How to Use Data in Hyperledger Fabric Code Securely

No one objects to the statement that Blockchain is the future. Apart from powering digital currencies such as the legendary Bitcoin, there is a lot of blockchain technology can do in the world of development. Because you are here to learn about Hyperledger Fabric Code already, we don’t want to fill in some generic stuff.

Hyperledger Fabric Code and Hyperledger Composer

The world of data validation, verification, and transparency have made blockchain one of the best options for data integration, you know. Nevertheless, most people have a nightmare when they hear something like ‘Integrate data with blockchain tech’. As it happens, however, Hyperledger Fabric Code is just the opposite of nightmares.

It should be noted that Hyperledger Fabric proposes a technology that is different from the public system in Bitcoin and similar cryptocurrencies. This system has been designed to offer all the benefits of blockchain in spite of the extra security layer. That is, you don’t have to make all your data public to enjoy the said options of the blockchain. For instance, the Channel Architecture of Hyperledger Fabric makes sure that all the data gets stored in secure environments. There is also an option named Private Transactions when you want to handle sensitive data.

One of the notable components of Hyperledger Fabric is something called the Hyperledger Composer. It is a wonderful tool that helps you effectively and securely integrate your data sources with the blockchain tech. Regardless of the business network that you’re building, Hyperledger Fabric offers something great for sure.

In this article, we will be talking about how you can use data in Hyperledger Fabric Code securely. Securely, here, means the data you integrate will be stored with utmost safety, without compromising user-privacy or other aspects. Before we jump into the steps, however, we will see how Hyperledger Fabric works.

How It Works — Elements You Should Know

As we said, Hyperledger Fabric has been optimized to integrate data from multiple sources. There are a few elements in Hyperledger Fabric that help you achieve all these.

• Rest APIs

The first part is where you define the nature of the business network. Depending on the input, Hyperledger Fabric would suggest some of the appropriate REST APIs. Under the hood, open APIs are being created using something called Loopback Node.js. In order to choose the most appropriate structure and format, Swagger is also being used.

All these things make sure that the best options are provided for your network. If you’re looking for a customized solution, however, you can make use of the Composer Node SDK. API, however, is the best option if you want to build a web app or something that doesn’t run on Node.js. Don’t worry; even in case of a non-Node.js environment, there’s room for customization.

• REST Server

Hyperledger Composer REST Server is another integral part of using the platform for secure exchange. Once you have set up the development environment for Hyperledger Fabric, it also means that the Server system has been installed on the same. This server and the interface play an important role when it comes to making the right amount of APIs for the business network.

Unlike many other complex servers in the world, the REST server does not want you to be a geek. You can interact with the server using a command line. Well, you wouldn’t need high-class code here. Instead, REST server would ask you a few questions regarding the business network you are building. Each of the questions defines the nature of the network.

Once done, Hyperledger REST server will build and save the REST APIs you can access.

• Using the Loopback API Explorer

Loopback API Explorer is yet another important component in the Hyperledger Fabric system. It helps the user in exploring and testing the APIs that have been generated by the REST Server.

The real beauty here is that you can access this information on a web browser. Once your interaction with a server is done, the command-line interface would show you where the APIs can be explored. As you can see in the figure, the address is: http://localhost:3000/explorer. You can visit this address to explore all the APIs that the REST Server system optimized for your purpose.

Look at the figure below to find a sample Digital Property network. As you can see here, elements such as Data Asset, Participant and Transaction are properly distinguished. It’s all available via an intuitive interface as well.

Adding & Integrating Your Data with Hyperledger Fabric

Here comes the real deal with Hyperledger Fabric and how it makes data integration easier.

GET operation is used to query an asset that you have set up in the blockchain system. Make sure that you’d follow the JSON classifications and everything should go just fine. Using this operation, you can have details about not just assets but also participants and transactions.

{
  "$class": "net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.LandTitle",
  "titleId": "titleId:ABCD",
  "owner": "resource:net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.Person#personId:Billy",
  "information": "Big House with major features"
}

{
  "$class": "net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.SalesAgreement",
  "salesId": "salesId:4567",
  "buyer": "resource:net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.Person#personId:Saurabh",
  "seller": "resource:net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.Person#personId:Amit",
  "title": "resource:net.biz.digitalPropertyNetwork.LandTitle#titleId:Jeet"
}

On the other hand, you have to use the POST operation to add data to the system. Once again, you just have to follow the JSON format to make this possible. You can use the POST operation to add assets, transactions, and participants as well.

This is undoubtedly one of the best ways to set up a blockchain tech system, don’t you think? Compared to any of the other options available in the market, this one is completely easy to set up, manage — without a single compromise on the security aspect.

Summing Up

As you have seen, it takes just a few minutes to wholly set up Hyperledger Fabric in your development system — Node.js or not. The Hyperledger Composer is also comprehensive it has a modeling language, an interface that’s intuitive and some command-line interface tools. All these make sure that you can integrate your data quite easily and securely in no time. Well, what do you think about Hyperledger Fabric and the Hyperledger Composer? Make sure you do let us know via comments.