A Small Java Application for Learning Blockchain

Abstract

This paper introduces a small Java application named ChainTutor for learning basic Blockchain concepts. Although the term Blockchain is widely known and Blockchain technologies are finding applications in various areas such as banking, health care and Internet of Things, some concepts of Blockchain are not easy for beginners to understand. Fully text-based tutorials are often difficult to follow. General picture of Blockchain operations gets lost in lengthy textual descriptions. With the Java application introduced in this paper, users can experiment with key Blockchain concepts through a graphical user interface. They can generate keys, hashes, transactions, blocks and wallets. They can see the low level details of a blockchain such as encryption keys and hashes. They can see how mining works and how blocks are added to a blockchain. Parameters of a blockchain can also be varied in order to observe their impact on performance or even to make a blockchain invalid. The Java application is intended to be used in classroom environment by instructors when they teach introductory Blockchain courses.