I.T. Spices The LINUX Way

lightingmacsteem (55)in #blockchain • 8 years ago

Python In The Shell: The STEEMIT Ecosystem – Post #84

THE STEEMIT BLOCKCHAIN FILE INTRODUCTIONS

Please refer to the previous post for a more thorough understanding: https://steemit.com/python/@lightingmacsteem/6yzt2m-i-t-spices-the-linux-way

First off we need the STEEMIT blockchain file where all the records of all activities can be found. The said file is in the form of a JSON text, a much easier-to-understand format that I really think will be the future of string formats.

The blockchain file contains the following information as I issued the command on the linux cli:
---cat steem.blockchain.json | tail -n +1900001 | sed -n 1p | jq -r .---

block_id
extensions
previous
signing_key
timestamp
transaction_ids
transaction_merkle_root
transactions
witness
witness_signature

The 3x --- characters before and after are not part of the command, please see snapshot below on what I meant above on the blockchain unique entry:

Basically with the command above, I told linux to:

Display all the lines of the file steem.blockchain.json
When #1 is done, display only the lines from 1900001 until the end
When #2 is done, display only the first line
When #3 is done, display the JSON data beautifully (prettify JSON in admin terms)

Inside the “transactions” section, upon further inspection, the JSON data contains the following as I issued the command on the linux cli:
---cat /DEVSHM/steem.blockchain-incomplete_all.json | jq -Rc '. as $raw | try fromjson catch $raw' | head -n1 | jq -r .---

block_num (the blockchain designated unique number)
expiration (a date and time stamp)
extensions
operations (this will be the most important part of the JSON file)
ref_block_num
ref_block_prefix
signatures
transaction_id
transaction_num

The 3x --- characters before and after are not part of the command, please see snapshot below on what I meant above on the “transactions” section:

Basically with the command above, I told linux to:

Display all the lines of the file /DEVSHM/steem.blockchain-incomplete_all.json
When #1 is done, display all the lines including the lines with JSON format errors
When #2 is done, display only the first line
When #3 is done, display the JSON data beautifully (prettify JSON in admin terms)

Keep in mind that the files above are pre-formatted by me, but do not worry as I also intend to expose as to how on later posts; we are still a long way off so be patient with me.

The ones I had commented are the records worth playing about, but it will be beneficial to the STEEMIT community if somebody knowledgeable (a witness perhaps) would chime in at the comments section to shed light as to the purpose of the other entries.

Please do correct me if I am wrong with my above descriptions.

THE OPERATIONS SECTION OF THE BLOCKCHAIN

As we play around with the STEEMIT ecosystem, it will be worth our while to be focusing on the “operations” inside the “transactions” section.

As we go about I intend to explain all the HOWTOs that I myself had done and in so doing share something that may interest the young generation to delve further.

I can also readily declare that there are more experts here as far as the STEEMIT blockchain is concerned. If they can explain things further as mentioned it will be a very good effort, all of us will learn in this manner beautifully.

Until the next post.