Call)
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An atomic unit of execution containing one or more instructions, a recent blockhash, and one or more signatures. All instructions in a transaction execute sequentially and atomically—if any instruction fails, the entire transaction reverts. Transactions have a 1,232-byte size limit (matching IPv6 MTU) and a default 200,000 CU budget.
The JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol interface through which clients communicate with Solana nodes to query chain state, submit transactions, and subscribe to events. Solana exposes a rich set of HTTP and WebSocket endpoints (e.g., getAccountInfo, sendTransaction) that abstract direct peer-to-peer network participation, making RPC the primary integration point for wallets, dApps, and indexers.
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The average time between consecutive blocks being produced. Bitcoin: ~10 minutes, Ethereum: ~12 seconds, Solana: ~400ms. Shorter block times enable faster transaction confirmation but increase orphan rates and storage requirements. Block time is a fundamental trade-off between speed and network overhead.
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An atomic unit of execution containing one or more instructions, a recent blockhash, and one or more signatures. All instructions in a transaction execute sequentially and atomically—if any instruction fails, the entire transaction reverts. Transactions have a 1,232-byte size limit (matching IPv6 MTU) and a default 200,000 CU budget.
The JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol interface through which clients communicate with Solana nodes to query chain state, submit transactions, and subscribe to events. Solana exposes a rich set of HTTP and WebSocket endpoints (e.g., getAccountInfo, sendTransaction) that abstract direct peer-to-peer network participation, making RPC the primary integration point for wallets, dApps, and indexers.
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A distributed, append-only ledger that records transactions in cryptographically linked blocks. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, forming an immutable chain. Nodes in the network maintain copies of the ledger and reach agreement through consensus mechanisms. Blockchains enable trustless, decentralized record-keeping without a central authority.
The protocol by which nodes in a distributed network agree on the current state of the ledger. Common mechanisms include Proof of Work (Bitcoin), Proof of Stake (Ethereum, Solana), and BFT variants. Consensus ensures all honest nodes converge on the same transaction history despite potential network delays or malicious actors.
A consensus mechanism where validators are selected to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked (locked) as collateral. PoS is energy-efficient compared to Proof of Work. Misbehaving validators risk losing their stake (slashing). Solana, Ethereum (post-Merge), Cosmos, and Cardano use PoS variants.
A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to produce blocks and earn rewards. PoW provides strong security (51% attack resistance) but is energy-intensive. Bitcoin and pre-Merge Ethereum use PoW. The difficulty adjusts to maintain target block times regardless of total network hash power.