Biblio

Decentralized attestation methods for blockchains are currently being discussed and standardized for use cases such as certification, identity and existence proofs. In a blockchain-based attestation, a claim made about the existence of information can be cryptographically verified publicly and transparently. In this paper we explore the attestation of models through globally unique identifiers as a first step towards decentralized applications based on models. As a proof-of-concept we describe a prototypical implementation of a software connector for the ADOxx metamodeling platform. The connector allows for (a.) the creation of claims bound to the identity of an Ethereum account and (b.) their verification on the blockchain by anyone at a later point in time. For evaluating the practical applicability, we demonstrate the application on the Ethereum network and measure and evaluate limiting factors related to transaction cost and confirmation times.

Blockchain is an emerging technology for decentralized and transactional data sharing across a large network of untrusted participants. It enables new forms of distributed software architectures, where components can find agreements on their shared states without trusting a central integration point or any particular participating components. Considering the blockchain as a software connector helps make explicitly important architectural considerations on the resulting performance and quality attributes (for example, security, privacy, scalability and sustainability) of the system. Based on our experience in several projects using blockchain, in this paper we provide rationales to support the architectural decision on whether to employ a decentralized blockchain as opposed to other software solutions, like traditional shared data storage. Additionally, we explore specific implications of using the blockchain as a software connector including design trade-offs regarding quality attributes.