Working on the Hyperledger Project

At the beginning of this year I started working on the Hyperledger Project. This project is hosted by the Linux Foundation and aims at developing a framework for blockchain.

This is NOT a specific network, like Bitcoin, dedicated to financial transactions. It’s really a framework for people to run their own network(s) adapted to their specific application. The idea is that there isn’t going to be just one big blockchain network but rather many many such networks dedicated to various applications and involving a variety of players. For that reason the goal of the Hyperledger Project is to develop a very flexible framework that can be configured to meet the specific requirements of each application.

I actually knew very little about blockchain when I started and I still have a lot to learn but it’s been a lot of fun. My primary role is to help the project be successful as an Open Source project and guide the IBM development team in its transition from working on an internal project to working on an Open Source project. As time permits I also contribute and help with the development itself.

It’d been years since I did any production programming and it’s been a good opportunity to get a much needed refresher, getting to actually use many of the various tools that one typically uses for development nowadays. The first two weeks were rather humbling. Pretty much every step of the way I was stumbling on a piece of technology I had not used before. But I’m happy to say that I learned and was eventually able to start contributing to the project.

Back at the beginning of the year I felt the time was right for me to start on a new project and blockchain seemed interesting. After 6 months on the Hyperledger Project I can only say I’m glad I made that choice!