IPFS, the Interplanetary File System, Simply Explained | Hacker News Reader

IPFS, the Interplanetary File System, Simply Explained

achainofblocks.com

19 pointspetethomas10 comments

Thank you for sharing my Article. I am new to this site, but I really appreciate you introducing me and introducing my content to this amazing community.

One issue that intrigues me about IPFS is how we are going to search for the data that is already available on the network?

Assume a new node joins the network and has no prior knowledge. How would this node search for files related to concept X? How could he find out which files are already available?

The search is done by searching the hash function of the object. When a new user views an object it is saved as cache on their node. As files are viewed more they are cached on more nodes which is similar to a built-in High Availability.

Directory listings to other directory listings to eventually files. Just like walking old FTP sites or web sites. IPNS gives top level names for some of the points of interest.

Eventually someone may build tools like early FTP's Archie search tool or Gopher's Veronica search tool. A lot of the "Linked Data" proposals are reborn versions of Semantic Web search tools that might lead to interesting results (though arguably the Archie/Veronica model seems easier).

Pretty cool article. To me it explained the basics in reasonably simple language.

This was the Goal!

Thank you.

Upvote this comment, if you did not find the it simple at all.

Hi, I am the author of the article, and I am sorry you didn't find it easy to understand.

Is there something specific I can clarify, I am not opposed to updating the article to make it more clear. The whole point of the site is to make these concepts as easy and illustrated as possible.

Please let me know how this can be improved.

I feel like most of the article is 'fuzzy fluff'. Let's take the first sentence for example:

    The Internet is the most important tool in
    our everyday lives.

Debatable. And probably not central to how IPFS works. Why put this rather unrelated statement up front? What am I as a reader supposed to do with it? Skip it as fluff? Think about if I agree? What if I don't?

What I get from it is the feeling that the author likes to hear himself talk and make points that emphasize the importance of his words. While he does not care if he presents valuable information to me. Otherwise he would have skipped all the fuzzy fluff and got right to the point.

Can you imagine a sentence like that on top of an essay by Paul Graham?

Let's look at one of his most classic, most profound articles. 'A Plan for Spam':

http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html

Does it start with 'Email is one of the most important ways to communicate in the modern world'? No. He gets right to the point: 'I think it's possible to stop spam, and that content-based filters are the way to do it.'. He puts his message right upfront.

If you have something to say: Say it. Don't talk fluff and waste your readers mental resources.

Appreciate your time and opinion, although, it seems as though you may be in the minority on this argument.

Thank you.

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