Software Engineering Daily

Consensus protocols are used to allow computers to work together. A consensus protocol lets different servers agree on the state of a system. For decades, these protocols have been used to establish consensus among database nodes, application servers, and other infrastructure that runs within an enterprise. More recently, new consensus protocols have been invented to allow cryptoeconomic systems to agree on the state of a financial system.

The first cryptoeconomic consensus protocol to reach wide adoption was Nakamoto consensus–the proof-of-work system used for consensus of Bitcoin. Since then, other systems have been developed, with different tradeoffs in security, speed, and formal verifiability.

Ethan Buchman is the CTO at Tendermint, a consensus system for blockchains. In addition to working on Tendermint, Ethan works on Cosmos, a network of blockchains. In this episode, we talk about different consensus systems–for centralized, trustworthy systems as well as for trustless systems like currencies.

Transcript provided by We Edit Podcasts. Software Engineering Daily listeners can go to weeditpodcasts.com/sed to get 20% off the first two months of audio editing and transcription services. Thanks to We Edit Podcasts for partnering with SE Daily. Please click here to view this show’s transcript.

ConsenSys has hundreds of web3 developers that are building decentralized applications, focusing on world-changing ideas like creating a system for self-sovereign identity, managing supply chains, developing a more efficient electricity provider and much more. ConsenSys is actively hiring talented software developers to help build the decentralized web. Learn more about Consensys projects and open source jobs at consensys.net/sedaily.

Triplebyte is a company that connects engineers with top tech companies. We’re running an experiment and our hypothesis is that Software Engineering Daily listeners will do well above average on the quiz. Go to triplebyte.com/sedaily and take the multiple-choice quiz, and in a few episodes we’ll share some stats about how you all did. Try it yourself at triplebyte.com/sedaily.

Sumo Logic is a cloud-native, machine data analytics service that helps you Run and Secure your Modern Application. Even if you have tools already, it’s worth checking out Sumo Logic and seeing if you can leverage your data even more effectively, with real-time dashboards and monitoring, and improved observability – to improve the uptime of your application and keep your day-to-day runtime more secure. Check out sumologic.com/sedaily for a free 30-day Trial of Sumo Logic, to find out how Sumo Logic can improve your productivity and your application observability–wherever you run your applications. That’s sumologic.com/sedaily.

LiveRamp is one of the fastest growing companies in data connectivity in the Bay Area, and they are looking for senior level talent to join their team. LiveRamp helps the world’s largest brands activate their data to improve customer interactions on any channel or device. The LiveRamp team thrives on mind-bending technical challenges. LiveRamp members value entrepreneurship, humility, and constant personal growth. If this sounds like a fit for you, check out softwareengineeringdaily.com/liveramp.