The uses of Blockchain technology continue to proliferate. A new application for Blockchain named Catena is being implemented for SQL developers and users. Italian for “chain,” Catena is a database created on a Blockchain and is accessible using SQL.
Catena timestamps database transactions (SQL) in a decentralized way between nodes that do not or cannot trust each other, while enforcing grants - permissions for modification - that were agreed upon earlier.
A Catena Blockchain is a series of SQL transactions leading to an agreed-upon state of a database when executed in order. The transactions are automatically replicated to, validated by and replayed on participating clients.
The advantage of Catena is that it allows developers and administrators, who are familiar with SQL, to use and implement Blockchain technology. Because Catena uses a unique wire protocol (PostgreSQL), users can access and implement Catena across a wide range of languages including Go, PHP and C/C++.
As with other Blockchain systems, once a block containing SQL elements has been adopted into the chain, it becomes an immutable part of the chain. Taken together, the chain allows for a functional SQL database system to be implemented across varying languages and with a simple protocol.