Overview of Holochain Core Components
This section explores the fundamental building blocks that make up Holochain’s architecture. Understanding these core components is essential for grasping how Holochain functions as a distributed computing framework and how it differs from other approaches to decentralized systems.
Architectural Foundation
Agent-Centric Architecture
- Fundamental design paradigm of Holochain
- Puts individual agents at the center of the system
- Enables sovereign control over personal data
- Contrasts with data-centric blockchain approaches
Validation Rules
- Core mechanism for ensuring data integrity
- Distributed validation approach
- Application-specific rule enforcement
- Cryptographic accountability
Key Structural Elements
Source Chain
- Personal immutable record chain for each agent
- Cryptographically secured history of actions
- Local-first data storage
- Foundation for agent autonomy
Distributed Hash Table (DHT)
- Shared data space across the network
- Content-addressable storage
- Sharded architecture for scalability
- Redundant data storage for resilience
WASM Runtime
- WebAssembly execution environment
- Portable, secure code execution
- Sandboxed application logic
- Cross-platform compatibility
Networking Layer
- Peer discovery and communication
- Direct agent-to-agent messaging
- Gossip protocol for data propagation
- NAT traversal and connectivity solutions
System Interactions
Data Flow Patterns
- Local validation before publication
- DHT publication and validation
- Metadata and provenance tracking
- Eventual consistency model
Security Model
- Cryptographic signatures for all actions
- Multi-party validation
- Capability-based security
- Defense against common attack vectors
Implementation Considerations
- Performance characteristics of each component
- Scalability implications
- Security boundaries
- Development trade-offs