What is an API and what is the whole point of a public blockchain?

in #hive-1103692 years ago

A few days ago I posted about the new API I've released allowing Dapp devs especially on Hive to accept ⚡️Lightning payments in the simplest way I can imagine.

I realise when I post on technical topics like a new API (which stands for Application Programming Interface) I have a mix of audiences reading, some of whom see this as gobbledegook and their eyes glaze over. So this is a bit of a higher level explanation.

What is an API?

An Application Programming Interface is an agreed way in which different computers can talk to each other. One system asks a question, the API returns an answer.

What I released this week is an easy peasy (if you're a developer) way for the other developer's program to ask my program for a ⚡️Lightning Invoice and get it.

What is a ⚡️Lightning Invoice

At it's heart a lightning invoice is just a string of letters and numbers. It looks like this:

Another lightning invoice

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

And because it looks like that crazy thing on the left, we usually convert them into the now familiar QR Codes. The other Developer using my API will have to show that invoice to their users somehow.

What does my API do?

I give Hive Dapp devs a way to request a ⚡️Lightning Invoice which is valid for up to 10 minutes only. The developer just has to specify a few things:

  • The Hive account name where the funds will go if the invoice is paid
  • The amount they want in either Hive, HBD or even USD.
  • A message to be sent along with the transfer
  • The name of the app asking for this invoice (this is mostly for me to keep track of things in the background).
  • Expiry time up to 10 mins (600s)

All of that can turn into the following GET Request which is simply the way the other computer program talks to my API server:

curl -X 'GET' \ 'https://api.v4v.app/v1/new_invoice_hive?hive_accname=brianoflondon&amount=1&currency=USD&usd_hbd=true&app_name=peakd_demo&expiry=300&message=any%20message%20goes%20here&qr_code=base64%20png' \ -H 'accept: application/json'

Behind the scenes it is the infrastructure which I've built for @v4vapp which will watch to see if that ⚡️Lightning Invoice is paid and, if and when it is, make a transfer of the correct amount of Hive or HBD to the correct account with the correct message.

BTW that message is very important: if you're paying for a basket of goods, the message would allow the other Dapp's computer program to identify exactly which shopping basket was just paid for!

What about the blockchain?

This brings me to the point about blockchains.

When I posted about the API, someone asked if my API server could perhaps send a notification back when the invoice is paid. There are various ways to do this on the old web: I could send an email or use something called a Webhook. This is actually how the legacy credit card payment processors operate.

But this is kind of missing the point of what makes a public blockchain like Hive so powerful and radically different from private closed systems.

I ALREADY do send a message! The Payment IS the message. The Hive Transfer I send arrives within 3s of a Lightning invoice being paid. It contains the correct message and once I've sent it, there's no way I can take it back.

So it would be completely redundant for me to build ANOTHER inferior system for sending a reply just to tell the other program that funds were received. What if my program just faked these? I could easily do that.

The point here is that any Dapp developer working with programmable money on a public blockchain like Hive needs to treat that public blockchain as their source of truth: the only authoritative system where you can learn that a payment has been made.

Slow vs Quick

This is the reason why paying for goods and services with Bitcoin on the main Bitcoin blockchain is not feasible for most things! 10 minutes between blocks and the lottery of which block a transaction will get in, make it way too slow for checkout. We don't have this problem on Hive.

⚡️Lightning has a different issue: Lightning payments are all private. Only the receiver and the sender know that a payment has happened so there is no notion of a public way to check if a payment goes through. This is one of the key functions my Lightning to Hive Bridge performs.

⚡️Lightning payments are very well suited to the web. I firmly believe that it can become a widely used system. However receiving ⚡️Lightning is more challenging. That is why the @v4vapp service over Hive could well become something much bigger than it is today.

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Lightning payments are very well suited to the web. I firmly believe that it can become a widely used system.

I believe with this initiative the lightning payment is a good idea in making transaction more easier and faster.

Thanks for sharing @brianoflondon

I have learned today from you. The payment is the message, this is the guarantee of delivery of payment. It's on Blockchain so it's the truth !

😉🤙 great spanation. I can understand clearly! good work!

APIs are the core of any app and bridge the data acting as an interface to it. This way you control what you want to expose and give just the needed nodes to work with. Great to see this API for the Lightning Invoice!

Posted Using LeoFinance Beta

bro this is gold pure, i dont know programing things like this until but i would like learn more, right now i have a few problems, i dont know how refresh the web after delete a msg from DB like gmail or hotmail do it; the other is if i have to learn php or keep doing the things like i know :D

The amount they want in either Hive, HBD or even USD.

Few people value their goods/services in HIVE. Most value them in USD. Those who are fine with valuing them in HBD are just ignorant of the issues/risks.

Can you elaborate on the "I want 3.99 USD" option? Does that auto-assume I want $3.99 worth of HIVE?

I totally love @v4vapp! I cannot say enough good things about it LOL!

In the US at least, @v4vapp is one of the easiest (and actually least expensive) ways to fund a new Hive account! It's also the fastest! Not for huge amounts of money of course, but to show a new user how to get $3, $5, or $10 moved over to their new account real fast, this is it!!!

I know that's not what it was originally designed for, but it works great for it anyway!! I've hunted up, down, sideways, all over, and with CashApp adding the ability to pay Lightening invoices a while back, this is just so easy for a new user to understand. It's also near instant gratification, which is what makes it so great!

Love it!! Do you have t-shirts yet? I want one!

It great explanation and I have learned something new today as low-level programmer. The lightning transaction on web will be well encourage.

Thanks for sharing @brianoflondon

I have a mix of audiences reading, some of whom see this as gobbledegook and their eyes glaze over.

I feel seen! 👀

Thank you for this "plain english" version for those of us who are less code savvy than the average dev.

P.S. It's good to see you back.

That's a great dumbed down explanation for non-devs. Thanks a lot, Brian for going one step ahead in explaining the value of your work. Cheers! @v4vapp is one of the best things that happened to HIVE.

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Congratulations @brianoflondon!
You raised your level and are now an Orca!

I love the idea behind it.

I would love more if keychain added the QR scan itself to pay fast with HBD and Hive with a smartphone.

The combination of both could be a cheap and good working payment processor nobody else have.

That can be used :D

It's not ideal but this does work: use the in app browser in Hive KeyChain app to load v4v.app

The camera works and you can send hive directly.

I know, it's more about that's something I want to see in keychain too! But @stoodkev already knows because i multiple times comment with it :D

Btw, i love hive can use bitcoin without smart contracts onchain :D

It's coded already, coming in a few days ;p
Transfers - Delegations - Witness - Proxy supported so far =)

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