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This page explains indexing services. |
Since only the commitments and nullifiers of created and consumed resources are stored on a distributed ledger (see #creation and #consumption) and not the resource object itself, a node wanting to know about current global blockchain state must
- (1) be online all the time,
- (2) observe all transactions that occur, and
- (3) store all created and consumed resource objects on their hard drive.
For a normal user, this is not feasible. Moreover, the above assumes that all transactions are transparent and not shielded or private, in which case a node would not be able to see them.
Indexing is the process of tracking created and consumed resources and storing the information in a database. This database can then be filtered with custom predicates by service users. Users wanting to know, for example, their current balance, after being offline for a couple of days can query an indexing service for resources they might have received.
Indexing service providers can commit to archiving:
- All visible state
- App-specific state (e.g., based on the resource kind)
- User-specific state (e.g., based on ownership or other resource properties)
Commercial indexing services are expected to charge fees. However, since becoming an indexer is permissionless and a simple service commitment within the Anoma protocol, normal peer-to-peer nodes can become indexers, too. Moreover, nodes in the network can also commit to caching resources relevant for their peers free of charge for a certain period of time, thus contributing to a decentralized and mutual service economy.
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Current private devnet
A central Anoma node is providing indexing services and allows filtering resources by kind and owner.
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